Withings Body Scan review – a new high in performance (and price)

The Withings Body Scan sets a new benchmark for the capabilities of modern smart scales. It's both Wi Fi and Bluetooth enabled, has a build quality and design that sets it apart from the pack, a clear and responsive display, and can provide more in depth analysis of a user's body composition and physical well being than its major competitors like Eufy, Wyze, Fitbit and Garmin .

When used with the Withings Health Mate app, the Withings Body Scan can not only provide you with an analysis of your body composition, the ratio of fat to muscle to bone that makes up your body but also outline where your measurements sit in comparison to healthy averages. Using this information, it can identify trends in changes to your measurements over time, letting you know if you're gaining or losing weight and how you compare to averages for your age and gender.

For those needing specialized data readings – for example, if you are pregnant or an athlete – the Withings Body Scan can adapt its measurement methods accordingly, to ensure readings are as accurate as possible whilst remaining safe and impressively efficient for the user. In pregnancy mode, it'll tell you the approximate size and weight of your baby depending on how far along you are.

The Withings Body Scan's key drawback for most people will be the price tag. Sitting at nearly £200 more than the next cheapest Withings smart scale, there aren't that many reasons to spend that much more on a scale. However, if you are looking to take a deep dive into your body composition, take steps to improve your long term health and habits, or are a keen fitness enthusiast looking to get the most out of your workouts, the value for money will show itself in the long run.

The Withings Body Scan is on the considerably pricier side for a smart scale. However, the unique measurements and level of accuracy you receive for the price mean that if you're looking for an all in one health station, it's almost understandable. The Withings Body Scan is currently available for $399.95 / £349.95, Users in Australia can't get it from Withings directly, so prices may vary there.

As with all products that come from Withings, the Withings Body Scan is an undoubtedly stylish and robust device. You can get the Withings Body Scan in either a white or black color, both of which feature lighter banding across the scale which is used to send small electrical signals through your body to gather your body measurements.

The Withings Body Scan features a 3.2 inch color LCD display, measures 12.8 inches in both length and width, and only comes 1.1 inches off the floor thanks to its extremely thin base pads which run along either side. These also help give the Body Scan a very sturdy feel across the base when taking measurements.

The device also uses a tempered glass panel on the front of the scale, and weighs around 4.8kg overall, giving the device a premium feel despite the plastic used across the underside of the scale. Thanks to the tempered glass front, as well as the overall sturdiness of the build of the Withings Body Scan, the smart scale can handle weights up to 200kg / 440lbs / 31.5 stone, all while retaining the device's impressive 50g/0.1lb weight reading accuracy.

Some of the key design features of the Withings Body Scan revolve around the handle which acts as one of the key improvements over other Withings body scales. The handle, and its on scale holder, are made of the same plastic used across the rest of the device, and use a well braided cable to attach one to the other.

The handle and cable are light enough that you should experience no issues while holding them, whilst also not being so light that they feel cheap or underdeveloped. The electrodes on the handle are also usefully positioned to allow easy access for your thumbs on both sides. Given the importance of the handle to the improved metrics the Withings Body Scan can provide, these steps have been well considered, even to such an extent that, with your smart scale, you also receive a wall mount for your handle, which means should you struggle leaning down to reach it from the scale itself, you can simply mount it to the wall and use it from there.

It should be noted, however, that should you choose to mount your handle to the wall, Withings asks that you set this up in the app to ensure the device still gives as accurate readings as possible. This is a simple enough process and takes a matter of seconds. The features of the Withings Body Scan smart scale are where the device really comes into its own.

To give you a sense of just how much the Body Scan does whilst you're on the scale, here's everything your smart scale is measuring while you're stood on that piece of glass, it measures: And that's before everything else you can integrate into the app! If you integrate your Apple Health, Google Fit, or most other fitness apps, your Withings Health Mate app can become a hub for everything from your vascular age to your sleep quality, you can keep all your data in one place and utilise it to better your daily routines, workouts, sleep, eating and long term health.

When testing the Withings Body Scan, the only two of the many measurements above that we struggled with were Pulse Wave Velocity and Vascular Age. These measurements required a slightly more specific positioning on the scale which proved tricky to master, and the scale required five complete readings before it could start giving you data, which resulted in a greatly reduced amount of data compared to other areas.

Getting all of this data is one thing, understanding it is another, and this is an area where, once again, Withings has hit the nail on the head through the Health Mate app. Through the app, not only are you able to turn on recommended zones and see average data and how you compare to the average in each measurement, but you can also find guides explaining what each measurement means, so if, say, you don't understand what vascular age means, you can find a guide explaining everything you need to know about where it should be, and how it can be improved.

If you are working with a trainer or health professional, you're also in luck, as the app allows you to create a shareable report of your health that you can give to anyone who might benefit from it, a simple, but effective addition to the app. Straight out of the box the simplicity and efficiency of Withings products is as present as ever.

Setting up the device takes a matter of minutes through the Withings Health Mate app. If you are new to Withings and don't have an account, the setup of an account plus getting your Withings Body Scan ready takes a maximum of 15 minutes. In that time, you'll also be able to import health data from services such as Apple Health or Google Fit, as well as receive a full tutorial on how to properly use your new smart scale and set some goals in the app.

There are a wide array of tutorials available on additional features within the app, some of which – the at a a glance health improvement score and library of how to workout/recipe/health management content – are unfortunately locked behind a Withings+ subscription. This costs $9.95 / £9.95 / around AU$18 per month, but none of it affects the usage of the scale in any way – still, it'd be nice to have after spending this much on a smart scale.

Once your Withings Body Scan is set up, utilizing it for not only your own, but your family's health is simple. The device can support up to eight profiles, which it can automatically detect. If however, a number of you are of similar weights, the device shows each profile as a list, which you scroll through by balancing on the foot of the direction you wish to scroll, so to go along the list, you simply need to put your weight on your right foot.

The process of attaining your measurements takes around a minute, most of which is taken up by one of the unique features of the Withings Body Scan, the 6 lead ECG (echocardiogram). The ECG takes 30 seconds to complete and is one of the key benefactors of the Body Scan's unique handle. Each step of the measurement process is displayed for you on the 3.2 inch display, showing you the results of each test as they are collected, as well as some general daily info such as weather and air quality.

You can customize the steps your Body Scan shows on the smart scale through the app, meaning if, understandably, you don't want to know the weather when you're weighing in, you can remove that from your slides. The display (and device) are noticeably responsive, and the bright LCD makes it easy to see everything you need as and when it comes up.

Once you are finished, your results will already be waiting for you in your Withings Health Mate app, meaning it's quick and simple to access the more in depth data with no waiting around. Overall, using the Withings Body Scan is extremely simple, everything you want to know can be seen on the smart scale itself during your weigh in, and more detailed information can be found in the app once you are finished.

The accuracy of measurements taken is extremely high, with weight having an accuracy of up to 50g/0.1lbs thanks to the four weight sensors spread across the scale, as well as featuring patented position detection technology and 'Position Control' technology. The Body Scan's segmental body composition capabilities are equally impressive thanks to the device's BIA (bio electrical impedance analysis) multifrequency technology, which during testing was able to provide consistent results across five different bodily segments.

You want a full health assessment on your doorstep With the sheer number of measurements the Withings Body Scan is able to take, there are few (if any!) devices that will come close if you want a complete picture of your health and wellbeing. You want a long term solution to improve your health The sheer amount of information, guides and analysis you can access thanks to data collected by the Withings Smart Scan makes it easy to assess and improve your long term health.

You're not fussed about having every single measurement There are many smart scales available which will give you an extremely strong indication of your wellbeing for a fraction of the price, but you may sacrifice some functionality. You're only just starting your journey in fitness If you're just starting out, the sheer amount of data may not validate the price tag till you can fully understand it, and there are many cheap and effective options out there Withings Body Comp As the next offer down from Withings, the Body Comp offers a great alternative for those looking to access the various benefits of the Withings Health Mate app whilst sacrificing some of the more accurate and more detailed measurements Garmin Index S2 An alternative suited to Garmin users.

The Index S2 offers a number of Garmin tailored features, for a reduced price, whilst sacrificing some of the accuracy and detailed measurements offered by the Withings Body Scan.