What you need to know
- Withings has unveiled the successor to last year's ScanWatch hybrid smartwatch, complete with a new design and updated health monitoring capabilities.
- The ScanWatch Horizon is equipped with ECG monitoring, atrial fibrillation detection, heart rate monitor, and sleep tracking features, among others.
- It is available in France, Germany and the UK from today for €499.95 or £499.95.
Withings announced today a new "medically advanced" smartwatch that hugely improves on its predecessor in terms of design and functionality. The Withings ScanWatch Horizon has a slew of advanced health monitoring features that you'd be hard pressed to find in many of the best Android smartwatches and even the Apple Watch Series 7.
The luxury timepiece is billed as the world's first smartwatch that can detect breathing irregularities and alert users to a possible case of atrial fibrillation. Its headline feature is the sleep apnea detection that analyzes blood oxygen levels, heart rate, movement, and breathing frequency. ScanWatch's accelerometer and optical sensors collect these data to detect breathing disturbances, which can indicate sleep apnea.
Another notable feature is its medical-grade ECG monitoring capability, which can detect signs of atrial fibrillation. ScanWatch Horizon has an embedded PPG sensor that monitors your heart rate and alerts you if its rhythm is irregular. In that case, the device will prompt you to take an ECG reading.
The smartwatch also boasts sleep tracking capabilities that can analyze the length, depth, and quality of your sleep. It can also monitor your steps, calories, elevation, and workout routes through GPS. Additionally, the device can measure how your heart and muscle convert oxygen into energy through its VO2 Max estimation.
You can view your health data with the Health Mate app. The accompanying app allows you to set reminders and goals as well as manage your achievements.
Like last year's model, the ScanWatch Horizon has an analog face design and watch hands. It also has a 43mm PMOLED display with a blue or green color variant. Its casing has a titanium finish for a luxury appearance and it is made of sapphire glass with anti-reflection coating.
Its design takes inspiration from the luxury diver watch tradition with a stainless-steel rotating bezel engraved with markings that show standard diving codes. The smartwatch also has Luminova hollow watch hands, indicators, and indices that are easier to see in low light conditions.
With a 30-day battery life and water resistance up to 100 meters, the smartwatch is the "perfect accessory for swimming, snorkelling, and water sports." These activities can also be monitored using the Health Mate app.
The ScanWatch Horizon is available in France, Germany and the UK from today for €499.95 or £499.95. Later this year, Withings plans to introduce the smartwatch to the U.S. market once it's approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
