Withings smartwatch in for the long haul with 25-day battery

Apple Watch gives us only slightly more than 24 hours of battery life and the Fitbit Versa 2 extends itself to almost five days.

Withings Steel HR Sport smartwatch

Many look back on simpler days where the battery life wasn’t a constant thought. The highest-selling smartwatch, Apple Watch, gives us only slightly more than 24 hours of battery life and the Fitbit Versa 2 extends itself to almost five days. They don’t last weeks or months.

Further, checking the time shouldn’t always rely on multiple shakes of the wrist to wake the screen. Withings is a company with a whole range of connected products and its latest wearables provide an answer to many frustrated smartwatch owners. The Withings Steel HR Sport looks like a traditional watch. The rounded face has a minute and hour hand, there is no touch screen and even the buckle on the band is not complicated.

Look a little closer though and you will see a small screen in the top half of the face and a 0-100pc dial in the bottom half. Underneath you’ll find sensors to explain the “HR” in the name: they measure your heart rate.

This smartwatch from Withings has a battery that can last up to 25 days. When used to track workouts and provide notifications we experienced closer to 20 days, which is still astounding. It does this in a variety of ways.

Withings Steel HR Sport smartwatch

First, the screen on the watch is smaller than a 5c coin. This means you can receive notifications from your iPhone or Android device but it will be more of a short notification rather than something that can be responded to on the watch itself. In most cases I actually ­appreciated this lower level of ­intrusion in my day but did miss the ability to quickly respond to an SMS without pulling the phone out.

Navigating the screen to start a workout is relatively easy. The menu system is easy to navigate, thanks to the crown on the right, and there are 30 workouts to choose from, including swimming. The Steel HR Sport does not have GPS built-in so if you are tracking an outdoor run or ride, you need your smartphone with you.

The watch heavily relies on having the smartphone and Health Mate app installed.

While the 0-100pc progress meter on the Steel HR Sport offers an easy indicator on how your step count is progressing, the app on the phone provides a totally different experience.

You’ll find more insight into your movement and sleep inside the app than what Apple provides, especially as Apple Watch doesn’t do sleep tracking at all. The app scores you on your sleep, measures your deep sleep and wakes you using gentle vibrations from the watch. Heart rate monitoring is also consistent, 24 hours a day, so you can identify points of stress, workouts and relaxation.

Withings Steel HR Sport smartwatch

What I loved about the Withings Steel HR Sport was later discovered as a frustration. While 20 days of battery life was excellent, at day 21, the clock stopped. We would have loved the watch to be powered independently of the smart features so we could always, at the very least, be wearing a watch. On the flip side, if you travel to another timezone, the watch does synchronise time with your phone and immediately adjusts the one that is less hassle.

At $329 RRP, the Steel HR Sport is a compelling option if you want a new smartwatch that doesn’t lose the style and sophistication of a traditional watch. You won’t always be reaching for the charger but you will need to be comfortable with a simpler smartwatch interface. Depending on where your priorities lie, this could be the gateway watch as you leave traditional watches behind and enter the smartwatch realm.

Geoff Quattromani is a tech commentator across radio, print, online and television. Check out his podcast “Technology Uncorked” for new information each week.

Withings Steel HR Sport smartwatch