Withings Steel Hr Review: A Minimalist Fitness Tracker

• Withings Steel Hr

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Design

• The watch has two different casing size
• It comes with silicone straps
• You can change the straps from silicone to other types

On the first look, you see the predominant analog designs on the Withings Steel Hr. The watch has hash marks surrounding the edges of a classic round face. The purpose of these hash marks is to show the hours. You will also see one button by the side of the watch and two hands around the edges of the watch.

However, apart from these analog designs are other intricate design features possessed by the Withings Steel Hr. An example of this is a small dial located around the 6 o'clock hand, with its hash marks and hour hands counting up to 100. This small dial is a fitness tracker that helps you track your fitness goals as set on a companion app(more on this later).

There is also a digital screen by the 12 O'clock hand. This screen comes on when you press the side button and shows the date, time, and other metrics. You can also see the notifications set on the watch.

This small digital screen uses the OLED screen technology, which is one of the smart features possessed by the Withings Steel Hr.

Despite these tech features, the Withings Steel Hr maintains a typical watch look, which we think is cool. The watch doesn't look too techy, futuristic, geeky, or bulky on your hands. From afar, what everybody sees on your wrist is a normal watch.

The Withings Steel Hr comes with a silicone strap. This type of strap is comfortable. However, you can change the strap if you wish to.

There are twelve different strap options with the Withings Steel Hr. These include seven silicone straps, four leather straps, and one metal Milanese strap. All of these straps come in different colors.

Also, the process of changing the strap is quite easy. There is a pin mechanism dedicated to the purpose. While the strap changing process requires patience and caution, it is so easy you should get it done in about ten minutes.

The casing for the Withings Steel Hr comes in two different sizes and colors. There are the 40mm or 36mm options for the size, and a rose gold or silver option for the color. The watch's face could also be white or black.

Fitness Features

• It has a heart rate monitor
• Suggests and record different workout activities
• It has a sleep tracking feature

There are many fitness features on this hybrid watch. The first and the most conspicuous is the heart rate monitor. This monitor tracks your heart rate for 24 hours non-stop.

Apart from the heart monitor, the Withings Steel Hr possesses features that recognize and track different sporting activities. These activities include running, swimming, and many more. You can also add up to thirty more activities such as pilates, soccer, and others for tracking.

You can start the activity tracking by pressing the side button for a long time. The Withings Steel Hr will start recording the duration of your activities and start the heart rate monitoring too. The watch will then use both of these metrics to compute the number of calories burned and other health metrics.

The Withings Steel Hr also uses the GPS on your smartphone (through a companion app) to determine the distance you walked or ran, the location of your exercise, and the elevation of the location.

When you are done with your exercise, the watch, through the companion app, gives a post-workout report of your heart rate during the exercise. It shows how long you were in each heart zone (peak, light, intense, and moderate). There is also an overview map report for your fitness activities.

The Withings Steel Hr also provides sleep tracking features. The hybrid watch combines with the HealthMate App to give you a SleepScore. A SleepScore measures how much light or deep sleep you had by considering your heart rate during sleep and the number of interruptions you had during sleep.

Finally, there is a silent alarm that wakes you up at a set time, using the buzz.

Smart Features

• It has a notification feature that allows you to connect and receive notifications from numerous apps and devices.
• The companion app that comes with the hybrid watch is also easy to use.

One of the smart features in the Withings Steel Hr is the notifications feature. The Withings Steel Hr allows you to receive notifications from different applications and devices connected to the watch. You can connect and receive notifications from as many as 100 apps on the watch. These apps include fitness apps like Run Keeper, Runtastic Fitbit, and many more.

You can also receive notifications from third party apps like Whatsapp, Uber, Facebook, and the likes.

However, the notification feature makes a dent in battery life. Thus, the more the notification, the faster the battery dissipates.

The Withings Steel Hr buzzes when a notification comes on, and the OLED screen displays the title or content of the message. This is against most smartwatches' notification feature, where all you get is a buzz to notify you of a message or call.

Another smart feature is the companion app that comes with this hybrid watch, the Health Mate app. Firstly, the app is easy to use and has a simple but impressive interface. You will also find this companion app very useful as it allows you to get the best from the Withings Steel Hr.

You get the stats and post-workout summary from this app. Whenever you open, you get a welcome message informing you of the steps you've taken that day, your proximity to your daily fitness goal, and other metrics regarding your heart or weight.

After these welcome stats, you can then access the major metrics from the past few days. These metrics are under specific tabs; clicking on these tabs will show you the metrics' full information.
The statistics about the heart are taken every thirty minutes. This means that you will get detailed and near-accurate data on your heart rate.

The app will work with most iOS and Android devices. If your phone came out recently, like two years ago, then it should be compatible with the app and the watch itself. The watch can only connect to an iOS device running on iOS 8 or any higher version. For Android devices, the Withings Steel Hr connects with devices running on Android 6 (Marshmallow) and higher versions.

However, there are some exceptions to this rule. You can learn more about smartphones that do not follow the rules on the Withings website. Nonetheless, the companion app is not compatible with Windows and Blackberry devices.

Battery Life

• The battery is rechargeable, meaning you need not buy extra batteries
• It lasts for about one month on a single charge
• The battery life is relatively poor when compared to other Withing Watches

With this hybrid watch's reduced functionality, the Withings Steel Hr's battery lasts for about 25 days with a single recharge. This is not surprising as the battery only powers a small digital screen and the watch's hour markers.

As said earlier, the features that dissipate the battery includes the notification feature and heart monitor. Thus, if you keep these features off, you could possibly enjoy the battery for a longer period.

As a plus, the Withings Steel Hr comes with a rechargeable battery and a charging port. This is an advantage over many smartwatches, including some Withings smartwatches. This rechargeable battery means that you don't need to worry about replacing the battery, as long as you charge it when it is down.

However, the charging port is a bit problematic, as the charger keeps sliding off the port. Thus, you need to keep an eye on the charger while charging to ensure that the Withings Steel Hr charges very well.

Finally, it takes about one hour to get the battery fully charged. Compared to other smartwatches, the charging duration is fast and allows for efficient charging.

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