Let me be very upfront with this. Despite being feature-packed, the new Huawei Smart Scale 3 is a relatively expensive device. Php1,499 (USD30) might not seem so much to some people. But, there’s not a lot willing to spend more than Php500 (USD10) for something that’s used only occasionally.
But then, there’s a rising need for more technology to track and hopefully help with health goals. It’s not actually that surprising that this category has been growing dramatically over the past few years.
The first smart scale I used was the Mi Body Scale. This was was a great device that could measure other things aside from my weight. However, I changed my fitness tracker to the Huawei Watch GT2e. Thus, I also needed to change my entire fitness ecosystem. This is why I bought the Huawei Smart Scale 3.
For those who have been using scales that measure just weight, you will be in for a surprise when using these smart scales. They just offer so much more information especially since weight isn’t the only factor when measuring health. There’s also other factors such as fat to muscle ratio and BMI. It’s a fact that muscle weighs more than fat. For example, even if I weigh 200lbs but mostly lean muscle, then I would look very different from someone who weighs 200lbs but has mostly fat. Thus, this renders traditional (and boring) weighing scales practically obsolete, unless your body goal is just reducing pure weight.
With the Huawei Smart Scale 3, you’ll be able to measure body mass, BMI (Body Mass index), body composition, as well as track your progress every time you measure your weight. It also has a heart rate monitor. More importantly, all of the information that is measured can be easily recorded on your Huawei account. However, one thing to note is that because of the technology behind these devices, these smart scales can only give an idea of these measurements.
It’s powered by 4 AAA batteries, which is a huge downside since I’ve been hoping for a rechargeable scale via USB Type-C (or even microUSB).
While the scale is a great device by itself, most of the ingenuity lies in the Huawei Health app, which analyzes and gives information on your health status. There’s just so much information that picky fitness enthusiasts can be able to take advantage of. The scale needs to connect via bluetooth to your device. To install the Huawei Health app, users must also need to download the Huawei Appgallery, which features a whole slew of different apps that fit the Huawei ecosystem as well.
It even has WI-FI to be able to upload your health information to your Huawei account. This means that you will be able to view all related measurement history on your device even if it wasn’t connected during measurement.
How to use?
Upon stepping on the scale, it will automatically measure your current weight, then your BMI, then lastly your heart rate. It will then upload all of these information on your Huawei account and will be viewable on your device.
Of course, it’s assumed that not only one person will be using this device. If other people use the scale, the Huawei Health app will alert you if the measurements were yours. In addition, multiple devices (up to 10) can also record their measurements using the same scale. You can also change measuring units from lbs to kgs and vice versa, in case other people are more comfortable with lbs or kgs.
For the health information, there’s BMI (which will automatically indicate your status), Body Fat Rate, Skeletal muscle mass, visceral fat, basal metabolic rate, body water, bone mineral, protein, and fat-free mass. It’s a very, very specific measurement, and although the accuracy might be off at times, it more or less gives you an idea of your current status.
You can also set your weight goals, but as I mentioned earlier, weight might not be the only metric to notice. Lower body fat rate, higher basal metabolic rate, increasing fat-free mass, and lowering heart rate should be some of the goals as well.
It will then give you a summary of your body composition. In my case, my fat content is now slightly higher than protein content, which is really not a good position. I don’t understand why I’m just 46.6% water, but I’ll probably consult with a doctor on this.
It will also show you the records of when you took your previous measurements and your progress.
To buy or not to buy?
If you’re a huge fitness enthusiast who looks into every detail about your body, then the Huawei Smart Scale 3 might just give you the information that you’re looking to track. Although most of these such scales can only provide an estimate, it’s still a pretty good estimate. Again, the most accurate measurement of your overall health status should be given by a licensed health professional.
On the tech side, probably the best feature would be tracking your overall progress via cloud, which is very helpful. We would’ve wanted the scale itself to be rechargeable via USB Type-C, but I haven’t actually found a lot of scales that are rechargeable. The Huawei Health app is a great user-friendly app, although installation on non-Huawei devices still continue to be a pain.
If you have Php1,499 (USD 30) to spare, then the Huawei Smart Scale is a fantastic nifty gadget to buy even without investing into the Huawei ecosystem, and probably the most feature-packed budget smart scale out there.
Huawei Scale 3 Specifications:
- Brand: Huawei
- Model: LED Smart Scale 3
- LED display
- Units of measurement: pounds and kilograms.
- Weight range: 2.5 to 150 kg, 5.51 to 330.69 pounds
- Connection:
- Measurable parameters:
- Weight
- BMI
- Body Fat Index
- Body mass
- Measurement of muscle mass
- Body moisture
- Protein
- Bone mass
- Belly fat measurement
- Resting calorie needs
- Heart rate
- Allows you to get an Analysis Report (up to 10 body measurements)
- Material: tempered glass + metal + ABS
- Battery:
- Type 4 AAA batteries ( batteries not included )
- Power: 1.5V
- Usage time: up to 180 days
- Dimensions and weight:
- Measurements: 30 x 30 x 2.36 cm
- Weight: 1.75 kg
- Color: white