The Wyze Scale X adds additional modes for measuring luggage, pets, and babies. | Image: Wyze
Wyze announced today that it’s launching the $33.99 Scale X, a refresh of its previous Wyze Scale. For the most part, it’s a slightly cheaper but pretty standard smart scale. But the interesting thing is it includes new Baby, Pet, and Luggage modes so you can more easily measure other things without having to do the math.
It might seem like a silly thing. After all, anyone can whip out their phone to subtract a baby, pet, or suitcase’s weight from their own. That said, doing the math for you is neat as it saves you from having to measure twice — once by yourself and once with the thing you’re trying to actually measure. As someone who regularly has to wrangle a cranky 18-pound cat to see if his diet is working, eliminating the extra step would save time. It’s one of those things where it’s baffling that all smart scales don’t already do this.
Wyze has also added a Pregnancy mode. That’s because smart scales measure a rough estimate of your body composition via bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA). Basically, it sends a weak current to determine how much body fat, water, and lean mass a person has. However, that may not be suitable for pregnant people, so the Pregnancy Mode disables the electric current. It’s also an issue for those with implanted medical devices, such as pacemakers. For those folks, there’s also a Weight-Only mode.
Image: Wyze
The Scale X also comes in white.
The scale measures 13 body composition metrics, adding muscle mass percentage on top of weight, body fat, heart rate, lean body mass, BMI, muscle mass, visceral fat, basic metabolic rate, bone mass, metabolic age, protein, and body water percentage. As a reminder, you shouldn’t put too much stock into smart scale body composition measurements. They’re not medical grade, so they may differ from measurements you get from a lab or at a gym. Basically, they’re just meant to give you a big-picture view of your general progress.
The Scale X also purportedly has updated heart rate monitoring capabilities, longer battery life that lasts up to 22 months, and a new white colorway. Spec-wise, it uses Bluetooth Low Energy and can support users from 11-400 pounds. It also has a 3.5-inch LED display and supports up to eight separate users. As for heart rate, Wyze’s press release says you can measure heart rate from anywhere using the directions in the Wyze app. The scale also syncs with Apple Health, Google Fit, and Fitbit.
All in all, this is a pretty standard feature set for smart scales, though at $33.99, it’s on the more affordable side. Most smart scales are in the $45–$50 range, though you can find some for under $30 if you don’t mind going with an unknown brand. Other smart scales from companies like Withings, Garmin, and Qardio will set you back roughly $150. For a scale that uses disposable batteries, it also lasts a long time. Unless it’s a rechargeable scale, most require you to swap out the battery after about a year. The Scale X offers nearly double the battery life at 22 months. (Though, of course, battery life always depends on your individual usage.)
The Scale X is available now. Wyze Cam Plus subscribers get an additional $5 discount, though if you’re thinking of signing up, you should be aware Wyze was recently criticized for failing to disclose a security issue to consumers with its home security camera.