{"id":6770,"date":"2025-09-06T22:09:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T22:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/6770\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T22:09:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T22:09:06","slug":"withings-updates-scanwatch-2-with-35-day-battery-life-the-apple-watch-could-only-dream-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/6770\/","title":{"rendered":"Withings Updates ScanWatch 2 With 35-Day Battery Life the Apple Watch Could Only Dream Of"},"content":{"rendered":"

Withings, which is best known for its smart scales<\/a> and similar devices, also makes a smartwatch series, the latest of which is the ScanWatch 2. At IFA 2025<\/a>, the company announced<\/a> a new blue and silver version of the 42mm model. It also unveiled HealthSense 4, an AI-laden software update that leverages the tech to handle a set of new health- and sleep-tracking features.<\/p>\n

I grabbed a picture of the ScanWatch 2 while I was there, and now I get the appeal of this watch. If you\u2019re not familiar, the ScanWatch\u2019s big deal is that they\u2019re like smartwatches disguised as regular old analog watches, complete with mechanical time-telling hands and a more standard overall watch face. The screen itself is just a watch face complication\u2014a tiny circle embedded in the upper part of the screen. The ScanWatch 2 looks nice, and the blue-banded, silver model is no different. In fact, I\u2019m a fan of the blue, if only because it reminds me of the blue suit Adam Sandler wears throughout the movie Punch Drunk Love. (If you haven\u2019t seen it and you\u2019re scoffing at an Adam Sandler mention in this Very Serious Smartwatch Article, cut it out, and go watch the movie.)<\/p>\n

This version of the ScanWatch 2 is available now on Withings\u2019s website, Amazon, Target, and Best Buy, and costs $369.95. Buyers will get a month of Withings Plus for free. (After that, it\u2019s $9.95 a month, or $99.50 per year.)<\/p>\n

Under the hood, the ScanWatch 2 does a lot of what other, more conspicuous smartwatches do. It takes measurements of things like heart rate and blood oxygen level, or carries out ECG readings to power atrial fibrillation detection.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With HealthSense 4, the ScanWatch 2 (and ScanWatch Nova and Nova Brilliant, but not the original ScanWatch or ScanWatch Light) can now track REM sleep and take more accurate measurements of your breathing rhythm while you sleep. Withings says its new algorithms, using data gathered by the smartwatch\u2014such as heart rate variability, physical activity, body temperature, and respiratory rhythm\u2014can find possible causes of fatigue, and provide AI-powered recommendations telling users what they might be able to do to feel less tired all the time. These recommendations are collected under what Withings calls the Vitality Indicator, which you need a Withings Plus subscription to access on your phone.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\"Healthsense4<\/a> \t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\u00a9 Wes Davis \/ Gizmodo \t\t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t\t\"Withings<\/a> \t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\u00a9 Wes Davis \/ Gizmodo \t\t\t\t \t\t <\/p>\n

Withings product manager Etienne Tregaro walked me through some of the new app features at IFA 2025. The Vitality Indicator screen gives you an overview of your \u201cvitality,\u201d which I took to be a sort of shorthand for Withings\u2019 AI system\u2019s impression of your overall readiness to face a given day. Days of the week at the top of the screen are filled with circles with green outlines that can be anywhere from nonexistent to a complete ring\u2014the fuller the ring, the less fatigued you are. At the bottom, various boxes tell you where you are for the day in categories like Recovery and Effort.<\/p>\n

The Withings app also features Withings Intelligence\u2014a chatbot you can talk to about your health metrics. It can take note of patterns; another Withings representative I spoke with showed me a screen where the chatbot noted he had just lost a little weight, speculated about the causes, and asked if he\u2019d been intentionally trying to lose weight. In theory, it would give him helpful guidance, depending on his answer.<\/p>\n

The subscription also gives access to AI-powered notifications letting users know when their menstrual cycle is beginning or when the ScanWatch 2 has picked up signs of an infection. The Withings Plus service also comes with Cardio Check-Up, an option to have your cardiovascular data checked by a professional cardiologist, who returns a basic summary of what they saw and recommendations for dealing with issues that may have cropped up.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a staggering update that leapfrogs over Apple\u2019s more passive presentation of health information and more closely mirrors efforts by companies like Samsung to deploy AI, informed by smart wearables data, as a health coach. I worry it could draw certain people further into unhealthy obsessions with constantly tracking and micromanaging their health? I\u2019m not an expert in this; for that, I\u2019d encourage you to read the many<\/a> articles<\/a> on the\u00a0<\/a>subject<\/a>. We\u2019re riding into a new frontier with generative AI now becoming more deeply enmeshed in smart wearables, and only time will tell.<\/p>\n

One thing you won\u2019t need a subscription for is the battery life improvement that comes with the new HealthSense4 software. Now, the ScanWatch 2 gets 35 days on a charge, which is up from 30 days before, already way more battery life than most standard smartwatches. Although to get there, you\u2019ll probably need to turn off a number of the ScanWatch 1\u2019s features, like its always-on display or blood oxygen sensor.<\/p>\n

Tregaro told me Withings managed to add those days by identifying areas it could optimize its code. I asked what your settings would have to look like to actually reach\u00a035 days on a charge, because obviously you can\u2019t expect that while using every single feature the ScanWatch 2 offers. He said you\u2019d need to turn off a number of features, including some of the overnight tracking or notifications. Withings, to its credit, has a chart<\/a> that can tell you which features incur the biggest battery life penalty. Nice to have a guide.<\/p>\n

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