As a man who has avoided seeing doctors for many a decade, I have up until recently remained blissfully ignorant of most of the markers regarding my health and general wellbeing. However, following a run of reviews of Fitbits and sports watches within these very digital pages, plus a trifling medical issue that gave me pause to reflect upon my own mortality, I have become more than a little interested in what makes me tick and, indeed, what I need to do in order to keep ticking.
Thanks to advances in what I can do with my wrist, I now have full access to a heart rate monitor, an ECG, step counter thingie and all manner of other health helping digital doodars via my smartwatch. However, the one thing my smartwatch can’t do is weigh-in on what’s happening with my weight. And when I say ‘weight’ I don’t, of course, just merely mean how much pressure I’m pushing against the skin of the planet, but also other weird things I’d never bothered to consider before, such as my BMI, body fat, bone mass and muscle mass measurements – all info I now view as essential insight into dealing with everyday entropy.
So, to fully factor in this final piece of the in-the-pink puzzle, I have been busy of late stepping-up my self-health knowledge by stepping on a selection of some seriously smart scales.
Xiaomi Mi Body Composition Scale 2
Best for: understanding your body on a budget
Never heard of Xiaomi and, as such, not overly confident of its products? Well, to try and set your suspicious mind at ease, let me inform you that China’s Xiaomi (pronounced SH-OW-MEE, kind of) is actually the world’s third biggest manufacturers of smartphones, so bear with me.
Very much the bargain end of the smart scale spectrum, this lack of cost doesn’t equate to lack of spec, indeed, if anything, the Xiaomi Mi goes to prove that sometimes you actually can get more than what you pay for.
Running on 4x AAA batteries, the white reinforced glass and ABS plastic Mi Body Composition Scale 2 has – in keeping with most others of its ilk – taken the smart and spartan approach to design, with even the LED display concealed until you step on. So, utterly unobtrusive on the eyes and, should you only be in the market for basic digital scales, the act of stepping on will also dazzle with minimalism by simply telling you your weight… and nothing else.
But download the Mi Fit app, hook-up over Bluetooth to your Android or Apple smartphone, add in personal details and you’ll then also have unfettered access to your BMI, body fat percentage, muscle mass, protein rate, moisture rate, visceral fat rating, basal metabolism rate and bone mass info. What’s more, it’ll even advise on your ideal weight and give you a general health score to really enthuse you into shaping up. And all info is also uploaded automatically to the Cloud for you to look back on later from the comfort of your new, lean, mean self.
It’s capable of recording weight data for up to 16 users and even including a ‘visitor mode’ that leaves no evidence of use at all (hey, we all have off-weeks). The Xiaomi Mi Body Composition Scale 2 works equally well with Google Fit, Apple Health and Samsung Health apps, thus letting you factor-in your Mi measurements with most of the fitness trackers or smartwatches you may have strapped to your wrist.
Consistent and comprehensive, the Mi may be low in price, but Xiaomi certainly haven’t cut the cost by skimping on the smarts.
Buy now £19.99, Amazon
Fitbit Aria Air
Best for: Fitbit owners and full-on fit facts
It may sound kind of obvious, but if the name on your smart/sports watch app is the same as the name on your smart scale app, the two devices are going to get along famously, pairing up painlessly and both sharing and squirreling away your data far more dynamically than less familial connections. And so it is with the Fitbit Aria Air scales, paired for the purposes of this with the Fitbit Charge 5.
A slick-looking set of scales, available in an all-bathroom-appeasing black or white finish, the Aria Air is minimalist in the extreme with just a razor-sharp backlit LCD display and the Fitbit name taking up space on the face of things.
Bluetooth-enabled for a no-nonsense hook-up with your smartphone, a few moments are all it takes to tap your known dimensions into the app, before stepping on the scales and letting the impartial electronic judgement commence. It does this thanks to four load cells hidden beneath its tempered glass platform measuring your weight, while the smart part mashes that up with the height measurement you entered earlier to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI). This info then appears on your smartphone app, allowing you to log it as standalone weight data or alongside all other health metrics gathered from your Fitbit tracker/watch, such as your heart rate record plus exercise and sleep patterns, to build an overarching daily record of your weight and wellbeing.
Running on 3x AAA batteries (supplied) and compatible with multiple users simultaneously, the Aria Air can tell you all you need to know about how your heft is, but throw a Fitbit watch into the equation, and your full fitness picture is revealed.
Buy now £29.99, Currys
RENPHO Smart Scale
Best for: fast fitness facts at a slim-line price
The company RENPHO (the name is in all caps, so imagine me shouting it every time I use it in this review, please) qualifies its existence as producing “Affordable Smart Home Products for Healthy Living”, which I personally feel is a bit overly modest. Agreed, at just £30, the RENPHO Smart Scale is undeniably affordable, but it’s also a slim-line, light-weight powerhouse of precision weight-measuring metrics.
Alongside the highly detailed RENPHO app, the Smart Scale comes completely compatible over Bluetooth with all the main fitness app contenders, such as Samsung Health, Fitbit, Google Fit and Apple Health, etc., so there’s app options abound. Once you’re connected, under the tempered glass hood, you’ll find four high-sensitivity electrodes ready to rate your weight and then, by extrapolation of the facts, calculate your BMI, body fat percentage, water percentage, skeletal muscle, fat-free body weight, muscle mass, bone mass, protein, BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), subcutaneous fat, visceral fat and metabolic age. Some of which I’ve heard of, some of which are words I’ve never witnessed put together before in my life.
Whether you’re trying to lose weight, gain weight or develop the physique of a veritable GOD, the RENPHO scale lets you monitor all your progress, using the app to easily set goals, save data and track your daily, weekly and monthly progress until you are at the pinnacle of human perfection!
Running off 3x AAA batteries (included).
Buy now £25.49, Amazon
Beurer BF 180
Best for: accurate and app-less weight diagnostics
Despite being an anagram of the French word for butter, the Beurer BF 180 is another sure-fire route to helping shift any unwanted fat… and an app-less one at that. Yes, while capable of confidently measuring your weight, just enter your height, age and sex into any one of the 10 personal profiles it can juggle and you also have your body fat, body water, muscle percentage, bone mass and BMR calorie count calculated and displayed there and then upon the Beurer’s splendidly sized blue LCD.
For Metric Martyrs or those who have difficulty translating between means of measurement, the BF 180 scales will display your details in kg, lbs or stones (doing the maths for you), while it will always recall your start weight (the first weighing you do after activating it) so that you can monitor your progress from that benchmark.
What’s more, as scales go, it’s easy on the eye too, flaunting a sleek build with a slick glass platform and four slim, brushed stainless-steel electrodes that make it a welcome addition to any self-respecting, minimalist, spa-styled bathroom or, if you have kids, the one aesthetically redeeming feature of an otherwise constant hell-hole.
The smart, smartphone-free way to keep a consistent eye on your weight and body make-up, if you want results but don’t want to download yet another app, the Beurer BF 180 is the answer.
Buy now £25.50, Amazon
eufy Smart Scale C1
Best for: instant health insight across a range of apps
When you absolutely must eke out every iota of information about the fitness levels of your body and, as such, demand a set of smart scales that come with everything including the proverbial bathroom basin (kitchen sink, but you get it), then you are in the market for the C1 from relatively young but impressively consistent creator of smart home stuff, eufy.
First off, the C1 comes in the ‘eminently affordable’ bracket. However, despite this almost entry level price, it also comes with its own free-to-download-and-use app, plus compatibility with the big guns of the smart health world; Apple Health, Google Fit, and Fitbit. What’s more, it offers a whopping 12 bodily measurements across an equally sizable 16 individual users, making it the smart scales of obvious choice for those with families the size of a football squad.
Simplicity itself to set-up and use over Bluetooth, just open the eufy app on your smartphone, step on the C1 and – boom! – weight, BMI, body fat, water percentage, BMR, visceral fat, body mass fat, lean body mass, bone mass and muscle mass etc. at your fingertips, ready to save as you map your progress towards fitness goals.
Another handsome, minimalist model too, the eufy C1 melds together black tempered glass with stainless steel sensors and, of course, the kind of sultry smart scale looks you wouldn’t kick out of bed.
Buy now £29.99, Currys
Garmin Index S2
Best for: Garmin geared-up fitness fanatics
Upping the price ante now by a considerable chunk of cash, the Garmin Index S2 is certainly guaranteed to help slim-down any unsightly bulge you may have in your wallet or purse, but is the extra expense also a guarantee of you achieving all your health goals? Well, no, obviously, that bit is down to you not slacking off or having cake-filled cheat days. The S2 is merely a tool to help you measure and record your progress. So, what does the extra price of admission get you then?
Well, for starters, you get a premium product that has the build quality and design cues of some tank/Lamborghini love-child and a crisp, clear colour display that throws up enough info to keep even the most demanding fitness stat-types happy. But where it really comes into its own is when (as with the Fitbit) you link it up over Wi-Fi to the Garmin Connect app on your smartphone and your Garmin watch. Suddenly, you have the full grunt of Garmin’s formidable fitness tracking behind you, letting you keep a constant, unerring eye on your weight, while also honing-in on how much of your body is fat, muscle, bone or water.
Running on 4x AAA batteries that will give around nine months of service and all the bodily stats you could ever need to get yourself fighting fit, the Garmin Index S2 is undeniably expensive compared to many other options explored here, but if you are dead-set on hitting certain fitness goals head-on to the point that you are intent on pairing the scales up with one of Garmin’s excellent smart sports watches, then its more an investment than an expense.
Buy now £129.00, Currys
eufy P1
Best for: monitoring body measurements with absolute ease
The step-up model from eufy’s C1. While the less expensive option offered an impressive range of features and functions, including some 12 body measurements, the P1 now ups that game to 14 and brings all the convenience of instant Bluetooth connection to the EufyLife app and, far from relying on you to step on the sensors in the proper manner to ensure precise readings, the platform of the P1 comes with an ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) coating to collect your exact weight wherever you stand on them (within reason, obviously).
Akin to the C1, the P1 offers space for 16 individual profiles, which seems more than generous for even the most inflated of families, and using the P1 couldn’t be simpler. Stand on the thing, wait for your weight to flash up, then continue with that patience a few moments more while the eufy upgrade utilises its bio-electric impedance to read the rest of your physical make-up, calculating your body fat, BMI, water percentage, BMR, visceral fat, body age, body fat mass, lean body mass, bone mass, muscle mass, protein and more besides.
This is all then whisked across through the ether to the EufyLife app where it’s saved for you to review and compare and contrast with later readings as you continue your journey to weight well-being.
Another option that brings minimalist beauty into the bathroom, the eufy P1 plays nice with Google Fit, Fitbit App and Apple Health, letting you link up to track even further fitness data - and the large, clear LED display makes results easy to read even for the most myopic of weight watchers.
Buy now £39.99, Amazon
Verdict
Whether you’re looking to shift a few pounds and slim-down, gain mass in order to beef-up, or simply want to keep an extra close eye on fluctuations in your physical condition no matter how slight, there is a specific smart scale for you, depending on just how deeply into it all you want to go.
As previously mentioned, if you’re already using a Fitbit or Garmin tracker/watch, it’s best to stay on-brand, as it were, but if you’re after an absolute all-rounder that offers its own app and works well over Bluetooth with Apple and Android phones alike, you simply can’t go wrong with the Xiaomi Mi Body Composition Scale 2 for a wealth of weight and health monitoring features at a ludicrously low price.
