Withings ScanWatch Nova Review: a dressy health watch that doesn’t try to be an Apple Watch

I’ve been wearing the Withings ScanWatch Nova (black, medium) daily for a few weeks, after years of bouncing between Garmins and an Apple Watch. I wanted something that tracks health properly but still looks like a normal watch and doesn’t need a charger every other night. That’s basically the promise of this thing: real health features, old‑school watch look, long battery.

In practice, it mostly delivers on that idea, but with some compromises. If you’re coming from a full touchscreen watch, you need to reset your expectations. The tiny OLED window is just for quick glances, not for living in menus. A lot of stuff still happens in the phone app, which can be a good or bad thing depending on how much you like fiddling on your wrist.

The main thing that stood out for me is the health focus. ECG, SpO2, temperature trends, sleep, HR zones, VO2 max estimate… there’s a lot under the hood for a watch that just looks like a diver. The app ties it all together in a way that’s pretty clear, and if you already have a Withings scale it’s even better because you see everything in one place.

On the flip side, it’s not perfect: the battery claim is optimistic, notifications are basic, and some measurements (especially ECG/SpO2) can be fussy. So you get a very nice hybrid that does health tracking well, but if you expect an all‑singing smartwatch like an Apple Watch or a high‑end Garmin, you’ll probably find the Nova a bit limited and sometimes annoying.

In terms of value, the ScanWatch Nova sits in a weird spot. It’s not cheap at all, especially compared to basic fitness bands or even some mid‑range Garmins and older Apple Watches. You’re clearly paying for the design, the stainless steel build, and the medical‑style features (ECG, SpO2, respiratory stuff, temperature). If you don’t care about that and just want notifications and steps, then yeah, this is overkill and you can get similar basic functions for a lot less.

Where it starts to make sense is if you want three things together: a watch that looks like a real analog watch, serious health tracking, and multi‑week battery. There are not many devices that tick all three. Most nice‑looking dress watches don’t track anything. Most health‑heavy watches look like sport gadgets. And Apple Watch style devices kill the battery in 1–2 days. The Nova is one of the few that actually tries to combine all that, and that’s where the price becomes a bit easier to swallow.

That said, it’s not flawless. At this price, the notification system feels basic, and the fussy ECG/SpO2 can be frustrating. The hands misalignment issue some users mention is also something you don’t expect on a watch that costs this much, even if the app lets you correct it. Resale value doesn’t seem great either, judging by used listings. So if you’re someone who flips watches often, you might lose a fair bit when you sell it on.

Personally, I’d say the value is good if you specifically want a classy‑looking health watch and plan to keep it for a while. If you mainly care about smart features and app interactions, an Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, or a full Garmin will give you more for the same money. And if you just want cheap tracking, a basic Fitbit or Xiaomi band will do the job for a fraction of the price. The Nova sits in a niche, and the value really depends on whether that niche fits you.

Design wise, this is where the ScanWatch Nova shines the most. On the wrist, it looks more like a chunky diver or a Tag‑style watch than a gadget. The black stainless steel case, rotating bezel look, and metal bracelet give it a proper watch feel. I wore it with shirts and even at a work meeting, and nobody clocked it as a smartwatch until the little screen lit up. If you hate the full digital look of Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch, this is a nice alternative.

The downside of that design is thickness. It’s not absurd, but it’s clearly thicker than a basic analog watch. Compared to my Garmin Venu 2, it’s in the same ballpark, maybe slightly more compact in footprint but more solid in feel. Under a tight shirt cuff, you’ll notice it. On the other hand, it feels solid and not toy‑like, which was one of my main criteria. The bezel and dial are easy to read, and the step sub‑dial is a nice touch: you always know roughly how active you’ve been without pressing anything.

The tiny OLED screen is the main compromise. It’s bright enough indoors and in shade, but in direct sunlight you have to angle your wrist a bit to read it. It also sits on a black background that doesn’t perfectly match the dial color, so if you stare at it you see the difference, just like one of the Amazon reviewers said. It’s not a big deal, but it does remind you that this is a hybrid, not a seamless watch face. Text is small but readable if your eyesight is okay; if you struggle with small text, this might annoy you.

Navigation with the crown and buttons is okay for quick actions (start a workout, check HR, run an ECG), but there’s no quick back or home shortcut. You end up scrolling through menus to get out, or just letting it time out. It’s fine for occasional use but if you’re a heavy tinkerer, you’ll get frustrated. Overall, I liked the design a lot: it’s one of the few health‑focused watches I can wear daily without feeling like I’m in sports mode 24/7, but it’s not the most practical interface out there.

Battery life was one of the main reasons I tried this watch. The 35 days claim looks great on the box, but in real life you need very light usage to get anywhere near that. With 24/7 heart rate, sleep tracking, temperature tracking, and notifications on, I was getting around 14–18 days per charge. That lines up with a couple of Amazon reviews that mention “a couple of weeks” rather than a full month. Still, two weeks is way better than charging every night like an Apple Watch.

When I turned off some stuff (fewer notifications, less frequent HR measurements, no nightly SpO2), I pushed close to 20+ days, but that kind of defeats the point of buying a health‑focused watch. On the other hand, even at two weeks, I wasn’t thinking about the charger all the time. I just picked a day every other weekend, dropped it on the docking station, and it was full again after a relatively short charge. Withings claims 35 days, but I’d say plan for 2–3 weeks of realistic use and treat anything more as a bonus.

The charging dock is simple: you drop the watch onto the small puck, plug the USB‑A cable into any charger, and it locks magnetically. It’s not as slick as some of the big brand chargers, but it works and feels stable on a desk. I didn’t have any issues with poor connection or the watch sliding off. The only slightly annoying bit is that it’s yet another proprietary charger you have to keep track of, but that’s the same story with almost every smartwatch.

Compared to my Garmin with an AMOLED screen, I’d say the Nova’s battery is in the same ballpark or a bit better under similar tracking settings, which is impressive given the metal build and all the sensors. Compared to an Apple Watch, it’s no contest: the ScanWatch Nova wins easily. So, no, it doesn’t hit 35 days for normal use, but if you’re happy with 2–3 weeks between charges, it’s actually a strong point of this watch.

For comfort, I’d call it pretty solid but not invisible. The stainless steel case and bracelet give it some weight. If you’re used to super light fitness bands or plastic Garmins, you’ll feel the difference the first days. After about three days, I got used to it and stopped noticing it much during the day. For office work, walking, and normal stuff, no issue. During workouts, you do feel the metal a bit more than a silicone strap watch, especially if you’re doing push‑ups or anything where the wrist bends a lot.

Sleeping with it is okay, but not perfect. The rounded case back isn’t sharp, and the watch doesn’t dig into the skin, but the metal bracelet isn’t my favorite for night use. Once or twice I woke up and noticed the bracelet pressing a bit where the wrist bends. Swapping to a softer strap (like the Withings leather or a silicone one) makes a big difference for sleep comfort. If you plan to track sleep every night, I’d honestly budget for a second strap that’s more forgiving.

On the sizing and fit side, the included tools for resizing the bracelet are actually usable. It took me about 5–10 minutes to remove links and get a decent fit. Just don’t rush it. Once adjusted, the watch sat stable on my wrist and the heart rate sensor made good contact most of the time. During intense workouts with a lot of wrist movement, readings can jump a bit, but that’s pretty standard for wrist‑based HR. I didn’t get any skin irritation, and the case back finish feels smooth.

Day to day, the watch is comfortable enough that I kept it on basically all the time, only taking it off for charging or longer showers (even though it’s rated IPX7, I don’t fully trust it for long hot showers). If comfort is your top priority and you hate feeling anything on your wrist, this might feel a bit heavy. But if you’re used to metal watches, this will feel normal and actually quite nice, especially once you dial in the bracelet size properly.

On health tracking, the ScanWatch Nova does a good job overall. Daily steps were in the same range as my phone and my Garmin when I compared them over a week. Heart rate during the day looked realistic: resting HR was consistent and spikes during walks or stairs made sense. During workouts, it’s decent but not perfect; short, high‑intensity intervals sometimes lag a bit, which is pretty common for wrist HR. For casual fitness, it’s fine, but if you’re a data‑obsessed athlete, a chest strap is still better.

Sleep tracking is one of the strong points. You get sleep duration, light/deep breakdown, interruptions, and a sleep score each night. Compared to how I actually felt in the morning, the scores lined up most of the time. Nights where I woke up a lot or went to bed late were clearly flagged as worse. It also tracks breathing disturbances and overnight HR and HRV, which is nice to look at over weeks rather than obsessing every single night. It’s not medical grade stuff, but it’s useful trends.

For the more advanced features, ECG and SpO2 are hit‑and‑miss. When conditions are right (sitting still, watch snug, not moving), ECG works and gives you a basic reading in about 30 seconds. But like the 1‑star review mentioned, it can fail if you’re not perfectly still or the contact isn’t ideal. Same thing with SpO2: sometimes it just refuses and you have to retry. When it works, values were close to my finger pulse oximeter, so the data itself seems reasonable. I ended up using these features occasionally, not daily, because of that minor hassle.

On the smartwatch side, it’s pretty barebones. Notifications come in with a short buzz and a tiny scrolling text. You can see who’s calling and basic message content, but there’s no history: miss it, and it’s gone. No icons list, no quick reply, nothing fancy. For me, it was enough to know if I needed to grab my phone or not, but if you’re used to reading and replying to messages from your wrist, this will feel very limited. It’s more a watch with alerts than a full smartwatch, and you really feel that when you compare it to Apple/Garmin/Samsung.

On paper, the ScanWatch Nova is loaded: ECG, SpO2, 24/7 heart rate, temperature tracking, sleep, respiratory insights, cycle tracking, 40+ auto‑recognized activities, connected GPS, and claims of up to 35 days battery life. It’s marketed as a health‑first hybrid, not a little phone on your wrist. And that’s exactly how it behaves in daily use: it quietly collects data, buzzes for calls/messages, and stays out of the way most of the time.

The watch face has three main elements: analog hands for time, a small sub‑dial for daily steps progress, and the tiny round OLED at the top for info and menus. You control everything with the crown and side buttons. No touchscreen. That’s fine at the beginning, but when you want to change several settings in a row or browse logged workouts, the constant scrolling gets old pretty fast. I quickly learned: set up almost everything in the app and treat the watch as a display, not a control center.

The Withings app is really the core of the experience. Every metric has graphs, history, and explanations that are actually understandable. VO2 max estimate, resting HR, breathing disturbances, and temperature trends are presented in a simple way. If you’ve got a Withings scale, it’s even better because weight, body composition, and heart stuff all live together. Compared to Garmin Connect or Apple Health, it’s less cluttered and feels more focused on health rather than sporty achievements and badges.

In real life, what I used the most was: step tracking, 24/7 HR, sleep tracking, silent alarm, and notifications. ECG and manual SpO2 are more like occasional tools than daily features. Temperature is background data; you mainly notice it when you feel off and then check the graph to see if your baseline changed. So the watch is good at quiet, passive tracking; it’s not really built for people who like to constantly interact with their watch all day.