Withings WS-50 Smart Body Analyser Scales Review
A couple of months ago I received a tweet from a company called Withings, saying out important it is to keep track of your weight. When I looked into it, I found Withings make a range of very fancy scales so I thought I'd be cheeky and tweet them back asking if they'd like me to review a set for the forum
Several weeks later I received a box in the post and was most excited to unpack it to reveal a shiny new set of Withings WS-50 scales, these beauties retail for around £130 - not money to be spent lightly but would it be a sound investment for someone keen to watch their weight?
The scales themselves are stunning - a gloss black finish with backlit screen, very sleek. They come with an extra set of feet to stand them on if you need to use them on carpet, which is handy. I don't have carpet so these are still in the box.
"Why pay so much for a set of scales?", I hear you ask! Well, these scales are special. They don't just weigh you, oh no! They weigh you, analyse your body fat, measure your heart rate, keep track of the CO2 levels and temperature in the room and get this - they have WiFi and Bluetooth! All they're lacking is the kitchen sink and the ability to sing and dance
I'm sure we've all had that awful experience with a new set of scales, stepping on to find the old ones were lying or the new ones have a different opinion. It's often not for the better. Well, I was thrilled to find when I stepped on 'Mr Withings' (the scales are so fancy they needed a posh sounding name) he weighed me just 300g (less than 1lb) higher than my old scales. And given that Mr Withings has not one but four weight sensors to more accurately assess your weight I'm sure he can be trusted. These sensors not only allow for greater accuracy but also allow the scales to check whether you're standing correctly - too much to one side or another and it will indicate on the screen where the load is unbalanced. Genius!
The body fat analysis sadly finds me higher in fat than my previous scales - and unfortunately I'm inclined to believe it. Still, 30% for a woman is at the upper healthy range so not the worst result. This is about 3% higher than my old scales said. I know I've still lost a lot. The instructions manual which comes with the scales is actually quite helpful in explaining that one should not weigh immediately on waking up but should move around for a while first, as lying in one position for too long can cause false readings due to the way water and so on sits differently in the body overnight. Getting up and moving around will therefore promote a more accurate reading.
Okay, so those are the basics. The heart rate reading is interesting (mine seems to vary quite a lot, not sure what this means and I should probably look into it) and I love the way Mr Withings is so concerned about my wellbeing that throughout the day he will make a note of the temperature and CO2 levels in the room. Very considerate!
But is all that worth £130? Maybe not on its own. But now couple it with the Withings App which you need to install on your phone, tablet or computer and suddenly things get more interesting. Within 10 minutes of unboxing the scales I had installed the App and configured it to communicate with the scales. From the App you can set up different users for the scales too, who are identified based on their weight. If two users are close in weight the scales will present you with the option to choose which account the data should be applied to by way of a rather ingenious method - both sets of initials are displayed on the scales, each with a foot icon on opposite sides. You need to place more weight on the indicated side to select which user (ie, lift off your other foot a little). Alternatively you can assign the data via the App if you are unable to select via the scales.
The App itself is fairly simple, charting your weight and allowing you to specify a goal weight and timescale. I was a little disappointed to find the minimum weekly loss goal was 0.5kg/1lb as my loss has slowed considerabley now I have less to lose and it's a little disheartening to not reach the goals. Likewise the App suggests you should weigh only once a week or less often and at the same time of day. So if you, like me, enjoy stepping on the scales at different times of day just to see how it fluctuates then you may be a little upset to see it all automatically charted for you and the App declaring you have gained weight or have more to lose to reach goal. It would be nice if there was a 5:2 version of the app or a way to tell it to only consider certain 'key' weights/times towards the goals. You can always delete the ones which were stepping on the scales just out of curiousity, a couple of taps on the App and they're gone.
All the other data is also transmitted to the App and it keeps a little graphical chart of your health levels based on your initial data entered in the App and your current weight, BMI, fat % and heart rate. It's also nice that all the temperature/CO2 data the scales pick up throughout the day (hourly, I believe) is transferred to the App and charted so you can see how stable your environment is, whether lack of fresh air might be making you sleepy or sluggish etc.
There is a certain novelty value to the whole thing for me at least, having it all charted automatically and being able to poke through the data on the App to see that the CO2 in the house went up when we had friends over, or how it changes through the night etc.
Other Withings products are also available to tie in with the App, such as the 'Pulse' device which measures your activity levels (like a super fancy pedometer) and measures your sleep quality as well. I'm now wondering if this would make a nice Christmas present for hubby to get me as I'm fascinated by this longer term data and what the App may be able to do with it in future. I believe there are also other compatible Apps which the Withings scales & devices can work with and I'd like to look into these to see what they can do with the data.
Overall I'd say the scales are lovely - they feel well built and reliable, are easy to set up and offer an interesting set of data. My only complaint about them is that I've been forced to use the Bluetooth option as I can't find a way to give it Wifi details for a network which doesn't broadcast its name - but that's not really a problem as I'm at home often enough for it to transmit to my tablet by Bluetooth. If I worked away from home it would be cool to check on the house CO2 and temperature in my absence but not especially useful really
So, would I recommend the scales? Yes I would, if you can justify the spend or find them on offer. It's a lot to invest, but then the whole point of 5:2 is that we are investing in ourselves and better health. If you're struggling to think of a Christmas gift, forget the chocolates and ask for a set of Withings scales
More information about the Withings scales can be found here:
http://www.withings.com/en/bodyanalyzer
Or you can buy from Amazon and support this site in the process!
Big thanks to Withings for allowing me to try out the scales
A couple of months ago I received a tweet from a company called Withings, saying out important it is to keep track of your weight. When I looked into it, I found Withings make a range of very fancy scales so I thought I'd be cheeky and tweet them back asking if they'd like me to review a set for the forum
Several weeks later I received a box in the post and was most excited to unpack it to reveal a shiny new set of Withings WS-50 scales, these beauties retail for around £130 - not money to be spent lightly but would it be a sound investment for someone keen to watch their weight?
The scales themselves are stunning - a gloss black finish with backlit screen, very sleek. They come with an extra set of feet to stand them on if you need to use them on carpet, which is handy. I don't have carpet so these are still in the box.
"Why pay so much for a set of scales?", I hear you ask! Well, these scales are special. They don't just weigh you, oh no! They weigh you, analyse your body fat, measure your heart rate, keep track of the CO2 levels and temperature in the room and get this - they have WiFi and Bluetooth! All they're lacking is the kitchen sink and the ability to sing and dance
I'm sure we've all had that awful experience with a new set of scales, stepping on to find the old ones were lying or the new ones have a different opinion. It's often not for the better. Well, I was thrilled to find when I stepped on 'Mr Withings' (the scales are so fancy they needed a posh sounding name) he weighed me just 300g (less than 1lb) higher than my old scales. And given that Mr Withings has not one but four weight sensors to more accurately assess your weight I'm sure he can be trusted. These sensors not only allow for greater accuracy but also allow the scales to check whether you're standing correctly - too much to one side or another and it will indicate on the screen where the load is unbalanced. Genius!
The body fat analysis sadly finds me higher in fat than my previous scales - and unfortunately I'm inclined to believe it. Still, 30% for a woman is at the upper healthy range so not the worst result. This is about 3% higher than my old scales said. I know I've still lost a lot. The instructions manual which comes with the scales is actually quite helpful in explaining that one should not weigh immediately on waking up but should move around for a while first, as lying in one position for too long can cause false readings due to the way water and so on sits differently in the body overnight. Getting up and moving around will therefore promote a more accurate reading.
Okay, so those are the basics. The heart rate reading is interesting (mine seems to vary quite a lot, not sure what this means and I should probably look into it) and I love the way Mr Withings is so concerned about my wellbeing that throughout the day he will make a note of the temperature and CO2 levels in the room. Very considerate!
But is all that worth £130? Maybe not on its own. But now couple it with the Withings App which you need to install on your phone, tablet or computer and suddenly things get more interesting. Within 10 minutes of unboxing the scales I had installed the App and configured it to communicate with the scales. From the App you can set up different users for the scales too, who are identified based on their weight. If two users are close in weight the scales will present you with the option to choose which account the data should be applied to by way of a rather ingenious method - both sets of initials are displayed on the scales, each with a foot icon on opposite sides. You need to place more weight on the indicated side to select which user (ie, lift off your other foot a little). Alternatively you can assign the data via the App if you are unable to select via the scales.
The App itself is fairly simple, charting your weight and allowing you to specify a goal weight and timescale. I was a little disappointed to find the minimum weekly loss goal was 0.5kg/1lb as my loss has slowed considerabley now I have less to lose and it's a little disheartening to not reach the goals. Likewise the App suggests you should weigh only once a week or less often and at the same time of day. So if you, like me, enjoy stepping on the scales at different times of day just to see how it fluctuates then you may be a little upset to see it all automatically charted for you and the App declaring you have gained weight or have more to lose to reach goal. It would be nice if there was a 5:2 version of the app or a way to tell it to only consider certain 'key' weights/times towards the goals. You can always delete the ones which were stepping on the scales just out of curiousity, a couple of taps on the App and they're gone.
All the other data is also transmitted to the App and it keeps a little graphical chart of your health levels based on your initial data entered in the App and your current weight, BMI, fat % and heart rate. It's also nice that all the temperature/CO2 data the scales pick up throughout the day (hourly, I believe) is transferred to the App and charted so you can see how stable your environment is, whether lack of fresh air might be making you sleepy or sluggish etc.
There is a certain novelty value to the whole thing for me at least, having it all charted automatically and being able to poke through the data on the App to see that the CO2 in the house went up when we had friends over, or how it changes through the night etc.
Other Withings products are also available to tie in with the App, such as the 'Pulse' device which measures your activity levels (like a super fancy pedometer) and measures your sleep quality as well. I'm now wondering if this would make a nice Christmas present for hubby to get me as I'm fascinated by this longer term data and what the App may be able to do with it in future. I believe there are also other compatible Apps which the Withings scales & devices can work with and I'd like to look into these to see what they can do with the data.
Overall I'd say the scales are lovely - they feel well built and reliable, are easy to set up and offer an interesting set of data. My only complaint about them is that I've been forced to use the Bluetooth option as I can't find a way to give it Wifi details for a network which doesn't broadcast its name - but that's not really a problem as I'm at home often enough for it to transmit to my tablet by Bluetooth. If I worked away from home it would be cool to check on the house CO2 and temperature in my absence but not especially useful really
So, would I recommend the scales? Yes I would, if you can justify the spend or find them on offer. It's a lot to invest, but then the whole point of 5:2 is that we are investing in ourselves and better health. If you're struggling to think of a Christmas gift, forget the chocolates and ask for a set of Withings scales
More information about the Withings scales can be found here:
http://www.withings.com/en/bodyanalyzer
Or you can buy from Amazon and support this site in the process!
Big thanks to Withings for allowing me to try out the scales
