If you want a nice looking watch then this is for you but if it’s a fitness tracker you require give it a very wide birth. The interface is clunky and vague. If for example you cycle it’s as likely to show on you stats as pilates, ok so you can change it to cycle but you could be forgive for feeling a watch of this price should be able to tell the difference. And i can assure you that this sort of adjustment is often needed. Also since the last update it has wiped one function off my watch, so far i have had 10 e/mail exchanges to withings to explain the problem and the people i contact are still unable to grasp the problem. Today it won’t contact my ipad by blue tooth, i eventually found a message on their sight saying “since the upgrade people using android should switch off blue tooth as it wasn’t functioning” mine is using ios and i can’t get a blue tooth signalbut as yet i have had no response from withings. Can i add to this comment that after writing it i worked out that for me there instruction missed out an extra step that over came my problems. These problems occurred in the reset to factory settings mode, now my watch is back to it’ original form , which whilst not great is what i purchased.
My wife has had various watches and one of them was the garmin fenix 5. They all had the same problem as far as she was concerned. Far too much data and info and crazy complex to operate. So she got this and originally was just going to try it for a week and see how she got on. Months later all her other watches have been given away and this one remains. It’s got everything she needs, simple to understand and use and looks good. She definately recommends this.
There are good and bad things to say about this watch but on the balance, after an uncertain start, i have decided to keep it. I do hope that further development will improve some of the niggles over time. So, i’ll start with the good. I have the rose gold version with a grey silicone strap. I find the watch attractive, it is bigger than my previous watches but does not look out of place on my small wrist (circumference 14. The strap has ample holes for wrist size adjustment. Although i bought the watch thinking i’d like calendar notifications to my wrist but was not that interested in the activity monitoring, i find myself hooked. Seeing sleep pattern, heart rate, steps etc is interesting and according to my little tests i think fairly accurate. Well, the watch obviously connects and disconnects from bluetooth according to whether you are in range of your mobile phone. This seems to go ok for several days at a time and then one day they do not connect no matter how patiently i wait. I have found that usually turning my phone off and on again resolves this, if not i have to go through the process of getting bluetooth to ‘forget’ the watch and then re-pair the two. I’ve got used to itif your main wish is for notifications when you get a call, text or from other apps, then i would not recommend this phone yet. It does work most of the time.
Another hybrid smart watch let down by it’s lack of practical and digital features. This isn’t a cheap product and it’s not the first of its kind, so my expectations were high. They target market for this product is likely encompass the business professional looking for a practical wristwatch, activity tracking, and unobtrusive alerts, notifications and reminders. The device gets a tick-in-the-box for those first two categories, but misses the mark when it comes to alerts, notifications and reminders.
I bought the 40mm version (which imo is smaller than my normal dress watch) but it looks great and it’s easy to forget it’s a smartwatch. I found the app well designed and connected easily to the watch and shows my daily activities/sleep/heart rate in a natural way. The export to google fit also seems seamless (but i’ve only been using the device for 2 days) so i’ve a range of apps to view the data on. The watch doesn’t have that many menus, only supports simple notifications (not even sure which) but that’s exactly what you want from a fitness tracker watch. It won’t be replacing my phone anytime soon while with a few clicks i can start fitness tracking mode, view my hr, steps while the analogue hands look great the rest of the time to view the time making it a perfect replacement for my daily watch. Ideally, i’d get a buzz/notification when i get a facebook/whatsapp message but maybe that feature will be added in the future and i’d like to see a better strap included with the watch than the rubber one.
Decided to take the plunge regardless of the negative reviews. All i can say is that for £150 the watch is worth every penny penny. It looks very smart on the wrist and isn’t oversized like the majority of watches these days. I’d like to see integration with 3rd party apps like whatsapp and email in the future but won’t be holding my breath.
This has made a great replacement for my fitbit which i had gotten fed up with. I got a milanese loop to go with it as i’m not keen on rubber straps. Pro’s:great battery life (i’m fed up of constantly charging my watch)waterproofalways shows time and goal progress (i often found my fitbit would need to be tapped to show the time)can change the time without internet connection (i travel a lot so this is my biggest gripe with fitbit)app is goodsync is fast and doesn’t need internetsingle button is all you need to scroll through the displays or start exercise tracking (i was most confused as to why my fitbit blaze had 3 buttons and a touch screen, i only ever used one button)con’s:heartbeat tracking isn’t constant (to save battery i assume)sometimes thinks i have fallen asleep if i am readingsmall screen limits what can be seen on itthere is no seconds hand but then the fitbit doesn’t show seconds either.
I bought this watch after having a fitbit for 8 months. The bulkiness of the fitbit eventually annoyed me so much that i started looking for a more slimline alternative and having read a few reviews, and loving the sleek design, i decided to buy the nokia hr. It’s much more intuitive than the fitbit. The hr doesn’t think you’ve done thousands of steps when you’re driving. As it was getting tiresome recording every car journey with the fitbit (i live in a rural location so driving is essential). I no longer have to record my driving movements with the hr. I am a violinist/ fiddler and unfortunately it does confuse playing violin with lots of steps, so i normally transfer to my stationary arm when playing music. It records sleep fairly well too although it stopped tracking sleep for a week and i contacted customer service and they pointed me in the direction of resetting it and all is fine since.
Most features work very well, but i am very suspicious of the ‘step counter’. After getting out of bed, going to the bathroom, downstairs and moving around the kitchen for five minutes feeding cats the step counter still registered zero, unlike my cheapo ‘fake fitbit’ which registered 65, more realistic. So always fall far short of the target steps for the day according to the steel, while the ‘fitbit’ gets there by early evening. A month later: out and about until 1300 today, including wandering around the supermarket for an hour. The steel hr counted 915 step in five hours, while the fake fitbit registered a more realistic 2897. Dn’t buy this for counting steps unless you walk everywhere swinging your arms as though marching.
Here are the specifications for the Withings Steel HR – Hybrid Smartwatch – Activity Tracker:
- Day and OVERNIGHT Heart Rate – Enjoy heart rate tracking day and night plus continuous tracking during workouts
- DAILY ACTIVITY TRACKING – Automatically counts steps, calories and distance
- AUTOMATIC SLEEP MONITORING – Wake to a sleep score based on light and deep sleep cycles, interruptions, depth and regularity
- MULTISPORT TRACKING – Tracks 30+ sports and maps your session with distance, elevation and pace via connected GPS
- RECORD Battery Life – Spend more time moving and less time charging with a rechargeable battery that lasts up to 25 Days
- SMART NOTIFICATIONS – Customize call, text, event and app notifications from your smartphone right on the watch screen
- WATER RESISTANT TO 50M – Steel HR is a life-friendly hybrid smartwatch that can accompany you to the pool or hit the showers
- AUTOMATIC DATA SYNC – Steel HR seamlessly syncs with the free Health Mate app via Bluetooth. Works with Alexa, Apple Heath, Google Fit, Strava and 100+ top health and fitness apps
- SWAPPABLE WRISTBANDS – If you have multiple bands, it’s easy to change them in seconds to wear Steel HR your way: Leather, silicone or metal
- Withings products on Amazon must be ships from and sold by Amazon or Withings to be eligible for warranty/replacement by Withings
Reviews from purchasers :
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I like my watch but it does have its problems!
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Superb
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Intuitive, slimline and beautiful fitness tracker watch.
The post Withings Steel HR – Hybrid Smartwatch – Activity Tracker –
Not worth the money
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