The first of our TOP 5 smart health connected watches at CES 2020, the smart health connected watch Withings Activité Pop arrived on our premises and we tested it for you!Read our Withings Activité Pop review.
Presentation of the Withings Activité Pop watch
Cheaper, more “pop” and less Swiss this time … Withings’ Pop Activity is the version General public and more master key of its big sister “Activity“. A smart health watch suitable for everyday life.
Release date : Currently on pre-order on Withings.com, it will be released in February 2020.
Price: 149.95 dollars
Main competitor: We suspect that with its small class of casual and chic watch, the NévoWatch could well be a serious competitor of the Pop Activity …
Tested on: Iphone 5
The Withings Activité Pop and its box (Unboxing!)
Well, the day of your Unboxing, I hope you will have nails, muscular fingers and that you will not be impatients extract your new watch if you purchase it, because … the box is super rigid ! Here it is in all its glory:
First impression : the box allows you to present the watch in a stylish, but already just by touching it, you feel that it will be complicated to get out of its rigid cardboard box.
The instructions all around the box are in relief, and available in English, French and German.
Well, that’s silly to say, but to get through this crucial first step of “going out of the box”, we had to play knuckles… the little one wouldn’t let it go. Hint: everything slips, and if possible upwards. Do not try to open the bottom of the box, it would be useless.
The manual is quite thin, it has 8 pages with fairly succinct explanations, illustrated. The white base on which the watch rests is actually a small box, you will see below what it contains, keep it preciously!
Lo and behold, everything is open, I managed not to damage anything despite the rigidity of the case. First observation once the watch is in hand: the silicone strap is rather pleasant to the touch, it is soft and serrated on the reverse. The watch face looks solid, there are absolutely no apparent buttons.
Design and Ergonomics of the Withings Activité Pop
The Pop Activity is not an ultra-thin watch, as seen above. I like its intense blue dial, darker than the bracelet, and metallic. It easily retains moisture, as soon as it is touched, it changes color slightly to adopt a purple shade.
This time, no dial with sapphire screen, nor calfskin strap as for the previous model, stainless steel and silicone for the bracelet. We already know that it exists three colors for this model: Bright Azure (the one in the photo), Shark Gray (the black version), Wild Sand (Light gray).
The watch is very classic, it could easily pass for a traditional watch, without options, I like this idea of invisible technology, master key. Under the dial, it says 5ATM, so it promises good water resistance of 50 meters, fortunately besides since it is planned that it can locate and calculate your movements during a trip to the pool! Well, I haven’t been to the pool since we received it, but it has been in the shower, and so far, no problem.
To get an idea of mixed look of the Pop Activity, two wrists of “mannequins-watch”, female and male (we satisfy everyone like that!):
As we can see on the metal loop, on the dial, under the dial and, there it is not visible, but it is also written on the back of the bracelet, “Withings ”, the brand name, is listed four times on the Pop Activity smart health connected watch. There is two dials in the main dial, the time, without numeric indication, and a dial from 0 to 100 which is there to visually remind you where you are of your goal of the day, in percentage of accomplishment. Each small benchmark represents a slice of 10%.
Withings Mobile Application
Mobile app : Not dedicated application, the application Free proposed is “Withings HealthMate activity tracker and lifecoach“, Which allows you to centralize all your Withings devices, Pop Activity, Withings scales, the activity tracking armband, or Aura, the sleep sensor.
Compatibility: The app is available from iPhone 4s, I tested on iPhone 4, my watch was simply not recognized. Also compatible with iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, iPhone 6, 6Plus, iPod touch 5th Generation.
Connection: To synchronize your Activity Pop smart health connected watch with the application, you will need to activate the Bluetooth.
We start by opening the user manual, which mentions a little tip on the first page:
– Tool to start the watch and open the back of the watch case. Tool? What tool? Well, I didn’t see it at first, but let’s give you the hint, this tool is in the white box which serves as a support for the watch, it opens (always with muscular fingers) and inside:
This small additional metal dial has two tips, a fine pin to reach the RESET button on the back of the watch, and a thicker pin to open your case (there is a wide slot behind the dial, it’s simple, in a click it opens and you can access the battery, just press firmly to close).
Here the RESET button visible, you will need it at each synchronization, if you change your phone for example, you will have to reset the watch. We start by clicking on this button after opening the application. On the other hand, the watch changes the time by itself, if you change time zones, or according to summer or winter time, by synchronizing with your smartphone. Normally, it is touched more after the first initialization.
The HealthMate app sort of “aggregator”Of applications, since you can use in addition for more precise data, competition objectives and live sharing on the social media, the following applications: RunKeeper, Nike +, MyFitnessPal, BodyMedia.
To know : these applications can be used without owning a smart health connected watch, with the accelerometers already installed in your smartphone.
Here the important thing: the step calculation, and the distance traveled. I synchronized the watch twice and put two different weights, so it tells me that I lost 20 kilos during the day … I took my pulse with the application, it appears here in BPM measurement.
It’s very easy to share your “exploits” with RunKeeper, well, it’s up to you, I did 20 laps at the editorial! Using RunKeeper coupled with the basic app, I have access to a geolocated route, and all my running speed, distance and duration data.
The application is compatible with Android and iOS, but the Activity Pop smart health connected watch will only be available on Android from February 2020, as mentioned on the Withings.com website.
Getting started and adaptation time
All in all, to start my watch, to successfully synchronize it (it was not badly buggy, and the watch was not immediately recognized), do the internal software update (important), install the application, browse it, install the add-ins to optimize the reading of my data (RunKeeper and MyFitnessPal), and understand how it all works, I had a good one thirty minutes.
I found it a bit long, but I have to be very forgiving because the watch is just available for pre-order. The application does not seem to be updated yet for the Pop Activity, which could explain the synchronization difficulties, and the swimming tracking for example, which will only be available from march 2020, after a software update. I think we will have to see where the development is from the official release date of the watch!
I hope that the application will be improved because its BIG defect, is that it’s a catch-all. Very practical if you have decided to buy many products from the Withings range (Aura for sleep, Smart Body Analyzer for weighing yourself, Pulse Ox as an activity bracelet, etc.), but impractical if you just want to focus on the results recorded by your watch.
Easy to use
I was suddenly a little lost, without knowing if my results came from the watch or the pedometer built into the applications. By glancing at the dial, I saw the activity dial second hand move according to my steps, and the goal I had set, which reassured me.
Sleep tracking and vibrating alarm clock
I had the opportunity to spend a whole night with the Activity Pop watch (how lucky I am!) and to wake up with vibration. So, I say: OK!… But I also say ATTENTION… You know this ugly wonderful invention of modern man that is the Snooze / Repeat of your awakening? Well, I couldn’t find it on the Activity Pop smartwatch. It only vibrated a very small time. Well, I was already awake, it was nice, because indeed, it wakes up gently. On the other hand, you have to be motivated, and on your feet right away, because it does not revive afterwards. Same as for swimming tracking, to see if it will come later.
The watch promises to record the deep sleep phases, and when I woke up, I did not have the opportunity to check it because I did not find how to access this data on the application. Always the same, I’ll tell you more with the official release and possible updates to the app.
Reminder of the functionalities of the Withings Activity Pop watch
Compatibility: iOS7, iPhone 4S and newer, iPod Touch 5th generation or later.
Food : CR2025 button cell, 8 months battery life, easy to replace yourself
Connectivity: Low Energy Bluetooth. Bluetooth 4.0
Tracking: steps not taken, distance traveled, calories burned, swimming, sleep (to come).
Swimming: function available from March 2020 after firmware update
Sleep: Time taken to fall asleep, duration of sleep. Sleep cycles (light and deep),
Conclusion
What We liked : the mix, the sobriety and the color of the silicone bracelet, soft to wear from the watch. The option to quickly check what time my alarm will ring, tapping slightly twice on the dial. Configure needles from my smartphone, it was a very nice little moment, which I will show you soon on ehealth! The metal tool to press RESET and open the watch is very practical.
What We did not like : The rigidity of the box, the absence of a pocket to store the watch inside. The fact that there is no app exclusively dedicated to Pop Activity, which allows me to simply view the recorded data.
We are still waiting for some answers from Withings on the improvements to the application planned for the launch of marketing and the price of interchangeable straps. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
