Withings Body Cardio Wi-Fi Smart Scale with & Heart Rate

In 2009, the French start-up Withings launched its first connected scale. We have come a long way and the brand now belongs to the Nokia group, which therefore offers withings Body Cardio. It’s the fourth generation of connected scales, and there are more and more features. We find in particular the measurement of the pulse wave speed … What is it? Is this connected scale (available here) really efficient and precise? I tell you everything in this complete and detailed opinion.

This connected scale is on the top of the basket. It is a high-end model, efficient and complete. The data obtained by a simple weighing are numerous and the very well thought-out application offers a good synthesis of information. It is the best !

The Nokia Body Cardio is without a doubt one of the best connected scales on the market. Very simple to use, but above all extremely complete. Weight, fat, muscle or bone mass, body water, heart rate and maintaining the pulse wave to make sure our arteries are working well.

The application is complete and pleasant to use, we learn a lot about our body and what we need to do to stay healthy. Battery operation is a good thing, excellent manufacturing quality, in short, it’s flawless! Its price (to check here) remains in my opinion very competitive for a product so efficient. If you want a precise and very complete connected scale, then do not hesitate.

Design and manufacturing quality

Nokia probably wanted to mark the occasion, and this new generation of scales is clearly moving away in terms of the design of Withings scales. The tray size remains the same, but with 1.8 cm it is much thinner than a Smart Body Analyzer. The scale is available in white or black, with horizontal gray bands which gives it a rather modern look.

It does not have feet, but long very thin skates which will allow better stability. The body is made of aluminum, which brings both lightness and robustness to the product. Nokia promises that this scale can be used on all floors, whether it is a very hard tile or parquet floor or a carpet or rug.

Personally, I find it really a nice balance. The design is both sober and modern, and the excellent quality materials send us to the highest levels of the high-end bathroom scale.

Ergonomics and use

We note first of all that this balance works on battery, and that it will therefore be necessary to recharge it from time to time. The autonomy is however one year, so we will not take out the cable supplied very often. This is a very good thing, the use of batteries is not ecological. If, however, you don’t feel like plugging in your scale every year, then the Garmin Index is surely a better choice.

This battery accentuates a little the weight of the scale which still weighs 2.7 kg. That said, since it is intended to stay on the ground, this will not be a problem.

This Nokia Body Cardio will be able to recognize up to 8 users. Even if the family is large, everyone should have the right to their user profile. The list of features is long since the scale will take the following measures:

The weight
Muscle mass
Bone mass
The percentage of water in the body
Fat mass
Heart rate
Pulse wave speed
So it’s really very complete, and even if we look a lot like each other, this scale should not have the wrong user. The icing on the cake is that when you step on the scale, you get a weather trend. It is a small gadget, but it is interesting because it invites us to weigh ourselves every day. When you wake up in the morning, when the shutters are still closed, you appreciate knowing if it is raining or sunny outside.

If you have a connected bracelet compatible with the Health Mate app, then you can also find out on the scale screen, the number of steps you took the day before. Since the last update, if you have an iPhone, then you don’t even need a bracelet, it’s the smartphone that counts the steps.

Accurate weighing

In terms of precision, Withings has proven itself for a long time, and this Nokia scale follows this path perfectly. The other data is fairly reliable, but should not be taken at face value. Indeed, it would really require further examinations to obtain fat or muscle mass in a precise manner. However, it still allows us to follow our evolution. If you lose fat or gain muscle, you will see it appear on the scale.

We appreciate the weight curve which appears directly on the screen and which allows us to follow the evolution of our total weight over several days. Thus, it is not necessarily necessary to request our smartphone to follow our progress.

On the side of the heart rate, the accuracy is again very good. I get pretty much the same results with my cardio belt. A new feature is present, it is the “pulse wave speed”. It’s a little more technical …
At each heartbeat, a wave passes through the arteries and veins, this wave is used to measure arterial stiffness. This allows us to check the state of our cardiovascular system and prevent a problem. It’s ideal after 40 years to have this kind of measure, especially if you are prone to hypertension.

The application

Health Mate is a very complete application which is always evolving a little with the new products offered by Nokia / Withings. There is obviously all the information provided by the balance, and the “dashboard” offers a practical and well-synthesized vision of all the data.

The use is simple, everything is translated into French, except the tab of the pulse wave speed which will undoubtedly be in the coming weeks.

There is also an online platform, very clear and pleasant to use which again brings together all the information necessary for our health.