Withings ScanWatch Light review

The Withings ScanWatch Mild is a hybrid smartwatch that desires to maintain observe of your steps, sleep and metrics like coronary heart fee, all whereas wanting such as you’ve obtained a standard analogue watch strapped to your wrist.

It’s out there for lower than Withings’ newest flagship hybrid the ScanWatch 2, scaling options and sensors again all whereas nonetheless supplying you with entry to the identical Withings companion app and the promise that you simply gained’t have to consider charging it for weeks.

It’s truthful to say that there have been extra standout full-fat smartwatches than there have been hybrid ones, so does the ScanWatch Mild go into the great hybrids record? Right here’s our take.

Design & Construct

• 37mm case measurement possibility solely
• A number of case and strap color choices
• Waterproof as much as 50 metres

Design is all the things on the ScanWatch Mild. Withings is aware of find out how to make a lovely hybrid smartwatch that appears and seems like a traditional watch all whereas elegantly including within the smarts. That doesn’t change right here.

The ScanWatch Mild is available in a 37mm case measurement in comparison with the marginally bigger 38mm and bigger 42mm case sizes reserved for the extra feature-packed ScanWatch 2. It’s actually a light-weight and dainty watch, so for those who’ve obtained skinny wrists, it’s going to be a greater match.

Withings doesn’t scrimp on the supplies to make this really feel like a top quality analogue watch. There’s a chrome steel case and crown and Gorilla Glass to supply some safety in opposition to scratches. I’ve had it for a couple of weeks, took it away on vacation and that display screen has fortunately remained scratch-free.

There’s color choices right here too. You’ve obtained a decide of 5 totally different dial appears to be like, both a gold or silver case and straps aplenty. I had the gold case and white flueroelastomer strap mixture, which I might say wasn’t probably the most masculine mixture, however there’s little doubt that it appeared nice.

That strap isn’t your typical flueroelastomer sort that you simply discover on most smartwatches and does its job of giving the watch all-day put on all whereas sustaining that total smooth and trendy look.

Baked into the analogue watch dial is an OLED show to show the ScanWatch Mild’s onboard sensible options. Urgent the crown on the facet of the watch case helps you to get up the show whereas twisting it helps you to scroll via screens. There’s a raise-to-wake gesture characteristic you possibly can arrange from the Withings app as nicely for those who don’t wish to consistently press that crown.

Across the again is the second technology of Withings’ PPG optical sensor expertise. That’s there to ship the guts fee monitoring and that is additionally the place the place you’ll clip on the proprietary charging cradle to energy it up.

Mike Sawh

It’s a watch that carries a 5ATM waterproof score, so is secure to be submerged in water as much as 50 metres depth. I’ve taken it into the ocean and indoor and out of doors swimming swimming pools and the Mild has carried on as regular after taking a dip.

Well being & Health Monitoring

• Strong sleep tracker
• Provides guided respiration workouts
• Nicely built-in linked GPS assist

The ScanWatch Mild, like different hybrids, is about providing well being and health monitoring options that finally doesn’t compromise on providing an elegantly designed watch within the course of. In order for you one thing that may observe steps, sleep, coronary heart fee and exercises as nicely, it’s fairly able to all of these issues. 

Mike Sawh

Whereas it lacks the larger well being monitoring expertise of the ScanWatch 2 and smartwatches just like the Google Pixel Watch 2, the Mild nonetheless does total supply a fairly agreeable expertise.

Sensors-wise, Withings retains it to only the 2. There’s the PPG sensor as talked about, which unlocks common coronary heart fee readings and coronary heart fee variability measurements throughout sleep, which is used to supply insights into your normal wellbeing and isn’t designed as a medical characteristic. That optical sensor can also be used to seize respiration disturbances and respiratory fee, once more to supply extra wellbeing insights.

There’s additionally an accelerometer to trace each day steps and allow sleep monitoring with linked GPS on supply to extra precisely observe out of doors exercises like runs and biking when it’s paired to your Android smartphone or iPhone.

As an exercise tracker, you possibly can view steps and distance coated from the watch, with further knowledge on flooring climbed included within the Withings app. Although the Mild doesn’t embody its personal altimeter sensor. You’ll get inactivity alert notifications and messages to remind you to plan in some exercise to maintain energetic.

I’ve been utilizing it alongside a Garmin watch and the Oura Ring Gen 3 to check step monitoring. I discovered that evaluating the totals through the day tended to show comparable stats. On the finish of every day nevertheless, there was on common 1,000 step distinction within the each day totals. I by no means count on all gadgets to match as all use their very own algorithms to calculate steps, however it is a massive distinction.

Mike Sawh

For sleep monitoring, you possibly can seize sleep period, get a sleep high quality rating, see a breakdown of sleep levels and in addition see whether or not your sleep was interrupted. I discovered the sleep period captured was comparable on most nights in comparison with the Oura Ring Gen 3’s knowledge and provided comparable period sleep levels as nicely.

Coronary heart fee monitoring throughout sleep was largely constant too. It’s not essentially groundbreaking sleep knowledge, however the knowledge normally felt good and helpful.

From a coronary heart fee perspective, the Mild will monitor coronary heart fee through the day and can acknowledge excessive and low resting coronary heart fee readings within the app. Sadly, that coronary heart fee knowledge didn’t really feel massively dependable. Whereas real-time readings felt properly consistent with different coronary heart fee monitoring watches, the typical coronary heart fee knowledge felt wildly excessive and at instances 15-20 bpm greater than these different gadgets.

It is a smartwatch that may observe your exercise time even when it doesn’t seem like it belongs anyplace close to a gymnasium. There are exercise profiles for working, swimming (pool), biking (indoor and outside), bodybuilding and a few normal health monitoring to cowl different actions not accounted for right here.

I’ve used it for treadmill and out of doors runs, rowing exercises, swims and normal weight work and I’d say its credentials as a sports activities watch is a blended bag.

Mike Sawh

When utilizing the linked GPS for out of doors runs, it carried out high-quality, capturing comparable distances to a Garmin GPS watch and posting an analogous common tempo. It was an analogous story for indoor run monitoring and coronary heart fee surprisingly fared higher than constantly monitoring coronary heart fee arising rather a lot nearer to a coronary heart fee monitor chest strap than anticipated. For actions with out devoted modes, the monitoring is much extra primary. 

You’re actually not going to get a fully-fledged sports activities watch right here, however the linked GPS assist works nicely and there’s sufficient that works nicely sufficient to make it helpful when exercising with it on.

Withings does embody assist for menstrual monitoring from the watch and guided respiration workouts the place the watch vibrates to correspond when to inhale and exhale to finish a superb package deal of well being, health and normal wellness options which are out there.

Smartwatch Options

• View telephone notifications
• Alarms and timers
• Works with Apple Well being, Google well being and Google Match
  

Like all hybrid smartwatches, you’re going to make compromises so far as how they behave as smartwatches merely since you’ve obtained much less digital actual property to play with.

Mike Sawh

The ScanWatch Mild doesn’t have a really massive display screen, in order that makes some smarts extra helpful than others. It is going to show telephone notifications, however you’ll want to attend for the messages to scroll via horizontally to learn it in its entirety. Exterior of viewing notifications, it’s all fairly primary. You’ll be able to arrange timers and alarms from the watch, however if you’d like options like funds or altering watch faces, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

From the Withings app you possibly can customise how screens are organised on the watch, however that’s actually about it. The Withings app is a fairly busy place and might really feel overwhelming to work together with.

When you additionally resolve to subscribe to Withings+ ($9.95/£8.95 a month with 1 month free or $99.50/£89.50 yearly), that opens the door to issues like Well being Enchancment Scores, that are designed to attain your total well being as soon as it has 3 months price of knowledge to look over. You additionally get entry to packages, exercises and recipes, although isn’t something right here that feels massively groundbreaking.

Battery Life & Charging

• 30-days battery in each day use
• 2-hour charging time
• Makes use of proprietary charging cradle

The Scanwatch Mild guarantees to maintain you monitoring for a whole month earlier than you’ll have to seize the not-so-sleek charging cradle that clips across the watch case to energy it again up.

Mike Sawh

I’d say that it’s a watch that’s greater than able to going nicely over per week, however you’ll want to limit using options just like the linked GPS and restrict the frequency of the respiratory fee scans to get even near that 30 days.

I discovered battery drop-off, normally, might be as little as 2-3% however did from time to time endure from a noticeable battery drain in a single day at round 10-15%.

Withings says it takes 2 hours to completely cost it and a 30-minute cost managed to knock the battery again up by 40%. The underside line, it’s a watch that may comfortably final a full week with scope to go for much longer.

Worth & Availability

The Withings ScanWatch Mild, at $249.95/£229.95, could be extra reasonably priced than the ScanWatch 2 ($349.95/£319.95), nevertheless it’s nonetheless not as low cost as earlier Withings hybrids.

You should purchase it from Withings in addition to BestBuy within the US and Amazon within the UK.

That places in and across the similar worth you’ll pay for a Fossil Gen 6 Hybrid and is a less expensive purchase than rival hybrid smartwatches just like the Garmin Vivomove Pattern ($269.99/£279.99).

Examine our roundup of the most effective smartwatches to see extra choices.

Must you purchase the Withings ScanWatch Mild?

The Withings ScanWatch Mild is a extremely lovely hybrid smartwatch that continues the corporate’s pattern of merging digital and analogue worlds in a extremely smooth manner.

In terms of its sensible skills, it positively does some issues higher than others. It seems like a greater sleep tracker than a step tracker, and coronary heart fee monitoring efficiency bizarrely feels higher while you’re understanding in comparison with slowing issues down.

It does an okay job as a smartwatch albeit it’s a primary one, however there are positively hybrid smartwatches that may do extra on that entrance.

In order for you the best-looking hybrid, that is the one you need. In order for you a hybrid full of good health, wellness and smartwatch options nonetheless wrapped up in a pleasant design, it could be price wanting within the course of Garmin and its Vivomove collection.

Specs

• 37mm case
• Grayscale OLED display screen
• 5ATM waterproof score
• Related GPS
• Optical coronary heart fee sensor
• Accelerometer
• Bluetooth
• 30-days battery life
• Works with Google Match and Apple Well being