Withings Pulse Review

Introduction

It’s one thing to get into shape, but it’s totally another trying to get motivated to even start. Looking around, there are plenty of fitness activity accessories to go with, like the Fitbit or Nike FuelBand, with both getting plenty of attention in the space. Entering the scene as a newcomer, the Withings Pulse looks to give the current crop of devices a good run for their money, as it boasts some of the same tracking features as its esteemed rivals, but as its name so aptly implies, it also has the ability to read our pulse. Paired with its interesting design, it seemingly has enough arsenal to steer ahead through the crowded waters.

Design

This is an interesting looking little fella, and at first glance, we wouldn’t fathom for a moment that it’s an activity tracker. First things first, it’s unbelievably tiny in size and its weight is nearly non-existent! Obviously, those are aspects that are agreeable to everyone, but there are times that we’re scared of actually losing it, since it’s so darn small. Sporting a rectangular looking casing with a uniform soft touch finish, there’s no denying that it’s flaunting a modern design that makes a distinct statement. Despite its alluring design, there is a bit of hollowness in its casing that exudes some cheapness with its construction – plus, it didn’t help when its internals seems to come out as we tried removing its charging cable from its microUSB port.


No doubt one of its most defining characteristics, the Withings Pulse features an OLED touchscreen with a 132 x 32 pixels resolution. With its aqua colored glow, it definitely attracts some attention at first glance, however, its potency is lacking when we try to view it outdoors with the sun present. Essentially, it becomes washed out and almost impossible to view. On the flip side, though, there’s a pleasing iridescent glow when it’s in the dark. As for the touchscreen portion, it can be a bit sluggish with its response every now and then – causing us to swipe multiple times. Not surprisingly, its functionality is minimal, as we’re mainly swiping left/right or tapping to make selections. Thankfully, the Pulse stores and can display readings for up to 10 days.

On its top edge, the ‘Withings’ name is the most prominent item printed on its body – while a circular sized recessed button nearby turns on the device with a single press, and pressing it again enables us to cycle through its different modes. Along the bottom edge, there’s a microUSB port that charges its internal battery, which is rated to deliver up to 14 days of juice (more on that later). And finally, flipping it to its back, we find one peculiar thing we don’t tend to find with most other activity trackers – green/red LEDs that measure our heart rate, along with its optoelectronics sensor.

Accessories

Included with the packaging are two wearable pieces that allow us to carry along the Withings Pulse. First, there’s the rubbery clip holster that accommodates the Pulse, which is our go-to choice out of everything else. Sure, we can simply toss the Pulse in our pocket since it’s so miniscule in size, but the rubbery clip ensures us that we have access to it at a moment’s notice. Thankfully, the clip is tight enough to stay sufficiently in place – even when we’re moving vigorously, like running. However, after a month of using it consistently, the rubbery casing began to tear apart.


Secondly, there’s a fabric-like wrist strap accessory that’s supposed to be used for sleeping only, but we’d figure some people wouldn’t mind using it for other activities. With its mesh front finish, we’re still permitted to interact with the Pulse – so swipes and touches are registered. As much as we’d like to use this while running outside, the fabric material probably wouldn’t hold up in the long run, since it’ll absorb sweat and get dirty very quickly.

Accuracy

At heart, the Withings Pulse is a pedometer, so it measures the amount of steps we’ve taken, which in turn, computes our distance covered and the amount of calories we burn. Using the rubber clip holster, it manages to accurate measure all of our steps to the teeth. However, we notice one fatal flaw – waving it in our hand causes it to register it as steps. Although it’s unlikely for us to use the device day in, day out while physically holding it, we hope that some sort of software update can remedy this flaw in the future. Besides that, it works wonderfully when it’s safe and sound in our pockets, backpack, or when it’s clipped onto us via the rubbery clip.

For other measurements, like calories burned and distance travelled, it’s all calculated based on the information we provide to the accompanying Withings app. Much like other calculated based fitness trackers, these are measurements that it comes up with, which aren’t always the most accurate. For example, it’s unable to read our heart rate consistently during various exercises, especially when going from a stagnant starting point to something intensive – therefore, the calories burned figure isn’t as precise as say a chest strap heart rate monitor.

Pulse Rate

And that leads us to the unit’s ability to measure our heart rate, which is done when we activate the sensor and place our finger over its neon green LED light. Basically, we keep our finger still on it for some time, which then gives us our heart rate. Needless to say, it’s nice that it offers this unique function on the fly, but the data is only useful when we measure our heart rate under the same conditions – like at a resting rate.

Sleep Activity

In addition to measuring various physical activities, the Withings Pulse can also analyze our sleeping patterns too – a special perk no doubt! Placing it into sleep mode right before we go to bed, the Pulse can analyze when we’re doing some light or heavy sleeping. Heck, it even can tell us how long it takes us to fall asleep. We’re surprised at how active while sleeping, since the Withings Pulse pays close attention to movement during our sleep. Whereas other portions of its tracking is automatic, like how it tracks how many steps we take, we have to physically put the Pulse into sleeping mode right before bed – and again take it off the mode in the morning when we wake up.

Withings App

Working in conjunction with this multiple faceted fitness tracker, the Withings app (available for Android and iOS) is the one-stop hub where all the stored information can be seen in detail. Mostly relying on bar and line charts, it’s wonderful that we can visualize our actual fitness activity – plus our sleeping habits too! Storing all of that information is wonderful and all, but we sorely wish it can offer us recommendations on how to improve, or set goals to further our activity goals. Instead, the information is simply raw and without any meaningful suggestions. In the future, we’re crossing our fingers that they deepen the app’s features set.