Withings Activité Pop review

Has Withings made one of the best hybrid watches?

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Withings has managed to create a good-looking wearable device that doesn't cost the world, but still looks like a high-quality watch.

There's not much that's new about the Activité Pop, but it's packaged in an attractive design at a reasonably low price and that's probably enough to sell most people on a fitness tracker.

There's a lot of competition in this space right now though, but there are a few reasons you should consider the Activité Pop when buying a new fitness tracker.

Why you should buy the Withings Activité Pop

The small, attractive design is the main reason to pick up the Activité Pop. When wearing this Withings wearable we received compliments on the look of our watch, but no-one knew it was a fitness tracker until we explained.

That's likely down to its small size and conventional timepiece looks, so if you want a fitness tracker and would prefer it was disguised, this is a great choice for you.

Battery life of the Activité Pop is another big selling point. Six months is a good amount of time to get from a single watch battery, and not having to think about charging your smartwatch is a big benefit.

The Health Mate app is also a big bonus of the Activité Pop. If you want something simple to use, this is a great app and it even connects with other health-based services to give you a few extra features Withings doesn't offer.

Why you shouldn’t buy the Withings Activité Pop 

The lack of a heart rate tracker on the Activité Pop does disappoint us a little, considering most other fitness trackers at this price would include this. It has clearly been left out to keep the tracker slim though, so you should go for the Withings Steel HR if you want to know your heart beat during workouts.

The Withings Activité Pop also isn't the go-to device if you're looking to improve your fitness.

If you want that, we recommend checking out our best fitness tracker guide, which includes a lot of better options for you to monitor your health kick. 

The fitness features are fine on the Activité Pop if you just want to track your steps, but this isn't anywhere near as comprehensive as a lot of the devices from Fitbit or even Jawbone.

First reviewed: February 2017

Competition

Not a fan of the Withings Activité Pop? Here are some alternative devices you may prefer.

Withings Steel HR

Fancy something a little more premium? The Withings Steel HR comes with a heart rate tracker included as well, so this is the ultimate fitness device for all those people who don’t want to wear a Fitbit.

It’s even more stylish than the Withings Activité Pop and will probably suit a more formal setting as well, but it’s going to cost you a little bit extra.

Fitbit Charge 2

When recommending fitness trackers, it’s very hard to not take notice of the Charge 2. You may not want this kind of device if you’re looking at more traditional watches, but we enjoyed a lot of the features the Charge 2 offered.

Go for this as your next fitness tracker if you’re looking for a lot more fitness features on your device and think you need GPS plus phone notifications through to your wrist, but can live without the subtle styling of the Activité Pop.

James Peckham

James is Managing Editor for Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.