Most accurate body weight smart scale

[Mity]

I know the official Apple recommends Withings but it doesn't get the best reviews. Does anyone know of a body weight scale that provides the most accurate weight measurements?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3JJQ9TN

Withings Body Smart - Advanced Body Composition Wi-Fi Scale

Embrace the Withings scale experience, and seamlessly integrate better health into your daily life. Buy online now at apple.com.

www.apple.com

Edit

I did a bit more research:

Digital but not smart: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/the-best-bathroom-scales/
Top pick: Eat Smart Precision Plus

Digital smart scales: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-smart-scales/
Top pick: Wyze Scale X

For smart scales, the Wyze did get the best pick. But if you go to the bottom of the smart scale article, they write the following about A&D Medical (apparently a 40-year old Japanese medical device company):

If you want an ultra-accurate smart scale with a notably high weight limit: The A&D Medical Premium Wireless scale (currently $85, Bluetooth only) was the most consistently accurate scale in our testing, and it has a 450-pound weight limit, which is higher than those of our picks. Somewhat annoyingly, though, its app requires you to manually confirm your weight and then enter your height every time you record a reading from the scale—effectively invalidating some degree of automation. The scale is compatible with Google Fit and Apple Health. This scale is FSA-eligible with a letter of medical necessity from a physician, and it has a two-year warranty.

A&D's app also seems to get good ratings:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/a-d-heart-track/id1499948195
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.aandd.hearttrack&hl=en_US

I bought the Withings, Eat Smart Precision Plus and the A&D Medical. I'm going to use the Eat Smart as a reference scale and test out the Withings and A&D to see which one is more accurate. If neither of the two smart scales work, I'll try the Wyze.

 

[NoBoMac]

Good luck with that as most/all smart scales are inaccurate.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8122302/

Smart scales are not accurate for body composition and should not replace DEXA in patient care.

Is BMI an Accurate Measure of Health?

Is BMI an accurate way to measure your health? Yes and no. Learn how to measure your BMI, why it’s still a useful tool, its limitations and when to talk to your doctor.

health.clevelandclinic.org

Leslie Heinberg, PhD, Director of Enterprise Weight Management at Cleveland Clinic, says research has found that most of these scales are fairly inaccurate and tend to overestimate body fat percent. Plus the extra bells and whistles on these products can produce distressing results.

I guess can use one's number as a "relative baseline" and track relative to that (ie. see if going up or down), but to say "my BMI is X", a bit wishful imo. Or get a DEXA test, see what scale says that day, see how far off and adjust accordingly from then on to have a relative idea what the real number is.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Good luck with that as most/all smart scales are inaccurate.

I think OP only mentioned weight specifically
The smart scales are all pretty good at that part I think

I love my Wyze scale for my daily weigh in.
I also use SmartScaleSync to have it auto sync up with my Garmin account

 

[adrianlondon]

...to say "my BMI is X", a bit wishful imo.

BMI just needs accurate weight and height measurements.

I assume you meant body fat %.

 

[Mity]

Good luck with that as most/all smart scales are inaccurate.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8122302/

Is BMI an Accurate Measure of Health?

Is BMI an accurate way to measure your health? Yes and no. Learn how to measure your BMI, why it’s still a useful tool, its limitations and when to talk to your doctor.

health.clevelandclinic.org

I guess can use one's number as a "relative baseline" and track relative to that (ie. see if going up or down), but to say "my BMI is X", a bit wishful imo. Or get a DEXA test, see what scale says that day, see how far off and adjust accordingly from then on to have a relative idea what the real number is.

I think OP only mentioned weight specifically
The smart scales are all pretty good at that part I think

I love my Wyze scale for my daily weigh in.
I also use SmartScaleSync to have it auto sync up with my Garmin account

I updated my original post above. NYT gave the Wyze Scale X the top pick for smart scales. But in that same article they mentioned a company called A&D Medical as being the most accurate. I have no idea what A&D Medical was but after googling, I found out that they're a 40 year old Japanese medical device company. It has good reviews on Amazon. I'm going to test it out. A medical device co making scales sounds like a good thing but who knows...

 

[turbineseaplane]

I updated my original post above. NYT gave the Wyze Scale X the top pick for smart scales. But in that same article they mentioned a company called A&D Medical as being the most accurate. I have no idea what A&D Medical was but after googling, I found out that they're a 40 year old Japanese medical device company. It has good reviews on Amazon. I'm going to test it out. A medical device co making scales sounds like a good thing but who knows...

Nice!
More than I wanted to spend as I just wanted connected weight syncing with Apple Health & Garmin

Excited to hear your report on the A&D

 

[noannualfee]

The most accurate scale is how your clothing fits

 

[Mity]

I've been taking multiple daily measurements (~3/day) since I took a month off from work.

The Eat Smart Daily does provide consistent results, every time you step on the scale, just as the NYT says. Supposedly, it has no memory to keep track of the weights so every weigh-in is truly independent and not algorithmically driven. So, I used this scale as the base case.

I calculated the absolute value of the deviation of the other two scales at each weigh-in. I found the A&D to be more accurate than the Withings but the question is, is there a material difference? The Withings had an average deviation of 0.5 lbs and the A&D 0.2 lbs over the last ~15 days.

Daily average deviation:

This is the trajectory of my weight:

There are two other important factors that I will include in an update later this month, namely the app experience and ecosystem.

 

[xraydoc]

I have a Withings Body Scan. It’ll do fat, muscle and bone mass measurements, amongst other things.

Is it medically accurate? Likely not. But it’s at least consistent so I can see either progress or losses, and that’s what is helpful for me.

 

[mtbdudex]

2 - 3 months in, how are you guys liking your smart scales?
I'm in the market, this thread came up on a google search.

 

[Mity]

2 - 3 months in, how are you guys liking your smart scales?
I'm in the market, this thread came up on a google search.

I ended up keeping all 3. The most accurate scales are the A&D (smart connected) and the Eat Smart (not smart connected). If I had not passed the return period for the Withings, I would have returned it.

The A&D connects via Bluetooth without fail; no need to connect to WiFi. The app is designed like a medical instrument. Not fancy but no advertisements. You have to click on measure in the app every time you want to weigh in (to keep metrics separate for different people). It's better to connect it to Apple Health for metrics tracking because the A&D chart looks like something you see at the doctor's office (obviously). The benefit of using the A&D is that you can add their medical grade blood pressure monitors to your profile. I did this and I gave the A&D to my dad since he's old and needs it more than I do.

I'm using the Withings for myself and I don't pay attention to anything except the weight. I think the weight is off by 1-pound and I don't trust the body fat % at all. You don't have to press a button in the app to weight yourself; it uploads automatically. You must connect it to WiFi using a 2.4GHz connection. I don't have any devices that use 2.4GHz so I had to create a new connection just for it. Dumb. The Withings app is full of fluff with suggestions designed to get you to subscribe to their services. I hate that so I use the Apple Health app. When you go to the weight area, the chart is more modern and cleaner than A&D. But if you use Apple Health, that doesn't matter.

My recommendation is the A&D for accuracy.

 

[GrayFlannel]

In college we weighed in on beam scales that were calibrated weekly.
That was then and this is now… but they are only as accurate as their calibration.

 

[mtbdudex]

I ended up keeping all 3. The most accurate scales are the A&D (smart connected) and the Eat Smart (not smart connected). If I had not passed the return period for the Withings, I would have returned it.

The A&D connects via Bluetooth without fail; no need to connect to WiFi. The app is designed like a medical instrument. Not fancy but no advertisements. You have to click on measure in the app every time you want to weigh in (to keep metrics separate for different people). It's better to connect it to Apple Health for metrics tracking because the A&D chart looks like something you see at the doctor's office (obviously). The benefit of using the A&D is that you can add their medical grade blood pressure monitors to your profile. I did this and I gave the A&D to my dad since he's old and needs it more than I do.

I'm using the Withings for myself and I don't pay attention to anything except the weight. I think the weight is off by 1-pound and I don't trust the body fat % at all. You don't have to press a button in the app to weight yourself; it uploads automatically. You must connect it to WiFi using a 2.4GHz connection. I don't have any devices that use 2.4GHz so I had to create a new connection just for it. Dumb. The Withings app is full of fluff with suggestions designed to get you to subscribe to their services. I hate that so I use the Apple Health app. When you go to the weight area, the chart is more modern and cleaner than A&D. But if you use Apple Health, that doesn't matter.

My recommendation is the A&D for accuracy.

Thx for feedback , looking at the A&D, it says 4 sensors. I’m guessing thru the feet, if so why they showing socks here

This smart scale has 8 sensors, 4 feet and 4 hands, seems to offer more total body info

Me, I’m 62, Mtb 4 times a week, long ride 3-4 hours on weekend. As I progress trainings, rest, aging, etc I’d like good data and history.

 

[Mike330R]

OP- How do you know the A&D is the most accurate?
Only way to know for sure it to put certified weight on it.

Chances are you are correct between the 3 as A&D make mostly good scales.

 

[Mity]

OP- How do you know the A&D is the most accurate?
Only way to know for sure it to put certified weight on it.

Chances are you are correct between the 3 as A&D make mostly good scales.

I'm going off the NYT article - I have not used certified weights (but that's a good idea). According to the NYT, the most accurate scale is the non-smart Eat Smart scale. In practice, it is actually far more consistent than the other two if you take multiple daily measurements. I found it to have less variation in between weighings. Withings jumps around too much.

A&D's deviation from Eat Smart was less. In this post above, the measurements were taken multiple times per day. The question is how much does this deviation matter to you? Is the deviation significant enough to warrant paying extra for the A&D. But if you look online, people say that the body fat percentages of the Withings are way off. For the price, I don't think the Withings is any better than cheaper devices like the Wyze.

 

[Mity]

Thx for feedback , looking at the A&D, it says 4 sensors. I’m guessing thru the feet, if so why they showing socks here


This smart scale has 8 sensors, 4 feet and 4 hands, seems to offer more total body info

I recall measuring on the A&D with socks and it was fine so they must be for detecting load only.

That's one of the other reasons why I prefer the A&D over the Withings. You obviously can't get body fat readings with socks on. Even though people say it's unreliable, you may find value in direction/trend instead of accuracy with the Withings.

 

[NJRonbo]

Does the A&D sync with Apple Health?

There are 3 different scales on Amazon from A&D ranging from $60-$150.

 

[Mity]

Does the A&D sync with Apple Health?

There are 3 different scales on Amazon from A&D ranging from $60-$150.

Yes, it does. The scale that I linked above only has the weight feature. You would have to buy the blood pressure monitor and other A&D devices for other data.

As I said earlier, the A&D Heart app is designed just like a medical tool so it isn't flashy. The data "looks" better in Apple Health. I bought ASIN B0BP9PQVQ2 : amazon.com /gp/product/B0BP9PQVQ2/