Eufy Smart Scale review | CNN Underscored

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A smart scale can do so much more than just measure your weight. If you like to track your fitness progress or monitor your heart rate and other health data, a smart scale should be part of your morning routine.

I’ve been testing the $79.99 Eufy P2 Pro for a few weeks and it’s a capable and reliable mid-range smart scale. My current scale, the more expensive Withings Body Cardio, tracks body composition measurements such as BMI and body fat, while the Eufy scale provides even more insight into your health and fitness by tracking 16 different measurements of your body composition.

The P2 Pro is a solid mid-range smart scale that measures your weight, heart rate and body composition and delivers it in a useful manner. However, it falls short of our top pick in the Wyze Smart Scale due to its frustrating app and higher price.

Andrea Smith/CNN

In addition to your body weight, the Eufy Smart Scale P2 Pro measures muscle mass, bone mass, heart rate, body fat, and much more. The scale uses these measurements, along with input from you, (you can optionally add in waist, chest, thigh, hips) to create a personalized 3D model based on your vital statistics so you can see your fitness progress (or lack of) in real time.

The scale, after taking your measurements, will show your weight, body fat percentage and heart rate on the LED screen. The rest of the measurements, including the 3D model, coupled with your body composition measurements, are then viewed in the EufyLife app over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

So how does the scale know how much body fat and visceral fat you have? Like other smart scales, it uses bioelectrical impedance analysis, or BIA, to measure body composition. This simply means that two electrodes in the scale send a painless, low-level electrical current through your body, though it stops at the top of your legs. Don’t worry, you won’t feel a thing. The scale then estimates your body composition based on how quickly the electric pulse travels through your body. The process is safe and is used by other smart scales brands, but not recommended for pregnant women or people with pacemakers. Eufy lets you opt out of the electrical current by using the scale in “simple mode,” something my personal smart scale doesn’t offer. Without the current, it will measure and show only weight and BMI.

The 16 measurements the scale tracks are:

  • Heart rate
  • Weight
  • Body fat percentage
  • BMI
  • Muscle mass
  • Bone mass
  • Water
  • Protein
  • BMR (Basal metabolic rate)
  • Visceral fat
  • Body fat mass
  • Lean body mass
  • Body age
  • Body type
  • Skeletal muscle mass
  • Subcutaneous fat

Andrea Smith/CNN

Whether you really need to know all these measurements depends on what your goals are. If you’re using the scale solely to monitor your weight, then perhaps not. However, if you’re looking for some fitness motivation, or need to track your heart rate or monitor for dehydration, these measurements can be an extremely helpful tool.

I’m currently on a strength training program and like to see how my work out during the day affects those measurements. It also helps keep me motivated when I see the scale moving up but I’m also able to see that my muscle mass has increased and it’s not just empty calories creating the change.

Additionally, I find it helpful to know my BMI and body fat percentage so when I see those numbers trending up, I’m reminded that ice cream after dinner every night is not a smart move. Eufy’s additional measurements help paint a better overall picture of my health and fitness.

Reliable weight tracking — for pets and kids, too

Andrea Smith/CNN

It’s difficult to say how accurate the Eufy P2 Pro smart scale is because, while I got different measurements than I have on my Withings scale, I also get a different weight when I’m at the doctor’s office. The Eufy weight was within two pounds of the other, but it showed a much higher body fat percentage.

As long as the numbers are consistent though, and I measure them only against itself, it gives me an idea of my overall health and fitness. If it goes down, it’s a good sign, even if it doesn’t get down as low as the more expensive Withings number.

There’s also a mode for weighing babies and pets which is quite useful. My cat Max is a bit of a tub and I’ve been told to monitor his weight so now I just pick him up and step on the scale and the app calculates his weight. And yes, since you can create profiles for members of the whole family, he has his own profile in the app. You can create profiles for an unlimited number of users, while the Withings allows up to 8 different users.

When someone else steps on the scale, it automatically determines which user it is according to the weight. This works well for family members (or pets) who are not similar in weight to you but can get confusing when two people are within five pounds of each other. When that happens, you can manually assign the weight to a profile.

The Eufy P2 Pro smart scale delivers new measurements I wasn’t used to seeing from the Withings scale. For instance, it measures lean body mass and visceral fat, along with subcutaneous fat but I had no idea how that affects my overall health or what the “normal” range is. Clicking on the measurement in the app gives you a short explanation of what it is and what the normal range is, though the Withings explanations are far more detailed.

I was very happy to learn that my visceral fat level, the body fat that’s mainly present in the abdominal cavity, is in the normal range. My subcutaneous fat however, the fat that lies just under the skin and easily accumulates in the upper arms and thighs, was high. There are tips on how to improve; it told me to make sure to have a well-balanced diet and exercise regularly, but I already do those things. I would love to get a little bit more information about those measurements and how they relate to my overall health.

Andrea Smith/CNN

My biggest complaint is not with the scale but with the accompanying EufyLife app. It’s very confusing, not intuitive at all, and it took several calls to customer service to figure out where things were and how to use them.

I had issues with connectivity, mainly telling me I needed to connect to Bluetooth when I was already connected.

I also had a difficult time finding where you’re supposed to input your body measurements to create your 3D virtual representation, as well as where to input your food log or sync to a food tracking log to make use of the calorie tracker.

Eufy needs to do some work on the app to streamline it and make it more user friendly. I’d also like the option to choose to see some additional measurements on the scale, rather than having to view them on your phone.

My Withings scale shows me my weight change right on the scale after displaying my measurement. I know immediately whether my weight is up or down from the last time I weighed in. You need to go to the app to see this in Eufy and even then, once you see your weight, you need to tap yet another screen to see your weight history.

The Eufy scale is powered by four AA batteries, while the more expensive Withings scale is rechargeable via a USB cable.

Another feature I did not love was how short it felt, at 11 inches long, in comparison to my 12 ½ inch long Withings scale. The scale itself is attractive with a black body and large LED readout. It also has a sleek, stable design, which fits feet fit – but I don’t know if people with size 10 or wide feet will be comfortable or feel stable on it.

The P2 Pro is a solid mid-range smart scale that measures your weight, heart rate and body composition and delivers it in a useful manner. Despite some (fixable) issues with the app, it provides an overall sense of your body and can potentially help the whole family, even the family pet, make positive lifestyle changes and reach their health and fitness goals. Until then, the Wyze Smart Scale, with its easier to use app, remains our pick for the best smart scale.

Dimensions 11 x 11 x 1 inches 12 x 12 x 1 inches 12.8 x 12.8 x 0.7 inches
Weight 3.7 pounds 4.07 pounds N/A
Metrics tracked Weight, Body Fat, Heart Rate, BMI, Muscle Mass, Bone Mass, Water, Protein, BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), Visceral Fat, Body Fat Mass, Lean Body Mass, Body Age, Body Type, Skeletal Muscle Mass, Subcutaneous Fat Weight, Body Fat, Heart Rate, Lean Body Mass, BMI, Muscle Weight, Visceral Fat, Basal Metabolic Rate, Bone Mass, Metabolic Age, Protein, Body Water Percentage Weight, Body Fat, Body Water Percentage, Muscle Mass, Bone Mass, Heart Rate, Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis
Water resistance IPX5 IPX3 N/A
Battery 4 AA batteries 4 AAA batteries Rechargeable via microUSB
Max users Unlimited 8 8
Price

$79.99



$29.99



$149.95

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