For those raised watching James Bond movies, a diver watch is the ultimate symbol of elegance. The Rolex Submariner was first produced in 1954 and is still a dream that comes at a hefty price and long waiting list. Expect up to 3 years to get one at your wrist!
Nobody will deny that smartwatches are getting really smart when it comes to health tracking features. The Fitbit Sense can measure the levels of stress. Thanks to its Electro Dermal Activity sensor that detects the changes in skin conductance due to sweat. The Apple Watch offers an FDA-Cleared Atrial Fibrillation Sensor and comes with a robust Electrocardiogram (ECG). Finally, the YHE BP Doctor and its inflatable cuff provide blood pressure measurements in the same way a quality At-Home Blood Pressure monitor will do.
Withings, the French Smart Devices company, has always been famous for the quality of its products and their unrivaled futuristic or more conventional designs. The company brought some of the best smartwatches to the market without compromising their premium look and feel.
The Withings ScanWatch was initially presented at CES-2020 and already shook the HealthWatch world by offering a smartwatch with stellar healthcare features in a form factor that will please any businessman. The original ScanWatch was one of the first to let go of the “Geek Design” and bring a sense of style and classism to an industry made of oversized touch screens. Thus, inventing the concept of a hybrid smartwatch, combining technology and analog style.
With its new Withings ScanWatch Horizon, Withings goes one step further, searching for the perfect compromise between health tracking features and a classic look. As a result, the ScanWatch Horizon looks like a premium diving watch but comes with top-of-the-line health tracking features.
Let’s dive into it!
Design
The Limited Edition Withings Scanwatch Horizon presents itself as a tribute to iconic diving watches and combines the distinctive elements of the Rolex Submariner and the Omega Seamaster.
The 43mm Horizon comes with a 316L Stainless Steel Case, flat sapphire glass, a rotating bezel, and the watch face is available in dark blue or green-blue. In addition, the Digital Pressable Crown allows to navigate through the menu quickly and select the features.
The luminous coating is emblematic of diving watches. Both the sunray brass dial and brass hands are fluorescent to add a touch of style when checking the time at night or while diving up to 100 meters deep. We doubt that you will reach such an abyss, but with an ATM10 waterproof certification, you will certainly not have to worry when having a shower or while swimming.
The ScanWatch Horizon comes with two interchangeable wristbands made of stainless steel or fluoroelastomer (FKM) that is water-resistant and more suited for diving or exercising at the pool.
This special edition has a masculine look and feel. Its 45mm diameter, 72 grams weight, and the protruding crown will not deny this obvious fact.
The Horizon comes with three displays. A standard analog one for the hours and minutes, a second one that will show the daily activity goal progresses in percentages and a PMOLED that will act as a display center for all the health and smartwatch-related features.
What is under the bezel?
When it comes to health and fitness features, the ScanWatch Horizon has nothing to envy the conventional ScanWatch.
Continuous Heart Rate Tracking and on-demand ECG: The Heart Rate is analyzed every 10 minutes and continuously while in workout mode. The electrocardiogram will make the most of the bezel to offer a single-lead ECG coupled with automatic detection of atrial fibrillation even though Withings’s is not yet FDA-Cleared. In addition, all the data are synchronized with Withings Health Mate, the companion app. available for iOS or Android, which allows you to share the results with your doctor.
Breathing Disturbances detection: By combining the data from the Blood Oxygen saturation, heart rhythm, breathing, and movements sensors, the ScanWatch can detect irregular breathing patterns, which can be helpful in the diagnosis of potential sleep apnea episodes.
Sleep Tracking and Smart Wake-up Alarm: Tracking the sleep cycles is now a standard feature for most smartwatches and even cheap fitness bands. The difference is that the company is famous for the quality of its sensors and underlying algorithms that accurately detect the sleep cycle you are in and even adapt the Wake-up vibrating Alarm to the best phase of the sleep cycle to optimize sleep restorativeness.
Fitness features: The Withings ScanWatch Horizon does not forget that it is also a capable fitness watch. No fancy icons, just technology at its finest. It automatically tracks walk, biking, run, swim, distance, and calories burned. The Fitness Level is also calculated based on the VO2 max.
Finally, the inlaid subdial will show messages or call notifications.
If it was not enough, the Horizon has the same exceptional up-to 30 days life as the original Scanwatch.
To wrap up
The Withings ScanWatch Horizon was announced on September 29 and is currently available on the European Withings web stores at £374.99 (pre-tax) or €499.95 (France, UK, Germany). It should be available later this year on the US Company online store for $499.95.
By combining the health tracking qualities of its predecessor in a luxury dive watch design, the Horizon is an attractive hybrid watch.
Withings is so confident about the build quality of their hybrid smartwatch that they offer a five years warranty. A first in the world of the Healthwatch is often seen as changeable every 1-2 years. The ScanWatch Horizon is built to last, and the fact that it is a limited edition will probably make it a collectible watch whose value will decrease less than that of conventional smartwatches.
