The Fitbit Inspire is now the most affordable Fitbit fitness tracker available, and it's quite a bit more advanced than the Flex 2, but also bigger.

FitbitFlex 22024

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

FitbitFlex3

I just bought my partner a new coffee maker; here are the must-have accessories he's getting from the Cyber Monday deals

Its band is about a centimeter wide, and the width is more-or-less the same across the whole tracker. As Fitbit says, it’s about 30% smaller than the last Fitbit Flex.

But not everything has been improved, with battery life proving a particular disappointment, and in the three years since the original Fitbit Flex a number of rivals have emerged - including some from Fitbit itself, so is the Fitbit Flex 2 enough of an update?

You double the cost of the Flex 2 by buying one of these, but in return you get a tracker that looks like a piece of jewelry.

FitbitFlex 2

TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

However, Fitbit does seem to have improved this, as we haven’t found it too hard to close the thing, although a decent push is still needed.

Flex 2release date

The standard Fitbit Flex 2 comes with two sizes of strap, they’re the same width but there’s a longer one for people with chunkier wrists.

FitbitFlex 2app

The make-up of the Fitbit Flex 2 is the same as before, though. Its brain is a little nugget of plastic that fits into the rubber strap, and can be popped out to charge.

Back to the rubbery one we actually have, the Fitbit Flex 2 uses the same style of button clasp as the old Flex. This has been a bit of a sore point for some Flex owners in the past, as it can be hard to seal, making you push with all your might against your wrist: not comfy.

The main benefit of this style is that you can replace the band, and get versions that look a lot jazzier than the black rubbery one Fitbit sent us. Buy direct from Fitbit and you can pick from four colors: black, lavender, magenta and navy blue. Fitbit offers packs of other strap colors too.

These rubbery straps have a low-key diagonal embossed pattern. If you’re after something a little more ostentatious, you can also get jewelry-like metal ‘bangles’, and pendants that turn the Flex 2 into a necklace.

Although Fitbit has pushed some major upgrades into the Flex 2, it originally costed around the same price as its predecessor too with a launch price of $99.95 (£79.99, AU$149.95).

FitbitFlex 2alternative

As these are made of higher-end materials they add a lot to the cost. The silver bangle is made of stainless steel and costs $89.95, £69.99, AU$149.95, the gold and pink ones are gold-plated steel and cost $99.95, £79.99, AU$169.95.

The Fitbit Flex 2 is a skinny, slight, water resistant fitness tracker, small enough that you can wear a watch alongside it without looking like you’re wearing two timepieces.

FitbitFlex 2Bracelet

The original Fitbit Flex has been around since 2013. It is a simple, reasonably small fitness tracker, not terribly expensive and not jam-packed with features.

The Fitbit Flex 2, which arrived in late 2016, keeps that style, while adding more customization and full swim-ready water resistance (a first for Fitbit), all crammed into a smaller band.

FitbitFlex 2price

Make sure the strap isn’t too tight and the Flex 2 becomes a fitness tracker you’ll completely forget you’re wearing. Keeping it on at night is no hardship at all: an important win for a low-key tracker like this.

The Fitbit Flex 2 is a solid choice for those after something simple, as well as those who are in need of a water-resistant tracker. It's smaller and sleeker than the original, but at the cost of battery life.

Entertaining over the holidays? Check out the best Cyber Monday deals on cookware, pizza ovens, grills, cocktail makers, and more

Andrew is a freelance journalist and has been writing and editing for some of the UK's top tech and lifestyle publications including TrustedReviews, Stuff, T3, TechRadar, Lifehacker and others.

Since it launched back in 2016, we saw the price of the Fitbit Flex 2 drop down pretty low, but since it was discontinued the price has actually gone up a bit, thanks to it being rather hard to come by.