In late Dec 2023, Withing released the Scanwatch Nova. In November 2024 we got to see a new iteration with the Scanwatch Nova Brilliant. Brilliant is more of a refresher of the Nova presenting a couple of new colorways and a slightly smaller face. It still retains the same $600 price tag, but which one should you get?
Style
So awhile back I was using the Scanwatch Light and this is quite the change in features and overall design. Nova Brilliant screams elegance and sophistication. It has a 39mm watch face with two colors that are Gold and Titanium Grey, the latter I have been using. It has a Titanium Fluted Bezel that feels nice to touch with its ridges that feel similar on its stainless-steel crown. Overall, it weighs in at 42g (w/o band). It features a high-res grayscale OLED display that can be seen in the brightest and darkest environments with a resolution of 14504px and 282ppi. I do think the OLED display blended better with the darker background on the Nova.
ScanWatch Nova Brilliant comes packed with everything to make your watch unboxing experience perfect. Besides the watch you are presented with an FKM wristband with stainless buckles and of course a stainless-steel band. There is a USB-C dock station for charging and a USB-C cable. Withings also made sure to include a wristband toolkit allowing you to resize the steel watch band to your sizing. It comes equipped with a hammer, pin punch, and holder. It felt a bit daunting to do at first but eventually got the hang of it and it was easy.
Functionality
Like with the Scanwatch Light, I’m already setup in the Withings ecosystem using items like their Scale so getting the Nova Brilliant added to the roster of Withings products didn’t take long. Once you have the watch synchronized you can go in and set up Notifications, Upcoming Alarms and pick your dominant wrist. Health features are ECG, Oxygen Saturation, Heart Rate, and Respiratory Scan.
The app can give you daily measurements or you can look up stats from the week or even see what’s trending in the past month. It is very detailed in letting you know whats going on with your body.
Performance
Withings states the watch can last up to 30 days and this is more in part if you are using it for basic functions and nothing synchronized to it. Otherwise with notifications going off and it routinely checking my vitals I was able to get a little over a week with it. That is fine for me as I don’t have to worry about throwing it on the charger every other day like I had some smartwatches in the past. Similar to the Scanwatch Light, notifications scroll by like a ticker with one line of text whether its messages or when you get calls. Speaking of calls, this watch has such a strong vibration so if I happen to leave it on the table and I get a call you can hear it. I did find it did some inconsistency at times of the Nova Brilliant where I left it on the charger for hours or overnight and it thought I was sleeping which was peculiar.
For everyday usage I would opt for wearing the PKM band, I felt it to be more comfortable whether for long extended periods or even just sleeping. The metal band I would switch to when I wanted to “show out.” I got tons of compliments on the Nova Brilliant watch.
Verdict
Withing’s Nova Brilliant is quite the looker. It has such a classy look it can be worn leisurely with its rubber band which I did most of the time or you can switch it for metal for those business meetings. Great if you want all the features of a health band or techie smartwatch without the “futuristic” look. But no matter the band either way you can’t go wrong. It does command a hefty price tag in the realm of smartwatches but for good reason.
