Withings ScanWatch After Several Years of Use | A "Regular Watch" Smartwatch You Forget to Charge

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I started using the Withings "ScanWatch" several years ago — around when it was released, I believe. When people hear "smartwatch," they tend to picture a big screen lined with apps, but this watch is different. At a glance, it is an ordinary analog watch. And yet it tracks your sleep and steps, and receives notifications from your phone. After several years with it, this is a watch I can genuinely recommend, so I will write about both what I liked and, honestly, what bothered me.

The basics

The ScanWatch is a hybrid smartwatch made by Withings, a French company. It tells the time with analog hands, and a small display at the top of the dial shows things like heart rate, step count and notifications. It can measure heart rate, blood oxygen (SpO2), ECG, sleep, steps and activity. The battery officially lasts up to 30 days. Note that the model I use is the first-generation one, and new sales of it have essentially ended. The successor currently on sale in Japan is the "ScanWatch Vitals" (equivalent to the ScanWatch 2 sold overseas), among others. However, the Vitals differs from the first generation in some respects — for example, it does not support ECG. Prices vary by timing and retailer, so please check the latest price on the sales page.

The biggest selling point: overwhelming battery life

After several years, the number one thing I would praise is how overwhelmingly good the battery life is. There are plenty of weeks when I don't charge it even once. Smartwatches are feature-rich, but many people give up on them because of the "charge it every night" image. With this watch, you can almost forget that charging exists.

Long battery life also pays off in tracking. Sleep tracking assumes you are wearing the watch while you sleep, which clashes with watches that sit on a charger at night. With this one, you can sleep with it on and just keep wearing it the next day. Having virtually no days of "I forgot to charge it, so there's no data" is a modest but real sense of security.

It looks like just a watch

The other strength is that, at a glance, it looks like nothing but an ordinary analog watch. It doesn't announce itself as a smartwatch, so you can wear it unobtrusively. I find this understated quality stylish, and it is why I can wear it in any setting. Even when the screen lights up with a notification, people around you won't notice "that's a smartwatch."

Features: pretty much everything I expected is covered

As for features, I feel it covers what I expected from a smartwatch: sleep tracking, step and activity tracking, and notifications from apps such as LINE. It is not an "everything included, high-end" device; instead, the balance is "the features you use every day are properly there." It also measures heart rate, blood oxygen and ECG, so I have never felt it lacking as a health log.

Weight and size: perfectly ordinary

To be honest, it is not particularly light. But it isn't bulky either, so it never feels in the way. Frankly, this aspect is probably not much different from other smartwatches. It doesn't sell itself on lightness; instead, you can wear it without any awkwardness, as an extension of an ordinary watch.

Durability is beyond complaint — with one sync problem

Durability is beyond complaint: after several years of use, it still works without problems. For something you wear every day, that is a point I can appreciate straightforwardly.

However, there was one occasion that left me dissatisfied. The watch stopped syncing properly with the official app. I managed to recover by restarting and setting it up again, but it took effort, so some dissatisfaction remains on this point. It happened only once in several years, but "stability of the app connection" is exactly the kind of thing you care about in a product you use for a long time.

It may not be for you if…

It is not for people who want top-tier health measurements such as blood pressure. It measures heart rate, blood oxygen and ECG, but not blood pressure. If you expect detailed, medical-grade tracking, you will likely find it insufficient.

It is also not for people who want app features like an Apple Watch. You cannot add apps or look at maps. It is strictly a "watch + tracking + notifications" product.

Conclusion

The Withings ScanWatch is a product that deliberately cut away the weaknesses of smartwatches: "battery that lasts so long you forget to charge, and a look that is just an ordinary watch." After several years it hasn't broken, and it handles sleep, steps and notifications. There was that one app sync problem, but even taking that into account, as an "everyday watch" its level of polish is high, in my view. On the other hand, it is not for people who want advanced measurements like blood pressure, or app features like maps. "A watch-like watch that is just as smart as it needs to be." If that is what you are looking for, I think it remains a recommendable option even several years after its release.

The current successor model is here. The first-generation ScanWatch I use is sold out, so the links lead to its successor, the current "ScanWatch Vitals" (Rakuten: 42mm Black; Amazon Japan: 38mm Black — the 42mm is not sold on Amazon Japan). This review is about the first-generation model I used, not about the successor. Both links are to Japanese retailers.

* Prices and stock change. Please check the latest information on the linked page before purchasing.