The best smart scales you can buy in 2018
Forget simple weighing devices - these connected scales serve up more health data than BUPA
GET SMART
Weighing yourself used to be a simple process: you stepped on the scales, winced at the dial, then lied about the figure to your significant other. These days, there’s more to it. A new breed of smart scales can now track all manner of stats, from BMI and body fat to heart rate, plot your progress on your smartphone, and even link with your fitness band for true 360-degree health monitoring. In fact, about the only thing these scales won’t do is lie to your family for you; you’ll still have to do that bit yourself. We’ve put the best models through their paces to see which is best entrusted with your precious BMI info.
1) NOKIA BODY+
Despite Nokia’s decision to drop the heart rate tracking, the Body+ remains an impressive set of scales, with reliable accuracy and seamless set-up. We never quite saw the point of the air quality assessment, so that’s hardly missed and can be done better by other devices. While heart rate tracking is still available via your smartphone, being able to see resting heart rate on the scales was a nice indicator of cardio vascular fitness, so it’s a shame Nokia has dropped it for this model.
2) FITBIT ARIA
If you’ve invested in one of the many excellent Fitbit health trackers and want to get a better idea of your overall health, then the Aria is an ideal option. The combination of activity, weight and fat data builds a useful health profile, and thanks to the simple smartphone apps and detailed online software, everything works seamlessly.
3) TANITA RD-901 BLUETOOTH BODY COMPOSITION MONITOR
The RD-901 packs in the tech spec and we appreciate the sheer depth and accuracy of health data collection available, but the setup lacks simplicity. Tanita has stepped back to the 90s with a dated design and weak instructions. Connecting via Bluetooth shouldn’t be this complicated. The design also feels more like a cheap digital watch than cutting edge health monitor.
4) WAHOO BALANCE BLUETOOTH SMART SCALE
Compared to the rest on test the Wahoo Balance is a bit basic, lacking the technology to calculate fat percentage for instance, which makes them more suited to someone dieting and weight watching rather than into fitness training. As a basic set of connected scales they’re more than acceptable. The setup is seamless and requires minimal faff and the Bluetooth connection was quick and certainly more consistent than the Tanita.
5) UNDER ARMOUR UA SCALE
Over twenty short minutes Stuff’s weight fluctuated by as much as three kilograms, which hardly inspires confidence. It also failed to recognize us on more than a few occasions – lunch hadn’t been that gluttonous – and even added some erroneous data to our profile. Oh, and if you move it, you’ll need to recalibrate it which irritates immensely. But the clear majority of weigh-ins proved as accurate – give or take a few percentage points – as the rest on test, the bright scrolling display offered plenty of instant feedback and the scales feel solid underfoot.
6) QARDIOBASE
Turns out there’s a pretty good reason why more bathroom scales aren’t small, stylish and round. They tend to wobble. The QardioBase’s small 12.5in diameter was only just big enough for Stuff’s size 10 feet and every single time we stepped on them it moved a bit. It’s a niggle we can live with, but we wouldn’t recommend letting your gran anywhere near them.
7) GARMIN INDEX SMART SCALE
It’s impressively simple to set-up with either desktop or mobile apps, and a pleasure to use – well, as pleasurable as weighing yourself gets. The large, scrolling display offers all the detail you’ll need, including body fat and bone mass, so there’s no need to jump into the app every day to see all your stats.
