Withings gained popularity thanks to its health-focused products, including its smart scale, fitness trackers, and hybrid smartwatches. The company is innovating once again with the announcement of its ScanWatch, the first hybrid smartwatch to combine AFib and sleep apnea detection.

The new timepiece contains a number of built-in sensors, including a heart rate and SpO2 sensor, three electrodes, and an altimeter to track your vitals all day long. Thanks to these, it can proactively notify you when your heart rate is too low or high, and if irregular rhythms are detected, you’ll be prompted to take an ECG to check for signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib). The latter is often under-diagnosed, as it can be intermittent and easily missed as symptoms don't necessarily occur when at the doctor. The watch's PPG sensor has the ability to continuously monitor the user's heart rate and alert them to take an ECG reading if an irregular heartbeat is detected. The ScanWatch similarly monitors oxygen saturation with its embedded SPo2 sensors to let you know if it detects a sleep apnea occurrence. All of these readings are displayed on the watch’s screen, with more in depth analysis available in the Health Mate app on your phone which you can then share with your doctor if necessary. In addition to these preventive features, the watch also comes with more traditional fitness-tracking abilities, thanks to its built-in altimeter and connected GPS, which leverages your phone's location data. It's also swim-compatible with 50-meter water resistance.

When it comes to the design, the ScanWatch looks similar to the Steel HR, which is no bad thing as the latter is quite sleek. However, as these are hybrid watches, they feature analog dials for the time, together with sub-dials that show the percentage of your daily step goal you’ve achieved. There’s a small PMOLED display for important information instead of the larger color panel you’d find on a “true” smartwatch. This means there’s no touch input and the device is controlled using the Digital Crown on the side. Thankfully, the dials and display are housed under Saphire glass for improved durability and scratch resistance. In terms of battery life, you'll get about 30 days, which is truly impressive for a smartwatch, even a hybrid one.

If you're interested in getting one, the ScanWatch will be available during Q2 2020 for €249, £229, or $249 for the smaller 38mm model, and €299, £279, or $299 for the 42mm version.

Source: Withings