Withings Activité — A “Smarter” Watch

Originally published: May 5, 2015

Smart watches are here. The Apple Watch is already leading the pack. What does that mean for simple fitness trackers? Probably nothing good. What about something in the middle? Well that’s what I wanted to find out. So I have been wearing a Withings Activité for a little while now. My results were both surprising and not so surprising.

Upon receiving the Activité and opening the box, which is a slightly nicer package than one would get with a cheap Fitbit or Jawbone Up, it reminded me greatly of opening the large rectangle Apple Watch Sport box. Down to the minimal packaging and pull out box tabs. It’s not as nice as the steel Apple Watch packaging, but pretty close to the Sport model box for sure. Once inside I was instantly impressed by the look.

I took the Activité out and put it on. An awesome thing about the Activité from Withings is that the setup process takes literally seconds. Press the included tool into the slot on the back. It vibrates. Open the app, configure the time, and you’re off. It’s that simple.

From here it’s all about the fuction. With the Withings Activité you have the ability to track steps which sync back to the HealthMate app, and in turn can be dispalyed in the Health app in iOS. Even better, there is a third analog hand in its own space to quickly glance at the watch to see your progress for the day. The look of the standard analog watch face and hands, combined with the third hand for step tracking is very clean and well done. Nobody would ever suspect this isn’t simply, or not so simply, a nice standard Swiss watch. But it really is more.

In addition to tracking steps, the Activité tracks your sleep. Even better, there are no modes to switch or toggles to go through in an app. You simply wear it to bed. The internals sense that you’re sleeping, and it tracks your sleep. Once again, this all syncs to the HealthMate app and if desired, Health for iOS as well. Since the Activité watch tracks sleep, it includes a silent alarm for waking. Through the HealthMate app users configure the time they would like to wake…and what days. The watch then takes care of the rest. When it’s time to wake, a vibration is sent through the watch and casually wakes you without disturbing your partner.

Interestingly, the glass front of the Activite is responsive to touch, in a single way that I’ve seen, in that users can check their alarm time by tapping the glass. The watch hands quickly spin to the set alarm time.

What else? Currently those are the main features of Activité. In a future update the watch will also be configured to better track swim. Oh, didn’t I mention…the Activité is water resistant up to 50m, perfect for those who like to swim or you know, do dishes, or who find themselves at the beach or hovering over a bathtub with kids in it. I’m really looking forward to this update to the watch and HealthMate app, which is supposed to be coming this month.

Enough about the additional functions. This is a watch after all. The tracking is only part of the story, and a big one, but the other part is the actual watch itself.

I must say, again, I’m impressed.

The Activité is beautiful. It’s a round face in white or black (with cheaper colored models called Pop), and comes with a leather band (French calf leather). It’s Swiss made. Which I find simply brilliant. The craftsmanship on this is just amazing. From the watch face, casing, and band, this is one fine specimen of a watch, with carefully machined sapphire and stainless steel brought together to form something wonderful.

So what makes this even more special? Besides all the functionality of tracking housed in a elegant timeless looking watch? How about the fact that there isn’t a charging cable included. Because you won’t need one. The Activité runs on a replaceable battery (a CR2025), which it comes with….and a replacement. Withings says that it should last about 8 months. If close to accurate, that’s pretty amazing.

Notice the little levels on the strap to disconnect.

What about bands? I said it came with a leather strap…but what to do if you like to swim or run and don’t want to ruin the beautiful leather band? Well Withings has you covered again… Inside the box is a second “sport band”. It’s super simple to disconnect and reconnect the new band using the levers on the straps (as shown).

So what isn’t the Activité?

It’s not a Pebble or Apple Watch. It’s not going to give you notifications or run apps. It’s more discrete. It’s a “smarter” watch as opposed to a “smartwatch”. A watch for the modern consumer. It looks like a standard analog Swiss watch, beautifully crafted and pleasant to wear, but packed with the ability to track steps and sleep, wake with a silent alarm, and soon measure swim activity properly.

Is it perfect?

No. I was a little bothered by the fact that the alarm can’t be turned off when it vibrates in the morning. It goes for about 20–30 seconds no matter what. Not a huge deal, just odd. It’s also a one size product. It’s not too big and not too small. For me. But I’ve got small wrists, and I can see how a larger man would find it a little small at 36.3mm. My only other issue is kind of childish. As someone who isn’t a watch-guy, I have no clue what most watches like this have, but the inability to see the time in the dark was bothersome. I didn’t expect some crazy bright glow in the dark kids watch, but the first time I tried to check the time in a darkened room I was surprised.

That’s about it though. Overall I was truly impressed. While the price is a little higher than the Sport model Apple Watch, the overall craftsmanship from being Swiss-made may make up for that for many wearers. That and the fact that it looks like a mechanical watch some still love, with additional functionality built-in.

If you like the idea of tracking, but are hesitant to have something else to charge, worry about distractions on your wrist, or simply don’t like the smartwatch or fitness band look, Withings Activité is possibility right up your alley.