CES 2022: Withings Unveils New 'Body Scan' Smart Scale

[friedmud]

I’m still looking for a scale that integrates with Apple Health natively. I haven’t purchased a “smart” scale yet because I don’t want any company having my data since all of the current offerings require you to sync to the respective apps before they will send the data to Apple Health.

The Withings scales directly put their data into the Health app. There is no extra “syncing” step or anything. You don’t even need to open the Withings app as the scale has Wi-Fi and directly uploads the information to Withings servers (which push it down to your phone).

This is way more convenient than any of those scales that require you to use their app with Bluetooth _while_ you are weighing yourself. Here it is seamless… stand on scale… and then the data is in your phone (both in the Withings app and the Health app).

 

[Tony_YYZ]

The Withings scales directly put their data into the Health app. There is no extra “syncing” step or anything. You don’t even need to open the Withings app as the scale has Wi-Fi and directly uploads the information to Withings servers (which push it down to your phone).

This is way more convenient than any of those scales that require you to use their app with Bluetooth _while_ you are weighing yourself. Here it is seamless… stand on scale… and then the data is in your phone (both in the Withings app and the Health app).

That’s just it though, I don’t want the data to go to the Withings servers. I want integration directly into Apple Health without leaving my network or going through a third party app. No such solution exists to my knowledge.

 

[Octavius8]

300usd??!!.
Thanks, no thanks. Are you crazy?

 

[macdos]

AND, perhaps eating differently will cause fat to be stored differently? Is sugar linked to visceral fat? I think most dieticians currently think so, but perhaps we don’t know enough yet to really say that.

Sugar is definitely the fattening molecule, and by extension so are most carbs.

Sugar triggers insulin, to avoid blood sugar levels rising above a certain value. The sugar is used as energy, stored as glycogen in your liver and your muscles, and all excess is converted to triglycerides, which are stored in your fat cells as a reserve.

Since people nowadays chew on stuff all the time, insulin levels never go down enough to allow the reverse process, and the fat therefore stays where it is and builds up. You become insulin resistent, and therefore hormonally locked in metabolic disease.

Solution: don't eat sugar and carbs, and don't eat all day long. Eat fat and protein and some veggies, and eat it in a set period every day, like six to eight hours in total.

 

[BeefCake 15]

FDA clearance takes too long…

Clearance is not that big of a deal, doesn't say much to how viable it is.

What matters is not the number, it's the trend.

Exactly! Precision vs. accuracy.

 

[AZMecha]

Well Good Grief…. Has the upgrade game now reached health scales… I just purchased the the body & cardio+ Over Christmas an now it’s obsolete!!!

 

[svish]

Seems like a good product. But $300 is too high.

 

[Jaro65]

I bought the original Withings Body Scale in 2012 and have been tracking my weight.

The interesting thing I noticed is when you step on the scale every morning at the same time, you can directly correlate to what you had to eat the previous day. I stopped eating processed foods in 2014 and my weight dropped like a rock without stepping in a gym or exercising.

My employer sponsored health incentives has rewards for simply syncing Apple Health data, up to $600 per year. Paid for itself several times over.


View attachment 1938505

Nice result! And also a good choice regarding processed food.

I also use my Withings scale in a similar fashion. It is well worth it. Not sure though I'd pay $300 for the new one.

 

[Red Viking]

I don't need that scale to tell me my heart rate just went up just looking at the price.

 

[alexandr]

I'm 38 and I've never bought a scale... I don't care about some arbitrary number that may fluctuate a little here and there.

I guess that's one of the many perks that come with not making terrible food choices.

but what about weighing your suitcase before you travel?..

 

[alexandr]

dang, that looks sleek. huge withings fan, wish i'd known this was in the works)

 

[mnsportsgeek]

This is cool. Expensive. But cool. I’m actually tempted to get one.

 

[Boatboy24]

Is this one of those devices that will phone home to the vendor (and other unknown parties) with your email address and personal biometric data?

No, but it will soon call your insurance provider.

 

[OliOliOliOli]

$299.95 that’s outrageous. Way too expensive

But it does look very sleek.

If is sleek that’s all right!

 

[name99]

That is an amazing amount of functionality for a set of scales. I will probably upgrade my current body comp scales to this when it hits the market.

Yes and no. Note what's not being said -- what devices can it connect to outside the scale? And most importantly HOW DOES IT CONNECT?

The big problem with all these smart scales is that they are designed by UI idiots. In particular the user experience is supposed to be
- wake up your phone
- start their special app
- step on the scale
- wait for it to transfer data to the special app

This is basically a terrible experience, especially if your hands are wet (because you have been doing bathroom things) or it's cold (and you have no clothes on). And yet this experience has remained unchanged for 10 yrs!
A well-designed system would transfer the data via some mechanism that requires ZERO user interaction; one possibility IMHO is to transfer the data to an aTV which can then provide it to the phone when the app asks for it. Another possibility (less desirable for multiple reasons) is to transfer the data to an external server.

But until this basic UI flaw is fixed, don't be fooled. You can buy one of these smart scales, but you will hate it every day you use it because it's so painful to use in ways that should be so easy to fix.

 

[danny842003]

Obviously. The fact that you derived that from my statement tells me you have a problem with food and my statement made you feel insecure. You might want to work on that...

Not at all I’m a good weight, run 40km a week pretty secure in myself.
I’m just not dimwitted enough to not realise peoples issues are often much larger than food choices.

 

[jooish]

I can dig it. It's curiosity about the morbid trend of constantly monitoring your vital stats. No healthy person does that.

As Americans invest in ever more such devices, and as they spend ever more time in the gym, they just become fatter and fatter…

You guys need to change your diet. Stop eating sugary carbs, skip breakfast and lunch.

People refuse to take responsibility for their lifestyle choices and then say things like "some people gain weight because they're on medication that makes them gain weight" as if that applies to everyone that's obese.

It's really pathetic... and dangerous to perpetuate the idea the people have little control over their outcome.

 

[macdos]

People refuse to take responsibility for their lifestyle choices and then say things like "some people gain weight because they're on medication that makes them gain weight" as if that applies to everyone that's obese.

Oh, but soon it will, when just about every American is not only pre-diabetic, but has full-blown diabetes. Insulin creates weight gain no matter how much you eat or exercise, and insulin is the "medicine" given for diabetes…

 

[SalisburySam]

This is Withings wet dream for 3 new income streams: 1- $300 up front, 2- subscription fees forever, 3- sale of your health data to insurance actuaries with updates forever. Oh yeah, the fourth income stream: sale of your email address to spammers et al. Where in the world do I sign up?

 

[Jamie0003]

This sounds awesome. Will definitely be upgrading from my current model.

Apple take note, THIS is how to innovate and update your products.

By charging more you mean? Very innovative. Apple does this too

 

[spazzcat]

$299.95 that’s outrageous. Way too expensive

But it does look very sleek.

A basic body scanner can easily cost over $1000.

 

[dysamoria]

I'm 38 and I've never bought a scale... I don't care about some arbitrary number that may fluctuate a little here and there.

I guess that's one of the many perks that come with not making terrible food choices.

There’s a lot more to it than food selection. Stress and lack of restful, deep sleep (not merely R.E.M. sleep) has a major connection to weight issues.

Plus, with all the effing psych drugs people are on, they can gain unwanted weight while eating healthy (or thinking they are*). That’s exactly what happened to me. I’m off all the drugs but still haven’t gotten rid of the fat I put on SUDDENLY, at age 29, thanks to one specific drug. It’s been 16 years.

*I ate healthy, but I didn’t know about the sleep eating caused by one anti-anxiety drug (prescribed to suppress the anxiety created by the antidepressant, prescribed because of coercion and BS doctoring, after having a life mate dump me, because somehow it’s bad to grieve being dumped by a girlfriend). Yeah, SLEEP eating. No BS. Mertazepine blocked the metabolization of carbs, so the body freaked out about no carb availability, causing monstrous carb cravings. Combine that with stress & neurology-related sleep disorders, and BAM. Sleep eating. Eff ALL the way off with those damned drugs. This footnote is longer than the main comment, ha.

 

[dysamoria]

I bought the original Withings Body Scale in 2012 and have been tracking my weight.

The interesting thing I noticed is when you step on the scale every morning at the same time, you can directly correlate to what you had to eat the previous day. I stopped eating processed foods in 2014 and my weight dropped like a rock without stepping in a gym or exercising.

My employer sponsored health incentives has rewards for simply syncing Apple Health data, up to $600 per year. Paid for itself several times over.


View attachment 1938505

I notice the weight issue with processed foods too. Preservatives and protein heavy stuff takes longer to get through the digestive system, it seems.

I’m not keen on those employer “health discounts” programs. They’re basically datamining you and then punishing people with higher prices for choosing not to submit their data for the company to make a second stream of profit off the same people.

 

[jooish]

There’s a lot more to it than food selection. Stress and lack of restful, deep sleep (not merely R.E.M. sleep) has a major connection to weight issues.

Plus, with all the effing psych drugs people are on, they can gain unwanted weight while eating healthy (or thinking they are*). That’s exactly what happened to me. I’m off all the drugs but still haven’t gotten rid of the fat I put on SUDDENLY, at age 29, thanks to one specific drug. It’s been 16 years.

*I ate healthy, but I didn’t know about the sleep eating caused by one anti-anxiety drug (prescribed to suppress the anxiety created by the antidepressant, prescribed because of coercion and BS doctoring, after having a life mate dump me, because somehow it’s bad to grieve being dumped by a girlfriend). Yeah, SLEEP eating. No BS. Mertazepine blocked the metabolization of carbs, so the body freaked out about no carb availability, causing monstrous carb cravings. Combine that with stress & neurology-related sleep disorders, and BAM. Sleep eating. Eff ALL the way off with those damned drugs. This footnote is longer than the main comment, ha.

I can appreciate that. Over 1 in 10 Americans are diabetic and over 42% are obese. About 66% of Americans are on prescription medication. My question is to what extent has poor food choices contributed to the need of prescription medication in the first place. Eating poorly will 100% effect your ability to sleep, negative thoughts, etc.

People need to get back to their roots and eat meats, organs, eggs, fruits, raw honey and raw dairy. Less time on their computers & phones, stop watching the news, more time in the sun, more moving around, and spending time with like minded non-toxic individuals that aren't under the spell of mass formation psychosis.

The massive consumption of vegetable oils, seed oils, soy and refined sugar is what has changed society the most in the past decades. If you're overweight and struggling to get down to size, just cut out sugar and carbs completely. Your body will start burning fat as fuel, and you will also have cleaner and longer lasting energy. Then once you reach your goal you can slowly reintroduce healthy low toxicity carbs. I'm not a doctor or nutritionist, but this is common knowledge amongst people that have personal experience with that advice.

 

[danny842003]

I can appreciate that. Over 1 in 10 Americans are diabetic and over 42% are obese. About 66% of Americans are on prescription medication. My question is to what extent has poor food choices contributed to the need of prescription medication in the first place. Eating poorly will 100% effect your ability to sleep, negative thoughts, etc.

People need to get back to their roots and eat meats, organs, eggs, fruits, raw honey and raw dairy. Less time on their computers & phones, stop watching the news, more time in the sun, more moving around, and spending time with like minded non-toxic individuals that aren't under the spell of mass formation psychosis.

The massive consumption of vegetable oils, seed oils, soy and refined sugar is what has changed society the most in the past decades. If you're overweight and struggling to get down to size, just cut out sugar and carbs completely. Your body will start burning fat as fuel, and you will also have cleaner and longer lasting energy. Then once you reach your goal you can slowly reintroduce healthy low toxicity carbs. I'm not a doctor or nutritionist, but this is common knowledge amongst people that have personal experience with that advice.

Do you accept almost all of the above isn’t quite as simple as you make it out to be? Like factually you’re correct but there’s a big gulf between being correct and being rooted in the real world.