WithThings ScanWatch Light
This hybrid smartwatch tracks important daily wellness and health data without being too intrusive.
The WiThings ScanWatch Light is a fashionable, small profile watch with interchangeable straps. It’s best suited to casual users who want more of an analog watch than a smartwatch with blaring notifications.
$250
Advantages
Lightweight enough to wear all day and all night
Long battery life in analogue mode
Period tracking on the watch
Disadvantages
The on-screen font may be too small for some to see
No GPS
Missing sensors in other smartwatches in a similar price range
Apple Watch Wearers seem to want a smartwatch that isn’t the Apple Watch. At least that was the impression I had while wearing it WiThings Scanwatch Light out in the world. I constantly received compliments from friends and passers-by, especially those who were female and iOS users carrying a card. “Can you use this with the iPhone?” You asked me. “Yes,” I would answer. “But I’m currently testing it with Android.”
I enjoyed my time with the Scanwatch Light. It’s just about the perfect smartwatch for tracking between intense workouts and training periods, as it’s stylish and collects data you’d otherwise get with a fitness band or regular smartwatch. It’s accessible at a reasonable price for people who want to get started with wellness tracking and aren’t trying to go hardcore.
The ScanWatch Light is not a smartwatch you should consider if you need granular data about your runs and walks. While it tracks steps, sleep, breathing, and heart rate, it lacks features like GPS. When you go on a hike with this lovely smartwatch, it records it, but it misses important data like elevation gain. I didn’t realize how much I liked having this data until I put it aside Google Pixel Watch 2. It immediately reminded me of what you sacrifice when you choose form over function.
Scanwatch light design
A smartwatch in watch format
The 18mm Scanwatch Light is a perfect fit for those with smaller wrists. The watch’s case is 37mm in diameter, smaller than the standard 40mm that most other smartwatches start at. The silicone band is comfortable for sleeping, running, jumping and swimming and also serves as a fashion accessory when changing from sports top to blouse. You can swap out the straps as you wish, but since the watch is relatively thin, you’ll need to look for straps that won’t overwhelm the watch itself.
WiThings sent me the Scanwatch Light in the Sand variant with a rose gold case, but it is available in other color options including a blue or green screen with different watch bands. It’s waterproof up to 5 ATM, making it great for lap swimming in the pool or a quick shower after the gym.
The advantage of the Scanwatch Light as a hybrid watch is that it promises a battery life of up to 30 days on a single charge. However, this is the case if you leave notifications and most features disabled, such as: B. scanning the respiratory tract or the quick look function, which turns on the 1-inch display to show the time digitally. While I was using the Scanwatch Light and receiving messages, I charged the watch every 8 to 10 days. But when I turned off these notifications, I noticed that the watch could stop for days with 20% battery life. I have yet to get a full 30 day battery from the Scanwatch Light. But so far I haven’t had any worries about the battery when I’ve been out of the house with this device.
The Scanwatch Light is charged with a small adapter that is included in the delivery. Because it doesn’t have an attached cable, it’s easy to lose, and I’ve already had to retrieve it from a pile of stuff during the testing period.
Scanwatch light display
A tiny little screen
The Scanwatch Light is a hybrid watch. The actual hour and minute hands are used to display the time. However, you can also see the time digitally when you raise your wrist on the 1-inch grayscale OLED display. But there’s not much you can do on this screen other than go through a few options. It was nice to look down, see the time, and not be distracted by a buggy notification I still had to deal with.
Notifications displayed on this tiny screen are scarce. While you’ll see who’s pinging you from which app, you won’t get the full scope of the message or context just by raising your wrist. This helps ensure that the Scanwatch Light is not so distracting.
Most of what you can do with the watch is simple, while the rest of the device’s features are available via the WiThings mobile app. With the Scanwatch Light you can view your steps and step goal, get a current heat score, see how many miles you’ve walked, and see how many days remain until your period is due. Further down in the menu, scrollable using the watch crown on the side of the device, you can start a workout or a calming breathing exercise from the watch. There’s also a clock feature that lets you set a timer or check alarms, as well as a settings feature that lets you turn on Do Not Disturb and save battery power.
Scanwatch light output
A lot of data
The Scanwatch Light can measure daily activity, sleep, heart rate, oxygen saturation and stress levels. It also detects sleep apnea. I was particularly worried about the breathing difficulties. If they persist and I continue to feel this way, I can create a sleep report that will spit out stats on sleep duration, efficiency, and my average heart rate during the night to present to a doctor for further discussion. The stats are pretty basic, but they’re nice to have. I plan on wearing the watch for a little longer to see how far this data can take me in seeking care.
The WiThings app offers a premium subscription called WiThings+ for its devices. But unlike Fitbit Premium, which seems to be required to get the full Pixel Watch 2 experience, you don’t need a subscription to access health metrics like weight, activity levels and sleep patterns. Subscription unlocks some additional features such as a health improvement score and offers in the Achievement tab of the WiThings app, including challenges.
WiThings was one of the companies more responsive to Android’s efforts to unify all third-party health data. Synchronization through HealthConnect and third party services such as Samsung Health And Strava has been available for a long time. But things got complicated with the last app. Strava requires GPS data to accurately display my hikes. Because of this limitation, I missed a few weeks of training, although I didn’t realize it until a week after wearing the device. At least it worked perfectly with Google Fit, which as an Android user I also use to aggregate health data.
I ultimately want to determine if I can share data interchangeably between WiThings and the apps mentioned above. Samsung Health and Strava are the two apps I’ve used the longest to track my relative pace improvements. I’d like to be able to wear the WiThings ScanWatch Light when life is more casual and then upgrade to something sturdy like that Galaxy Watch 6when I try to count my readings.
Should you buy the WiThings Scanwatch Light?
It was nice to be incognito with the Scanwatch Light and let the stats fall by the wayside. It felt like I was giving myself a much-needed break by diligently tracking my every move. However, I neglected to collect stats on Strava to show all my friends that I was working hard. At $250, the ScanWatch Light is a good buy if you want to get data about yourself without a lot of hassle.
If you need data about your neighborhood walks and sleeping habits, the Scanwatch Light is a great way to do it without drawing too much attention to your wrist. However, it’s not for serious trainers. If that’s what you’re looking for, you may be able to get more out of the ScanWatch 2, which has additional sensors to measure altitude and blood oxygen levels. There’s also a temperature sensor, although this costs $100 more and is slightly heavier than the Scanwatch Light.