After sporting a full-fledged smartwatch for months on end now, I am loathe to switch to analog or hybrid. Why would I trade-in for something that has fewer features and insights into my health and fitness? Turns out, the new Withings ScanWatch 2 had the answer to that question.   A hybrid smartwatch, the Withings Scanwatch 2 sports the aesthetics of a classy analog watch, while offering some of the essential functions of a smartwatch. I loved sporting the 32 mm version on my wrist. It felt lightweight at 52 grams, looked elegant, and easily passed off for a traditional watch.  The device has an OLED screen built with sapphire glass, which makes it fairly resilient. The device is waterproof for up to 5 ATMs, so you should be able to take it along for quick 10-minute scuba sessions at a stretch.    

Health & fitness

The silver crown on the side helps me navigate through the different health and fitness functions and access settings within. I can easily track my steps, distance covered, stairs climbed, heart rate, ambient temperature, and weather.  The watch helps users track different sports activities, but the options visible on the watchface are limited to the basics - running, swimming, cycling, walking, and indoor running. If there’s anything else you’d like to track, you’d have to choose a generic ‘Others’ and track it.  

Like its predecessor, the latest upgrade also lets me track my ECG and blood oxygen saturation levels, alongside improved sleep data. The insights are super helpful and tell me how long I slept, whether I slept deeply, how regular my sleep schedule is, when my sleep was disturbed, and my average heart rate through the night. I do miss the ability to control music from my watch, take calls from it, or even browse through a hundred watchfaces to settle on my favourites. While notifications and phone messages pop up on the watch I can’t really use the watch to do anything about it. I’ll still need to respond to messages or revisit a notification on my smartphone. 

Battery

The Withings ScanWatch 2 comes with an interesting charging dock, which has a cable input while the watch stays snugly latched onto the dock. The battery life on the watch was anyway expected to be great because it’s hybrid and without a big, virtual screen, it just doesn’t expend that much energy. The promised battery life on the device is 30 days on a full charge, While I haven’t used it for a whole month yet I can see this being true. When I started using it at 96 per cent charge, the power didn’t drop by a percentage even after 2-3 days of use which was super impressive. The watch also lacks GPS which is another reason why it doesn’t lose charge too quickly. Its long-lasting battery life also made it much easier to track my sleep, which isn’t possible on my regular smartwatch without charging it before going to bed, and then again in the morning so I can use it throughout the day to track my activity. 

Verdict

The Withings ScanWatch 2, as a hybrid smartwatch, makes for an interesting choice. It’s more for those who want to track their basic health and fitness parameters without the hassle of having to manage one more smart device! Its long battery life helps matters too, along with an interesting app user interface. If you’re already using a smartwatch and love that experience, you may not take to this. However, if basic parameters housed in an elegant watch form are what you’re looking for then the Withings ScanWatch 2 might be up your alley. However, given its features, a lower price tag would have helped matters, considering its competitors such as Garmin and Fitbit both offer similar features at a lower price tag. 

Snapshot
Price - ₹34,999 onwards
Pros - Elegant design, interesting UI, tracks ample health parameters
Cons - Cannot customise display/watchface, no inbuilt GPS, cannot connect to music or payment apps.
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