Review: Withings ScanWatch 2

I’ve made it quite plain in several other wearables reviews, but to repeat it here: I don’t like smartwatches.They provide health data that I find interesting and valuable and want access to, but I despise having another screen in my life, distracting me from my wrist. With all features enabled, your smartwatch of choice is just mirroring the messages, notifications, and updates from your phones, providing a way to make it even more distracting. But if you turn them all off, you’re left with something styleless on your wrist, which is greatly over-engineered — and more expensive — than you need. It feels needlessly wasteful to buy one only to turn them all off.But that doesn’t mean I’m opposed to wearables; I want that same health tracking, analysis, and information, but in a less distracting form factor. It’s why I love my Oura Ring — a smart-ring that tracks all this information for me and sends it to an app. But if you want smartwatch functionality in a classic-looking watch, Withings has the best option available.Withings ScanWatch 2. Courtesy of WithingsOn the surface, their ScanWatch line is attractive if generic, and it is offered in various sizes and shapes. The ScanWatch 2 comes in the rounded single subdial 38mm white dial version I tried or the dual subdial, chunkier 42mm version. They also sell the new, more premium 42mm “ScanWatch Nova,” generously inspired by the Rolex Submariner.As watches, they are inoffensive if indistinct — thicker than you’d expect for a watch of this style but not chunky or heavy — and they elevate their somewhat generic look through their range of elegant rubber and leather straps, along with a France fabric band for the Olympics.However, their magic is hidden in the sensors against your wrist, and the small screen hidden in that subdial, which you navigate through by clicking and scrolling the crown. Through this, you can record exercises, measure your heart rate, check your steps, sleep data, and other health metrics, and set timers and alarms. I generally trust the health metrics of Withings — I own their Sleep under-mattress monitor and Body Comp scale and sleep tracker — and wearing the ScanWatch 2 alongside an Apple Watch bore this out; the data was very similar.This can all sync to Google Health or Apple Health, but I usually just checked it in Withings own app, which is stylish, easy to navigate, and offers helpful advice. Additionally, all of this is available for free, but if you want, their Withings+ subscription uses that information to run you through various plans and practices for improved sleep, exercise, or overall health. These were somewhat underwhelming — rather than adapting to your individual requirements and progress, it was highly prescriptive — but others may disagree.Overall, though, I like the ScanWatch 2. It’s visually inoffensive, doesn’t distract you, and provides all the health tracking and information you want. For a blend of classic watch design and modern smartwatch features, it’s hard to do better than this.

Review: Withings ScanWatch 2

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