ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Withings ScanWatch 2 is accessible now for $349 in two sizes and numerous colours.
- The wearable is well-designed and far thinner than a typical smartwatch. It has analog arms to indicate the time, a sturdy characteristic set for well being monitoring, and a battery that lasts a full month.
- The same old drawbacks of a hybrid smartwatch embody the dearth of detailed graphics, no GPS monitoring, and restricted interactions with incoming notifications.
How usually do you cost your smartwatch? A couple of times day-after-day? Too usually? Doing so often usually makes me marvel precisely how a lot worth I am getting out of these occasional notifications and alerts, and it is a large cause why I nonetheless have an affection for hybrid smartwatches.
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One in every of these is the primary Withings ScanWatch, launched in 2021. I’ve worn it often over the previous couple of years, primarily as a result of it feels unbelievable on the wrist whereas capturing key well being information. Every cost can last as long as one month.
At first look, the newer ScanWatch 2 is hard to differentiate from the unique, however it packs a couple of necessary upgrades that make one in every of my go-to well being trackers even higher.
I examined the ScanWatch 2 in Black (pictured beneath), however additionally it is accessible in Pearl White for the bigger dimension. The Black mannequin has arms that characteristic a Tremendous LumiNova coating so that they glow in the dead of night for a short while after publicity to mild. When you choose a smaller 38mm dimension, that is accessible in Pearl White, Black, Sand, and Blue. Curiously, each sizes value $349, so that you needn’t pay extra for a bigger watch face, which is sweet.
The 42mm ScanWatch 2 I have been sporting weighs about 52 grams and suits gently on the wrist. As a lot as I’ve loved the watch’s health-tracking capabilities, the feel and appear of the ScanWatch on my wrist are simply one in every of my favourite options.
The unique ScanWatch (left) subsequent to the brand new model (proper).
Matthew Miller/ZDNET
A domed sapphire glass covers the analog watch arms and inside OLED show. When paired with the stainless-steel case and rotating crown button, the watch screams class. So keep away from this if you happen to choose rugged, multi-textured sports activities watches.
Navigating the watch is as straightforward as rotating the crown button by means of the assorted shows and urgent in to make picks. There is no such thing as a again button, so you have to scroll by means of the accessible screens in every widget to get to the again possibility on the show and return to the unique essential show carousel.
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The ScanWatch 2 is constructed with a 5 ATM degree of water resistance, so I used to be in a position to put on it whereas working within the rain. If you’re a swimmer or surfer, you possibly can put on it and monitor these actions within the water as nicely.
Withings states that the ScanWatch 2 expenses up in two hours and will last as long as 30 days. I can affirm the charging time is correct, however I have never been utilizing the wearable on “watch mode” solely, so I am unable to affirm the 30-day battery life. I ran with the watch a number of instances whereas coaching for a marathon and linked it to my telephone to check the linked GPS functionality. While you use it for an exercise, particularly with linked GPS, the battery life might be considerably diminished.
On a optimistic observe, I have been in a position to put on the watch for much longer than my traditional health trackers. I as soon as took it on three runs, various from 35 to 55 minutes, and noticed the watch nonetheless final for over every week earlier than I needed to cost it up.
The Withings smartphone utility is surprisingly highly effective and might share its collected information with Apple Well being, Google Well being Join, and Google Match. The appliance additionally brings in information from different Withings units, together with its scales, blood strain screens, and extra so a full view of your complete bodily state is accessible within the app. The watch will retailer as much as seven days of information, so I recommend syncing it at the least as soon as every week.
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On the app, pores and skin temperature adjustments are proven on the backside of your every day exercise metrics (it initially took me some time to seek out the place this pores and skin information was being introduced) with a baseline plot and minimal and most adjustments all through the day. This data could also be used when understanding in heat environments the place warmth exhaustion could also be a priority. The one factor lacking right here is longer-term traits for physique temperature, which I’ve my fingers crossed that Withings will add in a future software program replace.
The ScanWatch 2 (proper) has bigger sensors and a flatter monitoring floor on the again than the unique (left).
Matthew Miller/ZDNET
The ScanWatch 2 may also carry out an ECG evaluation, measure blood oxygen ranges, monitor coronary heart fee all through the day, measure sleep, and monitor common bodily exercise. One gripe I’ve with the sleep monitoring on the watch is that it might probably’t distinguish between deep and REM sleep, so it isn’t essentially the most informative sleep-tracking system accessible as we speak.
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Lastly, along with the watch, Withings launched a subscription service much like Fitbit Premium, the place extra insights and metrics are supplied at a value. The service additionally consists of “Missions” supposed to assist encourage you to maneuver or eat nicely, whereas different modules will assist you in constructing higher health habits, resembling bettering your sleep scores. The month-to-month subscription is accessible for $9.95 or $99.50 per yr.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
Not solely is the Withings ScanWatch 2 a unbelievable timepiece due to its always-on analog arms, however it feels unbelievable on the wrist, has an extended battery life, and measures the important thing well being and wellness information wanted that will help you enhance your way of life. At $349, the smartwatch is fairly priced and competes nicely with others within the hybrid watches I’ve examined.
