Over the past year, for obvious reasons, the offer of infrared thermometers for reading fever has literally exploded. On Amazon, the results page is full of products from the most abstruse brands, all very similar to each other. Even the French manufacturer Withings, known for its smart products for wellness and fitness, produces one: it is called Thermo and stands out from all the others for its shape, size, smart functionality and above all for the list price, much more high compared to the average. We tried it to understand if it is really worth spending around € 80 for an infrared thermometer that – unlike many others – interfaces with the smartphone.
Smart thermometer
Connection to iOS and Android devices takes place thanks to the free Thermo app. It is a dedicated app different from Health Mate, the app that instead allows you to connect all the other products of the Withings ecosystem. The app is required for the first setup, but not needed every time you measure the temperature. In fact, the thermometer can keep various measurements in memory and then update them automatically via Bluetooth.
To start a measurement, simply turn on Thermo (with the only button present), remove the protective cap and bring it to the forehead. There is no need to touch the skin, just hold it about an inch away. However, it is necessary to move the thermometer horizontally, to allow the device to identify, through the infrared sensors, the temporal artery. The measurement takes place on the basis of the blood temperature of the blood vessel, which – explains the company – is considered the ideal point to carry out the most accurate temperature reading possible.
Withings ThemoScan: the strong point
The ability to record different measurements, save them on the phone and assign them to different users is in our opinion the most useful feature of Withings Thermo. The device, born well before the pandemic made more frequent measurements of fever necessary, is especially designed for families with children. The temperature reading takes place in a couple of seconds thanks to 16 infrared sensors that work together and is therefore more precise on average (accuracy: +/- 0.2 ° C) than competing infrared thermometers. The other fundamental advantage compared to traditional thermometers is the possibility of using it without touching the forehead or the skin in any way.
What we liked
We particularly liked the design of Thermo, different from that of any other infrared thermometer (the pistol shape among the competition seems to be the most popular). The device is light and compact and holds about like a large marker. There is no display: the information and status of the device are indicated by a matrix of LEDs hidden under the semi-transparent plastic surface. It is little more than an aesthetic quirk, more than a practical function, but it has the advantage of making the thermometer easily sterilizable, for example, and very light.
To improve
One of the most problematic aspects encountered during use is the positioning of the device with respect to the temporal artery. The horizontal movement to locate the exact measurement point is not so intuitive and at first it might be difficult to do it correctly. Although the temporal artery is the most precise point to take a measurement, we have often encountered temperatures that are too high (37.2 or 37.5) if the hair is not moved correctly before the measurement, or if the movement of the thermometer it’s too fast. This problem is easily solved by changing the measurement method, but it is then necessary to delete the unpacked measurements from the application without assigning them to one of the registered users. Furthermore, to verify that the measurements were not correct, we had to use a traditional electronic thermometer (of those that are put under the armpit, so to speak), effectively nullifying the usefulness of Thermo.
Conclusions
Overall, the experience of using the product is positive. However, we do not believe that Thermo’s features justify the price difference compared to other thermometers, unless the smart features of the device are deemed indispensable. We can imagine Thermo as a useful tool for a caregiver, or for a mother or father with numerous offspring. Even in these cases, however, it is difficult for us to justify such a marked price difference between the many infrared thermometers available online and the 80 € of the list price of the Withings product.
Even if you need to keep a digital track of a feverish trend, you can simply use a traditional thermometer and then record the temperature in Apple’s Health app or Google’s Fit. Even the Withings Thermo or Health Mate app can actually be downloaded and used for free for this purpose, since both provide the ability to enter the temperature manually without the need to retrieve the measurements from the smart thermometer.
Features and price
Product: Withings Thermo
Description: Smart infrared thermometer
Connectivity: Bluetooth Smart Ready, WiFi b/g/n 2,4Ghz
Dimensions: 11.6cm long, 3.3cm in diameter
Weight: 75g batteries included
Battery: 2 batterie AAA da 1,5V
Price: about 80 € depending on the offers