The newly-released Wyze Scale X does a great job of putting those puzzle pieces together, to form a bigger and more detailed picture of your specific make-up. Step on and you’ll instantly know not only your body weight, but also your body fat percentage, muscle mass percentage, visceral fat, and other informative metrics. But with a price that seems almost too good to be true, is investing in the Scale X worth it? Read our full review below.
Wyze Scale X review: Price and availability
The Wyze Scale X retails for $33.99 — $10 more than Wyze’s only other smart scale offering, the Wyze Scale S. If you’re a Wyze Cam Plus subscriber, you can snag the Scale X for a discounted $29.99. The Wyze Scale X is available in both black and white.
Wyze Scale X review: Design and display
Like most smart scales, the Wyze Scale X has a sleek and smooth aesthetic — measuring almost 12 inches by 12 inches with a tempered glass construction, it can be tucked into a bathroom or living room corner with relative discretion. Thanks to an advanced ITO coating, users can stand anywhere on the Scale X’s surface and obtain precise body composition measurements. Stepping on the Scale X will illuminate its 3.5 inch LED display, where you’ll see a bluetooth icon (when the scale is connected to the Wyze app, available for iOS and Android), your weight (in pounds or kilograms), and your body fat percentage. Dashes or “CAL” will appear when the scale has experienced an unexpected error, “Lo” will appear when the batteries are drained, and “Er 1” will appear when a user’s weight is outside of the scale’s supported range. I anticipated that a white LED display on a white scale might be a little difficult to read, but the opposite was true — I could see each metric with perfect clarity. If you do tend to have issues with contrast, however, it might be in your best interest to purchase the Scale X in black.
Wyze Scale X review: Set up
After you pop four included AAA batteries into your Scale X, you’ll want to download the Wyze app and create an account. Once that’s completed, you’ll be instructed to add and name your Scale X by tapping a “+” sign. Ensure a smooth set up by confirming that your phone’s bluetooth connection is enabled. After the scale has been detected, you’ll need to enter personal data like gender, age, height, and activity level. If you workout more than 10 hours a week (guilty as charged), Wyze will suggest you select “athlete mode” for more exact readings. Smart scales use bioelectrical impedance analysis, or BIA, to detect details like body fat percentage and bone mass. This process involves a very weak electrical current that runs through the body, which can affect pacemakers. And while there are no known risks for using BIA while pregnant, it’s probably a good idea for those expecting to avoid it (not to mention, any yielded results wouldn’t be very accurate). Going into the Wyze app and selecting “pregnancy/weight only mode” will disable BIA, so that your Scale X only measures body weight (Sportneer Smart Scale, take note). With the app connected, your Scale X’s LED panel will illuminate (and even say “Hello,” if you choose) indicating that it is ready for use. Find a hard, flat surface to place the scale, slip off any shoes or socks, and step on to collect your first measurement. The scale itself will display your body weight and body fat percentage, with additional metrics available within the app. If you don’t happen to have your phone nearby, your Scale X will store your data and sync it to the app once it’s back within range. This is a definite upgrade from Wyze’s previous smart scale model, which required your phone close to you with the app open. Wi-fi connectivity is missing from the Scale X, but given its price I’m willing to forgive. Wi-fi on a scale was never a deal-breaker for me anyway. All in all, setting up the Scale X was relatively pain-free. Trying to figure out how to enable “pregnancy/weight mode” did require a bit of Googling (go into settings, tap “users,” select your username, and you’ll see the option). But other than that, Wyze makes things straightforward and easy to follow.
Wyze Scale X review: App features
The Wyze app displays a variety of measurements that give a full picture of your body’s make-up: in addition to your weight and body fat percentage, you’ll see BMI (or body mass index), muscle mass, visceral fat, basal metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn at rest), metabolic age, protein percentage, body water percentage, and lean body mass. Up to this point, there’s not much discernible difference between the Scale X and the cheaper Wyze smart scale, the Scale S. But there’s one final measurement you’ll see with the X and not the S — muscle mass percentage. Of course, you could always figure this number out on your own by dividing muscle mass by body weight. But if you don’t feel like pulling out your calculator, shilling out an extra $10 is worth it. All of this in-depth body data is displayed clearly within the app, with a body weight trend graph and dedicated sections for each metric. Tapping on a section will show your results, along with a slider bar and a definition of the specific measurement. What’s missing from these sections though is context. While it’s great for a user to know their muscle mass, there’s little information there to indicate whether that number is considered acceptable for overall health. The slider bar will give you some idea, but a little more blatant of an explanation would be helpful — especially for those just beginning to focus on health and wellness goals. For example, the visceral fat measurement is shown as a number without any kind of quantifier. You may have a visceral fat measurement of nine but…nine what? Some googling will yield an answer if you’re curious, but again — it would be great if that info was readily available within the app. What is available within the app however, is a heart rate monitor. Place your fingertip on the rear camera lens of your phone, and within a few seconds, you’ll see your resting heart rate. This is a useful feature if cardio improvements are a goal — your resting heart rate does tend to be largely determined by genetics, but generally lower BPMs (beats per minute) indicate a strong cardiovascular system. (Here’s what a normal resting heart rate is, and how to measure yours) In addition to the “pregnancy/weight only” mode, the Wyze app offers “luggage mode” for keeping checked bags light, “pet mode” for deciding if Fido needs to go on a diet, and “baby mode” for tracking your little one’s growth progress. In fact, you can even add your baby as one of the eight available synced users within the app.
Wyze Scale X review: Compatibility
The Wyze Scale X is compatible with Apple Health, Google Fit, and Fitbit. Previous Wyze scale models only featured integrations with the former two apps, so the addition of Fitbit compatibility is a nice upgrade. In the future, Wyze would be wise (sorry, I had to do it) to consider adding MyFitnessPal to the list of compatible apps. Sharing data from the Scale X to your preferred health program is pretty intuitive, but you’ll need to authorize any pairing from within the Wyze app. You can initiate that process by going into settings and selecting “Authorize 3rd Party Apps.”
Wyze Scale X review: Verdict
The Wyze Scale X offers a comprehensive (and affordable) way to learn everything you wanted to know about your body’s composition. With improvements in accuracy, newly-added metrics, and expanded compatibility with health-tracking apps, it’s a fantastic tool to use in the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. While the main differences between Wyze’s two scale models are minor, it’s worth paying a little extra for the Scale X’s ITO coating and muscle mass percentage — especially when you consider its price next to costlier competitors like the Withings Body+ and the QardioBase 2. A little more information in regards to individual metrics would go a long way, especially for users who have just begun monitoring numbers like body fat percentage and lean muscle mass. However, this is a nit-picky critique and something that could be easily addressed with a simple app update.
