The Withings Smart Body Analyzer (also known as WS-50) is a smart bathroom scale that does far more than just track your weight. Here’s our Smart Body Analyzer review.
What is the Smart Body Analyzer?
The Smart Body Analyzer is a smart scale created by a company called Withings. Priced at around $150, the Smart Body Analyzer can track your weight, body composition, heart rate, and even your air quality.
The sleek, futuristic design is an upgrade from the company’s previous Wi-Fi Body Scale. It uses tempered glass construction and metal accents to give it a luxurious feel. There’s also a 2.4 x 1.6 inch backlit LCD display with easy-to-read digits.
Using the Smart Body Analyzer is as easy as connecting it to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth. There’s no micro USB plugin required; you just set the entire scale up on your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth.
The Smart Body Analyzer is made by Withings, a subsidiary of Nokia. Let’s take a closer look at the features in this smart scale to find out if it’s the right choice for you.
Smart Body Analyzer Features
- Track weight using a patented Position Control Technology that delivers precise measurements within 0.2 pounds of your real weight
- Fat mass tracking, letting you see your body fat percentage
- Muscle mass tracking that lets you track efforts to lose fat or get stronger
- Water and hydration percentage, letting you check your hydration and fluid retention
- Tracks bone mass to get a full picture of your body’s composition
- Features coaching, weight loss rewards, record tracking, and other data
- Set goals and achieve them (including weight and nutrition tracking)
- View an 8 day trend of weigh-ins “to help you see the big picture so you won’t get discouraged”
- Connect to the Withings Health Mate app automatically via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, letting you view your history and stay focused on your goals from your mobile device
- Nutrition tracking features (available via the Health Mate app) to let you set a calorie budget, manage your daily budget, and achieve your weight loss goals more effectively
- View local weather forecasts every morning via the LCD screen, along with your previous days steps to see how your movement affects your weight loss
- Automatic syncing, with all your weigh-ins sent over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to the Health Mate app
- Smart Body Analyzer will operate for up to 18 months using 4 x AAA standard batteries (you get 4 batteries included with your purchase)
Smart Body Analyzer Pricing
The Smart Body Analyzer originally launched at a price of $150 back in 2015. Since then, the price has dropped to $129.95 USD.
You can purchase the Smart Body Analyzer in “Body White” or “Body Black”.
Other Withings products available for purchase include their Wireless Scale ($49.95) and their Body Cardio ($107.97), both of which are smart scales.
The company also makes smart products like smart watches and even a smart hairbrush called the Hair Coach.
What Do Customers Have to Say About the Smart Body Analyzer?
The Smart Body Analyzer is sold through Amazon, where a total of over 4,000 customers have left reviews to date. With a total of 4,046 customer reviews, the Withings WS-50 Smart Body Analyzer has an average rating of 3.8 stars out of 5. We’ve read through these reviews to come up with the pros and cons listed below:
Pros
- Great for syncing with fitness apps like MyFitnessPal and FitBit
- Multiple user profiles
- Setup is easy
- User-friendly app and UI
- Scale can automatically detect who is standing on the scale (it does this by weight, so if two users are approximately the same weight, you’ll need to select your profile when you stand on it)
- Measures CO2 levels and temperature
Cons
- Scale stopped working after a year
- Bad customer service when issues arise or when parts need to be replaced
Ultimately, most customers seem to agree that the Smart Body Analyzer works as advertised. However, a number of customers left 1 star reviews due to the poor customer service from Withings.
Multiple customers complained that the scale completely stopped working after a year and delivered a “hardware problem” error code. When they contacted customer service about this problem, they said that they were beyond the 1 year warranty period and would receive no help or coverage.
However, other customers have complained that it’s difficult to get warranty coverage even within 1 year of their purchase. One customer complained that the spring on the battery fell off within 3 months of their purchase, and they repeatedly contacted customer service without receiving any help.
Smart Body Analyzer Review Summary
The Withings Smart Body Analyzer has been around in various forms since 2013. The latest version of the smart scale, however, released in 2015, is a popular and effective scale that give you detailed insight into how your body works.
The main issue with the Smart Body Analyzer is that the company isn’t known for its strong customer service. Additionally, multiple customers have reported problems with the scale breaking down after just one year of use – which is just outside the warranty period.
Overall, most customers enjoy using the Smart Body Analyzer. It’s not a perfect product, but it does provide you with greater insight into your health far beyond just your weight.
