Fitbit Sense 2 and Versa 4 update rolling out with new features

One month after their initial release, Fitbit is making available the first update for the Sense 2 and the Versa 4 fitness watches. This new update is the same one that was previously announced, which would bring Google Pay payment integration, plus two previously unannounced new features.

The additional features were mentioned as part of the release notes for version 1.184.52 on the Fitbit site’s help pages, in addition to the usual bug fixes and improvements. The rollout was first noticed by the team at 9to5Google, which promptly reported the findings on their site.

The ability to use the built-in speaker and microphone on your device to take calls from your wrist is the most significant new feature made available with this update. Despite being a standard feature on earlier wearables, this capability was not available when both products first went on sale.

Covering the screen to turn it off is another substantial improvement to the usefulness of the device in day-to-day life. Before this update, you had the option of either having the screen timeout (with shorter intervals given) or the display would go off when you put your wrist down, but in order for it to happen, you had to allow the “Button & motion” gesture in the settings. However, now you can take advantage of using this standard smartwatch feature.

To update your Fitbit Sense 2 or Versa 4 to the newest version, you’ll need to start the process from the Fitbit app on your phone. It is recommended that your device is fully charged before you begin and that you start the process when you have about an hour or so to spare, as it may take that long for the update to complete. In the Fitbit app, tap on the Today tab > your profile picture > your device image, then tap the pink “Update” button, which should only appear if an update is available. From there, just follow the on-screen instructions and wait until the update progress bar is finished before you use the watch again.