At the end of April this year, Nokia officially acquired Withings, a manufacturer of health products such as smart watches, smart weight meters, and smart monitors. Nokia also officially entered the field of health technology. On August 15, Withings launched the Connected Weighing Scale Body (also known as WS-50). As an intelligent weighing scale with high price on the market, it has comprehensive functions. One of the highlights is the use of bioelectrical impedance technology, which can display weight, body fat, moisture percentage, muscle mass and bone density. The WS-50 does not need to be charged, and the built-in four standard AAA batteries can supply power for up to 18 months.

Today's intelligent scales can measure more body indicators, such as weight, body fat rate, basic metabolic rate, bone mass, muscle mass and other data. This is mainly due to the bio impedance technology mentioned above. The ITO conductive film or conductive metal sheet is added to the surface of these intelligent scales. When the bare feet of the human body step on it, a closed loop electrode will be formed. Since the fat is not conductive but the water is conductive, the fat content in the body can be finally calculated by calculating the current value, resistance value and weight value.

WS-50 appearance

We got the black version

The visual perception is more blue against the light

Place your foot on the middle metal ring to measure the indoor carbon dioxide concentration

Human computer interaction interface of scale

The scale adopts the traditional square design

The mirror effect is beautiful but not resistant to dirt

There are four foot pads at the bottom of the scale, which need simple installation

Because it is a new product, the manufacturing time is 2016

The installation of the foot pad is very simple. Tear off the protective layer of the 3M sticker and stick it to the corresponding position of the scale

Remember to open the battery compartment and pull out the plastic tape when using it for the first time

WS-50 function experience

The official poster of WS-50 shows that it has rich functions, as shown in the following figure:

Then let's experience these functions. It is worth noting that although the functions are very rich, the interaction logic between the user and the scale is very simple. Standing on the scale can complete most of the above functions without moving. However, the state of being motionless is very particular, which requires the user and the scale to run in slowly. In case of single foot test, uneven force on both feet, incorrect standing position or force on the body in one direction, the scale will automatically prompt errors.

Three weighing unit display modes are provided (switch by pressing the designated button at the bottom of the scale)

After pulling out the plastic belt of the battery compartment, the scale will start automatically

Automatic weighing can be started after standing up (left)

The scale will indicate uneven force in the way of arrow during single leg test (middle)

After the scale is connected to the mobile phone, the old user information cannot be detected, and only the weight can be measured (right)

Body fat, bone density, weather and other test options will not continue

When it is detected that the weighing person is an old user in the mobile phone database, the rest of the test will continue

From left to right: weight, body fat Water content Weather BMD Muscle mass

WS-50 interacts with mobile phones

As mentioned above, only when the scale is connected to the smartphone can the rest of the test items be completed except for the weight. The principle is mainly because we need to input our gender, height, weight, age and other information into the database of Things Health Mate in advance, and then the system will call it when we weigh for the first time according to these information, and finally calculate the water content, body fat, bone density and other indicators according to the algorithm.

One of the advantages of the intelligent weighing scale is that it can synchronize data with smart phones, and eventually convert some information closely related to health according to regular testing and database maintenance, such as reasonable meal plans, fitness suggestions, etc. Withings Health Mate, the Withings Health Mate application, can synchronize data between the smart scale and mobile phone through Wi Fi or Bluetooth. Withings Health Mate is compatible with iOS and Android platforms. When the author uses an Android phone to connect to the smart scale, the system prompts that Google service related components need to be installed. Let's ignore this prompt to force the use of this software. Withings Health Mate integrates the application services of more than 150 partners and can provide nutrition monitoring, GPS running monitoring and other functions.

You can find this synchronization software in Baidu App Store

Synchronization software interface (prompt to install Google service, login, and register)

The human-computer interface is relatively easy to understand

First, we need to open Wi Fi on the phone to connect with the scale

Find the product Body in the scale product list

The system prompts to enable the Bluetooth auxiliary mobile phone to connect with the scale

When Bluetooth is connected, the system will prompt you to enter a matching code

To add a word here, the screenshot of the above step is the first Android test phone connection failure interface, because there is no request for input matching code. We then replaced another Android system version and a model with a higher product orientation, and finally successfully connected the scale.

After successful Bluetooth connection, we start to set up Wi Fi network

The purpose of setting up Wi Fi network is to add more test items. Some items cannot be tested under Bluetooth and disconnected status. Then let's see what we can do after networking.

When using Withings synchronization software for the first time, you will be prompted to set a weight plan

In the "My Device - Screen Customization" interface, we can customize the data of which test options are displayed

Mobile phone and scale connection interface

Always prompt for connection failure

After changing another mobile phone, you are finally prompted that the connection is successful

After successful connection, the system prompts that the synchronization software needs to be upgraded

During the upgrade process, the scale display screen changes to "Updating" status

After the upgrade, the scale will automatically restart and reconnect the phone

After successful Bluetooth connection, the synchronization software on the phone will prompt that further Wi Fi connection is required

Wi Fi connection transition interface

Wi Fi connection success interface

After the Wi Fi connection is successful, the scale data is automatically synchronized to the mobile phone every other time, as shown in the following figure. It is worth noting that there will be a certain time delay during synchronization. In addition, if the Withings synchronization software cannot find the synchronized test record corresponding to any member of the database, the system will wait for the mobile phone user to manually allocate it.

Manually assign test data to the specified user

Less humanized is that Withings is a foreign enterprise, but the official website is not too Chinese. If you are a Xiaobai user of an intelligent scale and a consumer group whose English is not very good, you will find it difficult to find a manual even after logging into the official website. If consumers have a certain level of English, it may not be too difficult to get started.

summary

The WS-50 scale is rich in hardware measurement items and synchronization software functions, and the measurement results are relatively accurate. In addition to regularly synchronizing the data of the scale, the synchronization software can also be transformed into many professional charts to visualize the measurement data. At the same time, the system will put forward relevant diet and fitness suggestions based on these data and the user's weight plan, and provide other relevant software for users to use.

There are still some shortcomings. First, the process of using the scale for the first time is slightly complicated. Especially for Android mobile phone users, they are more selective about mobile phones. The system cannot be too low-level and the model cannot be positioned too weakly. Bluetooth synchronization is a threshold. You need to be patient to match successfully. Although the overall user interface of Withings Health Mate is light, rich in functions, but simple to operate, some interaction logic is still worth discussing. It seems impossible to add related components again after deleting them from the dashboard. Is this a bug in the system?

As shown in the above figure, never delete the measurement items such as fat volume and height, which cannot be added again manually. Another inhumane aspect is that the four test items are displayed by sliding left and right, and can not be displayed on one screen. This design seems not too careless.