Avery Hartmans

<p>Back in September, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-echo-event-announcements-highlights-2018-9?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest" id="270b69fb-8030-3936-a20d-5837648f0310">  Amazon unveiled a truckload of new Echo devices </a> .</p>

<p>There was an Echo for your car, an Echo subwoofer, an Echo microwave, and an Echo Clock. Plus, Amazon revealed redesigned versions of the more mainstream Echo Show, Dot, and Plus.</p>

<p>There are now so many Echo devices, it's almost impossible to count them — and seemingly even harder to pick the right one for you.</p>

<p>But even though Amazon makes plenty of solid Echo devices to choose from, there is actually one option that will suit most people just fine: the Echo Dot. It may seem like the most basic option in Amazon's lineup, but there are plenty of reasons to buy the Dot over some of the fancier options.</p>

<p><strong> Here's why the Echo Dot is the only Echo you really need: </strong></p>

<p>The Echo Dot only costs $50, and Amazon frequently offers promotions on it — for Black Friday, for instance, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-echo-dots-black-friday-deals-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest" id="dc4d406c-42ae-3f47-afd1-b47bb3bdb855">  Amazon was selling the Dot for $24, </a> and for the holidays, it's on sale for $30.</p>

<p>Compared to Amazon's other devices, the Dot is crazy-cheap. The standard Echo is $100 (although it's on sale for $70 right now), the Echo Spot is $130, and the Echo Plus is $150. But there's no reason to spend that much when you can get a Dot for as lost as $24.</p>

<p>Amazon changed the look of the Dot when <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-new-echo-dot-2018-9?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest" id="046c6d63-8292-3437-a01f-64fa45b41127">  it introduced the new model </a> earlier this fall.</p>

<p>The original Dot was a hard, plastic device that had the overall look and feel of hockey puck. But the new Dot adopted the fabric exterior of the standard Echo, giving it a fuzzier, cozier look.</p>

<p>The new design makes the Dot look not only more high-end, but more modern, too, and it should fit into your home's decor better. Plus, the Dot's small size means it fits well into nearly any space in your home — your bedside table, your kitchen counter, your bathroom...you name it.</p>

<p>Perhaps the most important reason to choose the Echo Dot has more to do with what's on the inside than what's on the outside.</p>

<p>The version of Alexa that lives inside the Echo Dot is no better and no worse than the Alexa that lives inside the Echo and Echo Plus. The Echo Dot can still answer random questions, make shopping lists, let you know the status of your package, tell you the news and weather, and more. You're not getting a subpar Alexa just because you buy the less expensive product.</p>

<p>The only area where the Dot may not measure up to other Echo devices is the audio quality. Amazon improved the speakers on the Dot compared to the previous generation, but due to its small size, the sound quality likely isn't as good as a device like the Echo Plus.</p>

<p>However, the Echo Dot has an ace up its sleeve: It has a standard audio jack in the back, so you can plug in any full-sized speakers you happen to have lying around. You can still talk to Alexa via the Echo Dot, but the sound output will come through your sound system — meaning it's a good, affordable way to make your existing stereo a little smarter.</p>

<p>That being said, if you're in the market for high-end audio, and you don't have your own speakers, don't buy an Echo anyway. There are far better speakers out there for playing music, audiobooks, or podcasts.</p>

<ul><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-delete-your-amazon-history-shopping-prime-video-2018-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">There's an easy way to delete your entire history on Amazon — here's how to do it</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biggest-tech-scandals-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">The 18 biggest tech scandals of 2018</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-rewind-video-2018-every-celebrity-spotted-2018-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">YouTube's 'Rewind 2018' video features more than 100 celebrities and YouTube stars — and we found every single one of them</a> </li></ul>

<p><strong> SEE ALSO: <span id="e90db253-ec3e-31f9-adb3-d9868fdc1948" itemtype="link" itemscope="itemscope">  Amazon's latest onslaught of hardware proves it won't stop until it reaches every aspect of your life </span> </strong></p>

Amazon now sells nearly a dozen Echo devices, but there's only one you really need to buy (AMZN)

<p>Google is known for its collection of wildly popular products, from Search to Maps to Android. But not everything the company touches turns to gold.</p>

<p>Google Glass was supposed to change the world, but it quickly became a punch line. And remember Google Buzz?</p>

<p>Now, Google is killing off yet another messaging app, Google Allo. The smart chat app never gained the "traction" Google was hoping for, and it will be sunset in March 2019.</p>

<p>Of course, the best innovations are the ones that everybody thinks are doomed to fail, so it makes sense that Google has had its fair share of misses over the years. Still, we counted at least 19 products that have ended up in the Google graveyard (but there are probably more — let us know if we're missing anything).</p>

<p><strong> Here's a look at some of Google's biggest misses. </strong></p>

<h1> Google Answers was the first project Google worked on and started as an idea from Larry Page. Answers lasted for more than four years but stopped accepting questions in 2006. </h1>

<p>Source: <a id="4f332a83-df36-3ffe-a43a-3c467fc3ea5b" href="https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/adieu-to-google-answers.html">  Google </a></p>

<h1> Lively, Googles virtual worlds, lasted a little over a year. Google said it created Lively because it "wanted users to be able to interact with their friends and express themselves online in new ways," but it just didnt catch on. Lively was shut down in 2008. </h1>

<p>Source: <a id="946bbf87-5466-3f31-a590-63b07dad10e9" href="https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/lively-no-more.html">  Google </a></p>

<h1> Google first unveiled Glass in dramatic fashion in 2012, but the device never made it to the masses. Glass came with a high price tag, software issues, potential privacy problems, and it generally looked too nerdy. Google ended consumer sales of Glass in January 2015, but it continues to sell the device to businesses and is working on a new version. </h1>

<p>Source: <a id="0cc2e6b6-f104-37d1-aba5-b8602055bf19" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-people-still-love-google-glass-2016-5?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">  Business Insider </a></p>

<h1> Google Buzz was a social-networking service that was integrated into Gmail, but it was plagued with problematic privacy issues and never caught on. The company announced in October 2011 it would shut down the service to focus on Google+ instead. </h1>

<p>Source: <a id="079f8119-fd65-3925-a55d-633f66d15727" href="https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/fall-sweep.html">  Google </a></p>

<h1> The Google Play edition Android phone was introduced in the spring of 2014. But by January 2015, they were listed as "no longer available for sale" and a Galaxy S5 edition of the phone never materialized, despite leaked photos appearing online. </h1>

<p>Source: <a id="70851512-f87f-3afd-ab5f-6b5881a3fefb" href="http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/01/dont-cry-for-the-google-play-edition-program-it-was-already-dead/">  Ars Technica </a></p>

<h1> Google Wave was designed to let people message each other and edit documents together, but users were confused by it and it quickly flopped. Wave lasted about a year before it was killed in August 2010. </h1>

<p>Source: <a id="f7eb3b66-aed5-3764-a8eb-f40bdc5749f3" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/google-puts-wave-out-of-its-misery-2010-8?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">  Business Insider </a></p>

<h1> Google Video was Googles own video-streaming service, launched before the company bought YouTube in 2006. Google Video stopped accepting new uploads in 2009, but Video and Youtube coexisted until August 2012 when Google shut down Video for good. </h1>

<p>Source: <a id="1b24607f-35f7-3e21-a35c-db9102560473" href="https://techcrunch.com/2012/07/03/google-shutdowns-continue-igoogle-google-video-google-mini-others-are-killed/">  TechCrunch </a></p>

<h1> Googles Nexus Q, a streaming media player that was designed to connect all home devices, was unveiled with great fanfare at the companys 2012 developer conference. Reviews of the $299 Q in tech blogs were brutal, and Google shelved the product before it ever went for sale to the public. </h1>

<p>Source: <a id="edd7fe01-abab-3ce1-a931-52eda9da91bd" href="https://9to5google.com/2012/10/29/google-quietly-kills-off-the-nexus-q-from-its-nexus-pages-with-miracast-launch-today/">  9to5Google </a></p>

<h1> Google X, an alternative interface for the search engine, lasted exactly one day before Google pulled the plug. A strange tribute to Mac OS Xs dock, the site said: "Roses are red. Violets are blue. OS X rocks. Homage to you." Google X was quickly taken offline on March 16, 2005, and today the name has been repurposed as Googles research division. </h1>

<p>Source: <a id="16059217-fb92-3d17-a296-40a3edcc5fb9" href="http://www.macworld.com/article/1043631/googlex.html">  MacWorld </a></p>

<h1> Originally intended to give people access to health and wellness information, Google Health was closed for good in January 2012 after Google observed the service was "not having the broad impact that we hoped it would." </h1>

<p>Source: <a id="6129e87e-5004-36e9-a136-e5170f060521" href="https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/update-on-google-health-and-google.html">  Google </a></p>

<h1> Google Reader was a news-reading app that let users pull in stories from blogs or news sites. Google announced it was shutting down Reader in March 2013 — much to users dismay and outrage — and it was officially killed in July 2013. </h1>

<p>Source: <a id="a332e9de-3475-3ba4-a0a2-8f4d0a0f6982" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-google-killed-google-reader-2013-6?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">  Business Insider </a></p>

<h1> Google Catalogs, an interactive shopping program that digitized catalogs, was shut down in 2015. Google shuttered the mobile version of Catalogs in 2013 and shut down the desktop version two years later. </h1>

<p>Source: <a id="c0d5a233-c728-30de-a730-f400a465e9f8" href="https://www.pmg.com/blog/google-catalogs-to-shut-down/">  PMG </a></p>

<h1> Google Hangouts On Air — Googles live-streaming service — is moving to YouTube Live beginning September 2016. The service was originally created in 2012 when live streaming was catching on and was once used by President Obama and Pope Francis. </h1>

<p>Source: <a id="7580af6d-bb16-3c3a-a4e4-a5907d973a51" href="http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/15/12490666/google-hangouts-on-air-september-youtube-live">  The Verge </a></p>

<h1> Dodgeball, a service that let users check in at locations, was purchased by Google in 2005. Its founders, which included Dennis Crowley, left Google seemingly on bad terms in 2007 and Crowley went on to build a very similar service, Foursquare, two years later. </h1>

<p>Brian Ach/Getty Images for TechCrunch</p>

<p>Source: <a id="4e501d79-6ebb-36b3-a740-8ddda4589fe2" href="http://venturebeat.com/2009/03/10/dodgeball-founder-pegs-google-in-the-face-with-foursquare/">  Venture Beat </a></p>

<h1> iGoogle, a personalized homepage, was shut down in 2013. Created in 2005, iGoogle allowed users to customize their homepage with widgets. Google said iGoogle wasnt needed as much anymore since apps could run on Chrome and Android. </h1>

<p>Source: <a id="3d9a1031-0d58-3fdc-abda-31c37bcf0800" href="https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/2664197?hl=en">  Google </a></p>

<h1> Orkut was once a popular social-networking service that grew out of a Googlers "20% time" project. The site was more popular abroad than it was in the US and Google decided to kill it in September 2014. </h1>

<p>Source: <a id="bb2d9390-984a-3edc-a235-33a9fb68f8f2" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/google-shuts-down-orkut-and-quickoffice-2014-6?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">  Business Insider </a></p>

<h1> Google Notebook was a precursor to Google Docs and was a place to copy and paste URLs or write notes that could be shared or published. Google stopped development on Notebook in 2009 and officially shut it down in July 2012, transferring all data from Notebook to Google Docs. </h1>

<p>Source: <a id="dfa358d0-2395-3a4b-a934-3b76fee62292" href="https://www.google.com/googlenotebook/faq.html">  Google </a></p>

<h1> Google+ was intended to be Googles social-networking service. But Google decided to shutter it after a software glitch caused Google to expose the personal profile data of hundreds of thousands of Google+ users. </h1>

<p>The software glitch came to light this past spring, but managers there chose not to go public with the information, according to a <a id="b3bbf77e-b7a2-3dec-a5a0-52130eb05ec5" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-exposed-user-data-feared-repercussions-of-disclosing-to-public-1539017194?emailToken=10e5e7280fedeeca0c8165762f7718f6gRqmhtOepEm4DkSQKEnj/EA836So7DJnFFBEixiRpN1a+WIgXHOLS3yB5HO+3tGKbORTHlOZYwx9kQgRXUEopTzJnsVOYiDQJNUkS9CMp7Y8Mq4Q25/FwZ7pJZqgKBPSDHqv5dSK8+xrw+WVn7Sjow%3D%3D&amp;reflink=article_copyURL_share">  report from The Wall Street Journal </a></p>

<p>Here's <a id="4cd9dc3f-f285-3fec-a5d2-03311f2563fe" href="https://www.blog.google/technology/safety-security/project-strobe/">  what Google had to say </a> about the demise of Google+:</p>

<p>"[W]hile our engineering teams have put a lot of effort and dedication into building Google+ over the years, it has not achieved broad consumer or developer adoption, and has seen limited user interaction with apps. The consumer version of Google+ currently has low usage and engagement: 90 percent of Google+ user sessions are less than five seconds."</p>

<h1> Allo was Googles smart messaging app. But it never gained "the level of traction" Google was hoping for. </h1>

<p><a id="5535a57f-57b2-3c05-a6ec-dab14968cd4c" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-messaging-app-allo-2016-9?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">  Allo was announced </a> at the company's developer conference in May 2016. It was intended to be a smart messaging app that had Google Assistant built in for things like surfacing restaurant recommendations or supplying facts in real time.</p>

<p>But after lackluster adoption, the company said in April 2018 it would be "pausing investment" on the app.</p>

<p>"The product as a whole has not achieved the level of traction that we'd hoped for," Anil Sabharwal, vice president of product at Google, <a id="714aac62-188d-3d31-abe0-cf24632647c5" href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/19/17252486/google-android-messages-chat-rcs-anil-sabharwal-imessage-texting">  told The Verge at the time </a> .</p>

<p>In December, <a id="d013d97b-9634-376c-a427-a5ea86f8bdc8" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-allo-shut-down-report-2018-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">  Google announced it will shut down Allo in March 2019. </a></p>

<ul><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-allo-shut-down-report-2018-12?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Google is shutting down its Allo messaging app for good</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spotify-free-google-home-how-to-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Spotify is giving away free Google Home speakers to subscribers — here's how to get yours</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biggest-tech-scandals-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">The 18 biggest tech scandals of 2018</a> </li></ul>

<p><strong> SEE ALSO: <span id="edfb52b7-1d4d-3f17-ac67-59cbda0591b4" itemtype="link" itemscope="itemscope">  What it's really like to work at Google, the best company to work for in the US </span> </strong></p>

Google just announced it's shutting down its Allo messaging app for good. Here are 18 other Google products that bombed, died, or disappeared (GOOG, GOOGL)

<p>Google just revealed its picks for the best apps of the year, and among them are five apps <a id="3514d7c6-5298-3751-a238-935b038cdd21" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/topic?id=campaign_editorial_bestof2018_best_hidden_gem">  Google says are "hidden gems." </a></p>

<p>The apps range from an augmented reality app that lets you draw on things you see in the real world, to an app for recording your dreams.</p>

<p>Here's how Google describes them: "These apps are new to the scene and quietly building a fanbase – from newcomers on the brink of getting big to our favorite niche platforms."</p>

<p><strong> These are the five Android apps Google considers hidden gems: </strong></p>

<h1> Slowly, an app for finding pen pals. </h1>

<p>Slowly lets you match with people interested in becoming pen pals. While the app creates the connections, you'll send letters through the mail.</p>

<p>Here's how the company describes the app:</p>

<p>"The app is created for those who yearns for meaningful conversations with people in the era of instant messaging. We hope to connect people around the world at a slower but better pace – one letter at a time."</p>

<p>Slowly is free to download and use, and <a id="2e12ff9d-efd8-3e62-a6f1-91331dd43730" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.slowlyapp">  you can learn more about it on the Google Play Store </a> .</p>

<h1> Unfold, an app for creating minimalist story collages. </h1>

<p>Unfold provides templates for creating photo collages.</p>

<p>"Unfold is a toolkit for storytellers. Create beautiful and engaging stories with minimal and elegant templates."</p>

<p>Unfold is free to download and use, and <a id="ff6d2c63-2c55-3099-a08b-7d0597773a2d" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.moonlab.unfold">  you can learn more about it on the Google Play Store </a> .</p>

<h1> Just a Line, an app for drawing in augmented reality. </h1>

<p>Just a Line lets you create drawings overlaid on things you see in real life.</p>

<p>"Just a Line is an AR Experiment that lets you make simple drawings in augmented reality, then share your creation with a short video. Draw on your own or with a friend, then hit record and share what you made with #justaline."</p>

<p>Just a Line is free to download and use, and <a id="1e8a51e4-3498-39fa-af36-8cf7ed6fc184" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.arexperiments.justaline">  you can learn more about it on the Google Play Store </a> .</p>

<p>Luci lets you record your dreams and lucid thoughts, and comes with a noise-activated sleep recorder in case you talk in your sleep.</p>

<p>"Hello, I'm Luci! I'm your lucid dream helper. Lucid dreaming is when you become aware that you're in a dream; this awareness allows you to take control over your dreams ..."</p>

<p>Luci is free to download and use, and <a id="74870372-d814-3c32-a126-6c5fc1746759" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.samruston.luci">  you can learn more about it on the Google Play Store </a> .</p>

<h1> Learn Spanish with Lirica, an app for learning Spanish through Spanish-language music. </h1>

<p>Learn Spanish with Lirica teaches you Spanish language and grammar through Latin music.</p>

<p>"Choose music from current Latin Superstars like Nicky Jam or Classic Artists like Elvis Crespo and learn Spanish vocabulary and grammar through their songs."</p>

<p>Learn Spanish with Lirica is free to download and use, and <a id="9fda7b87-3955-3da7-a31d-937ef39c5656" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.taplyrica.lirica">  you can learn more about it on the Google Play Store </a> .</p>

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<p><strong> SEE ALSO: <span id="b7dba1dc-ad4e-3eb1-ade9-819ca659f7e3" itemtype="link" itemscope="itemscope">  Here's the best and easiest way to switch from an Android device to an iPhone </span> </strong></p>

These 5 Android apps were just named 'hidden gems' by Google (GOOG, GOOGL)

<p>Hardware startup Lighthouse had a straightforward goal with its first-ever product: make a home security camera that's smarter than anything else on the market.</p>

<p>The result is the Lighthouse camera, which costs $300 and is available <a id="74916e3a-4f42-3d6b-ab64-9817bb7e6bbe" href="https://shop.light.house/products/lighthouse">  to buy online </a> and <a id="137d3ac6-ead5-304c-a711-04614a2ef9d9" href="https://www.amazon.com/Lighthouse-Number-Security-Camera-Gizmodo/dp/B075LFS3DV/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1542751418&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=lighthouse+camera">  on Amazon </a> . It's an artificially intelligent, internet-connected security camera. It can identify you and your family members, alert you when there are intruders in your home, and understand commands like, "Did the dog walker come today?"</p>

<p>Lighthouse is entering an already-crowded field of smart security cameras. But its built-in AI, along with the backing of prominent tech execs like Sebastian Thrun, make the Lighthouse camera an exciting entry.</p>

<p><strong> Here's how it works: </strong></p>

<h1> Lighthouse was founded in 2014 by Hendrik Dahlkamp and Alex Teichman, who met while working in Udacity founder Sebastian Thruns lab at Stanford University. Lighthouse later joined Playground Global, an incubator run by Android creator Andy Rubin. </h1>

<h1> The Lighthouse camera is the startups first product. When building it, Lighthouse wanted to "take a traditional camera and give it the eyes of a self-driving car, and give it the natural language understanding of a Google Assistant," Teichman told Business Insider. </h1>

<h1> Teichman described traditional security cameras versus the Lighthouse camera as "going from VCR to TiVo." </h1>

<h1> The camera has a 3D sensor built in, which Lighthouse says emits diffuse light, then measures the amount of time it takes for that light to bounce back. That way, the camera can create a real-time 3D map of the room. </h1>

<h1> The camera also has artificial intelligence, which means it can distinguish between different faces, and tell the difference between a person and a pet. </h1>

<h1> It has night vision, a security siren, two-way talk, and can shoot 1080p HD video. </h1>

<h1> The camera stands 8.5 inches tall and 3.4 inches in diameter, which means it doesnt take up a lot of real estate in your house. </h1>

<h1> But its intended for indoor use only, so dont try to mount it outside. </h1>

<h1> The camera pairs with a smartphone app — either Android or iOS — where you can watch live videos feeds, see videos from the past 30 days, ask questions, or create notifications. </h1>

<h1> A question like, "Did anyone walk the dog today?" will pull up any videos where the camera detected the dog entering or exiting the front door. </h1>

<h1> Adding your kids to the app will allow the camera to recognize their faces, so it can alert you when they arrive home from school. </h1>

<h1> If the camera detects someone its never seen before, it will send you an alert. </h1>

<h1> It can also detect specific gestures and actions. If you wave at the camera, for instance, it can alert to another family member who isnt home that youre trying to get their attention. Because it has two-way audio, they can then talk back to you and it will play through the cameras speakers. </h1>

<h1> Since the Lighthouse camera has natural language processing, it can understand a wide variety of spoken or written commands and questions. </h1>

<p>Here are some examples of things you can say to the device:</p>

<ul><li> "What happened while I was gone?" </li><li> "What did the kids do between 3 PM and 7 PM?" </li><li> "Tell me if you see someone new with the kids when I’m not there." </li><li> "Ping me if you see a new face." </li></ul>

<h1> Lighthouse has some privacy measures built in. Its end-to-end encrypted, and all data is eliminated every 30 days. You can also set the camera to capture video only when no one is home, or when you specifically are out of the house. </h1>

<h1> The Lighthouse camera costs $300, plus a $10 per month subscription for the AI features (or a one-time fee of $200). Its on sale now on Lighthouses website, as well as Amazon. </h1>

<p>You can learn more about the Lighthouse camera <a id="b31e1c6a-39ba-360d-a472-713f604b1ad6" href="https://shop.light.house/product/lighthouse/">  on the company's website </a> .</p>

<ul><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-give-google-account-to-trusted-person-when-you-die-2018-8?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">This tool lets you bequeath your Google account to a trusted person when you die — here's how to set it up</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-echo-features-tips-tricks-2017-1?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">I've owned an Amazon Echo for three years now — here are my 19 favorite features</a> </li><li> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-echo-plus-vs-first-generation-echo-full-comparison-2018-10?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Amazon's revamped Echo Plus got 6 crucial upgrades this year — and it's now $40 off for Cyber Monday</a> </li></ul>

<p><strong> SEE ALSO: <span id="de7e10eb-be3f-3c2c-aacf-ae733a77b211" itemtype="link" itemscope="itemscope">  A complete guide to the Amazon Echo family, the smart speakers that will change your home forever </span> </strong></p>

This beautiful $300 security camera can recognize faces and keep track of your kids — and it's backed by some of the biggest names in tech

<p>Buying a smartwatch these days is anything but a simple process.</p>

<p>On one side, you have the Apple Watch, the undisputed queen of the smartwatch category and <a id="bb89c4d9-7d5a-3f1a-aff0-aa79a36f4e19" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-outsold-the-entire-swiss-watch-industry-in-2017-2018-2?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">  the best-selling watch in the world </a> .</p>

<p>On the other side, you have a wide array of smartwatches that work with various platforms and at all price points. There's the vast lineup of watches running Google's Wear OS, as well as heavy-duty devices from companies like Garmin and Samsung.</p>

<p>But in recent months, a new competitor has arrived on the scene: the <a id="7e649d88-c61e-31cd-af92-e28a40fd59a1" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fitbit-versa-features-price-release-date-photos-2018-3?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">  Fitbit Versa </a> , a $200 smartwatch — <a id="9b68499f-d999-327a-a82a-f2f792be7cd6" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fitbit-versa-review-vs-apple-watch-2018-3?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">  $150 right now! </a> — aimed at the everyday consumer. The Fitbit Versa is the closest thing the Apple Watch has to a real competitor, and it's <a id="cab60968-8b14-37e2-ad59-0e2eff7341dc" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fitbit-versa-review-vs-apple-watch-2018-3?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">  an excellent watch in its own right </a> .</p>

<p><strong> So while there are plenty of reasons to love the Apple Watch, here are eight reasons to choose the Fitbit Versa instead: </strong></p>

<h1> 1. The Fitbit Versa is significantly cheaper than the Apple Watch. </h1>

<p>The Fitbit Versa costs $200, while the Apple Watch Series 4 starts at $399.</p>

<p>That said, both devices are on sale for Cyber Monday. You can get as much as <a id="1f20a716-1080-3173-ac2a-b7083826e278" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-watch-black-friday-2018-deals-2018-11?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">  $80 off an Apple Watch </a> (although most deals are on the last generation watch, the Series 3) and <a id="83023407-bb53-3fce-a10c-14e0f066fdda" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fitbit-versa-review-vs-apple-watch-2018-3?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">  $50 off the Versa </a> right now.</p>

<h1> 2. The Fitbit Versa is smaller than the Apple Watch. </h1>

<p>The Fitbit Versa is 24 mm wide and 24 mm tall, making it slightly smaller than the smallest available Apple Watch, which is 38.6 mm wide and 33.3 mm tall.</p>

<p>A smaller watch may not be important for everyone, but the Fitbit Versa <a id="f8af19a9-3f29-3e9b-ae5a-af6b97935511" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fitbit-versa-review-vs-apple-watch-2018-3?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest#fitbit-says-the-versa-was-designed-with-smaller-wrists-in-mind-and-it-shows-1">  does fit better on women's wrists </a> .</p>

<h1> 3. The Fitbit Versa has better battery life than the Apple Watch. </h1>

<p>Fitbit says the Versa can get up to four days of battery life. In my tests, I got almost five full days on a 90% charge.</p>

<p>The Apple Watch, on the other hand, gets only about 18 hours of battery life.</p>

<h1> 4. The Fitbit Versa has fewer apps than the Apple Watch. </h1>

<p>The Fitbit Versa has only a handful of apps preloaded, and none of them are messaging, email, or traditional social apps. Instead, it has things like Starbucks, as well as weather- and meditation-related apps.</p>

<p>You don't even have the option to load on Gmail or Twitter, meaning you're not constantly being pelted with notifications or distracted by frequent buzzes on your wrist.</p>

<p>Apple, on the other hand, is slowly paring down apps on its watch — third parties are also <a id="7dee8e79-65d6-3296-a3c1-ba0f03ee5a6d" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-support-apple-watch-2018-4?utm_source=intl&amp;utm_medium=ingest">  choosing to discontinue their apps </a> — but you still have the option to be inundated by iMessages and emails.</p>

<p>Again, it's all personal preference, but for me, the fewer apps on a smartwatch, the better.</p>

<h1> 5. The Fitbit Versa can track your menstrual cycles. </h1>

<p>Fitbit says women's health tracking is <a id="5823c775-1dbc-3331-a8ae-b9a0d986eeb6" href="https://blog.fitbit.com/female-health-tracking/">  one of the most requested features from Fitbit users </a> , and it introduced it on the mobile app and the Versa earlier this month.</p>

<p>People can now use the Fitbit Versa watch to track where they are in their menstrual cycle, check when to expect their period, and keep tabs on their fertility.</p>

<p>Apple does not offer a similar service for the Apple Watch.</p>

<h1> 6. The Fitbit Versa has built-in sleep tracking. </h1>

<p>Fitbit has a feature called Sleep Stages that lets you keep track of how well you're sleeping if you wear the watch at night. You can also set a sleep schedule, track your awake time, and check your sleep averages over time.</p>

<p>While there are several third-party apps for tracking sleep on the Apple Watch, Apple does not make a sleep-focused app for it.</p>

<h1> 7. The Fitbit Versa has an SpO2 sensor, meaning it could eventually track conditions like sleep apnea. </h1>

<p>The Fitbit Versa — and last year's watch, the Fitbit Ionic — have an SpO2 sensor, which measures blood oxygen levels. While it's not able to track health conditions like sleep apnea quite yet, the possibility is there.</p>

<p>The Apple Watch Series 4 has plenty of built-in sensors — including an advanced heart-rate sensor and an electrical heart sensor that can measure EKGs — but it still lacks an SpO2 sensor.</p>

<h1> 8. If you change your mind about the Versa, Fitbit offers a 45-day money-back guarantee. </h1>

<p>Fitbit gives you 45 days to return the watch if you decide you don't like it and offers a one-year limited warranty on the device.</p>

<p>Apple has a much shorter return window of 14 days, though it does offer one perk Fitbit does not: You can <a id="d950e41f-dc0b-315f-a705-e0645b5d1de9" href="https://www.apple.com/shop/trade-in?afid=p238%7CsCTmZPRl9-dc_mtid_1870765e38482_pcrid_267778434475_&amp;cid=aos-us-kwgo-watch--slid--product-">  trade in an Apple Watch </a> for an Apple Store gift card to use toward a new device. If it's not eligible, Apple will recycle it for you.</p>

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<p><strong> SEE ALSO: <span id="86435a08-f3dc-3ffd-a73a-cfaa165e4d85" itemtype="link" itemscope="itemscope">  The Echo Spot is one of Amazon's most innovative Alexa devices — and it's on sale for $90 for Black Friday </span> </strong></p>

8 reasons you should buy Fitbit's $150 smartwatch instead of an Apple Watch

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