The Etekcity HR Smart Fitness Scale is a mid-priced bioimpedance scale whose selling point is how much it puts on the glass. PCMag and Tech Advisor both rated it 4.5 out of 5, praising the customisable colour screen, the 400 lb capacity and a rechargeable battery in place of coin cells. The limits are the ones bioimpedance always has, readings that drift with hydration and stance, plus an app that packs a lot into a small space. Buyers who want detail beyond weight are the fit.
Full review
Fourteen metrics, nine of them on the glass at once
The scale derives fourteen body-composition values from four sensors and lets the VeSync app choose which nine appear on the colour TFT screen, so weight, body fat, muscle mass, water percentage and BMI can be read without picking up a phone. Tech Advisor rates that customisation the most useful thing about it. Capacity runs to 400 lb in 0.1 lb increments, and the platform is 12 by 12 inches, smaller than premium scales but wide enough to stand on comfortably.
USB charging instead of a drawer of coin cells
Tech Advisor singles out the rechargeable cell and USB charging as the feature separating this from cheaper scales, since it removes the one maintenance task most bathroom scales impose. The trade-off is that the battery has to be topped up rather than swapped, and owners report short runtimes between charges. The glossy tempered-glass platform sits on four non-slip feet and, as Tech Advisor points out, picks up footprints and fingerprints almost immediately.
Syncs to Apple Health, Fitbit, Google Fit and Samsung Health
The free VeSync app runs on iOS 12.0 and Android 6.0 or later and passes data on to Apple Health, Fitbit, MyFitnessPal, Google Fit and Samsung Health, which is what makes the scale usable for anyone already tracking elsewhere. Pairing over Bluetooth is straightforward, units switch between kilograms, pounds and stones, and pregnancy and baby modes are included rather than reserved for a pricier model. Alexa voice control is supported as well.
Bioimpedance numbers move with hydration and stance
The weight reading is the reliable part. Everything derived from bioimpedance, meaning body fat, muscle mass and water percentage, shifts with how hydrated a person is and where their feet land, so those figures are worth reading as a trend rather than a measurement. A moulded foot-placement guide helps with the second problem. PCMag's assessment is that it performs well in controlled conditions, which is a narrower claim than the fourteen-metric marketing implies.
Account setup can stall outside the US
Two rough edges show up in setup rather than in daily use. Tech Advisor notes that buyers outside the US may need a VPN to receive the verification code the VeSync account requires, which is a strange hurdle for a bathroom scale. The app itself is dense, and a first-time owner faces a lot of screens before the first reading lands. Against the Withings Body Smart, Tech Advisor's view is that this is the cheaper route to the same category of data.
Strengths
- +Measures multiple health metrics including weight, BMI, body fat percentage, muscle mass, and water percentage
- +Syncs data seamlessly with smartphone apps via Bluetooth connectivity
- +Provides detailed body composition analysis with a 12-point body fat scale
- +Features a large, easy-to-read LCD display with clear metric indicators
Watch-outs
- −App syncing can be inconsistent and occasionally drops connection
- −Rechargeable battery is reported to give short runtimes between charges
How it compares
While the Etekcity HR Smart Fitness Scale provides detailed body composition metrics and clear display, it lacks the RGB lighting and compact design of the Renpho Elis Chroma Aspire Smart Scale. Compared to the Withings Body Comp, it offers fewer body composition metrics and doesn't include cardiovascular health tracking or nerve health assessment.
Rating sources
Our 4.6 score is the average of these published ratings. More about methodology.
