Matthew Miller
for The Mobile Gadgeteer
| November 18, 2021
| Topic: Mobility
About a year after Withings revealed the ScanWatch, it has now passed FDA testing and authorization and is available for sale in the US. The
42mm white and silver model
I have been using for a few weeks is priced at $299.95, with the
38mm model $20 less
.
Even though the ScanWatch is clearly not a full smartwatch or GPS sports watch, I cannot stop wearing it. It looks like a standard watch while also having superb build quality, slim form factor, curved glass face, classic good looks, and a bit of heft/density to it. It feels wonderful to wear on a daily basis, and the high-quality silicone strap matches the look and feel.
See also: Best fitness tracker 2021: Improve your health.
8.9
Withings ScanWatch
Excellent
$299.95 at Withings
Like
Premium quality materialsUp to 30 days of battery lifeComfortable for 24/7 wearAffordableFull-featured Health Mate smartphone app
Don’t Like
No REM or HRV during sleepSmall display for connected apps
While it has the good looks of a classic watch, it has the ability to serve as a clinically validated electrocardiogram, capture blood oxygen measurements, measure breathing frequency while sleeping, track your heart rate, and more, all while lasting about a month between charging. As I have talked about many times, I cannot use a smartwatch regularly since I cannot stand having to charge my watch more than once a week, and with the ScanWatch, you just wear it and forget it.
Specifications
Materials: Stainless steel case, sapphire glass, and fluoroelastomer bandWireless: Bluetooth LEWater resistance: Up to 50mSensors: High precision MEMS 3-axis accelerometer, exclusive multi-wavelength PPG heart rate/SpO2 sensor, stainless steel electrodes for ECGBattery life: Up to 30 days in normal use, plus 20 days in power reserve mode (time and activity tracking only, no sleep or other advanced measurements). Two hours to fully charge, one hour to 80%.Watchband: 20mm widthDimensions: 42mm wide diameter by 13.7mm thicknes, weight of 83g (watch without strap)Colors: White/silver and black/silver
Hardware
The Withings brand is known for high-quality smart health devices, but I have never evaluated any of its products before. I was excited to see the ScanWatch announced at CES 2020, and here we are almost two years later, and it has passed the FDA approval. The wait was worth it as I just cannot take the watch off and replace it with another because it wears so damn well.
When you first open up the retail package, you know this watch is something special with the hybrid smartwatch, premium sport band, magnetic charging cable, and soft fabric transport pouch. The experience is something you would expect from a high-end watch, but the 38mm and 42mm versions are both priced at less than $300, so Withings hits it out of the ballpark with the unboxing experience.
I was sent the white/silver one in 42mm to evaluate for the site, but there is also one with a black watch face and silver bezel. It looks like a typical classy analog watch, and at its core, it functions just like that with the two hands and time measures along the outer edge. There is also a small analog dial at the bottom half of the watch, and that is used to display your level of activity as a percentage of your set goal.
Centered at the top half of the watch face is a small round PMOLED display that shows digital time, date, notifications, heart rate, SpO2 readings, steps, floors climbed, distance traveled, calories, activities, breathe work, and settings. The clock options also include an alarm, stopwatch, and timer.
There is a single button on the right, center side of the watch that also serves as a digital crown you can rotate to scroll through the small digital display. The case of the watch is stainless steel, and on the back, there are three charging pins, second and third ECG electrodes, and the three openings for the multi-wavelength PPG sensor. The first ECG electrode is located around the bezel of the watch.
The Withings ScanWatch can measure metrics including heart rate, oxygen saturation, ECG, steps, distance, sleep, VO2 Max, and elevation. The small digital display shows you the time and data when it first lights up. Spin the digital crown to view your heart rate, steps, distance traveled, calories burned, floors climbed, notifications, SpO2 utility, ECG utility, and workout app. Press in on the digital crown to select an option on the display.
To activate the echocardiogram, select this option on the digital display and then place your fingers across the right side of the watch and over the bezel. Stay still for 30 seconds and watch the countdown on the watch as the measurement is taken. The ScanWatch will vibrate once the reading is complete, and then the smartphone application will show you the results.
Your ScanWatch can also be used to perform respiratory scans while you sleep. This data can be shared with your doctor, and if there are recorded disturbances, then the data may help diagnose issues such as sleep apnea. You can have respiratory scans set to always-on, automatic (three nights in a row once per quarter), and off. Having it set to always-on will impact your battery life.
See also: Best sports watch 2021: Garmin, Coros, Polar, and more.
Withings Health Mate smartphone application
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