Withings Nutrio U-Scan review: our one-month test

Withings, the French brand, has offered a urine analyser in its range for some time. We tested it for a month.

You may know French brand Withings for its smartwatches, scales or even its blood pressure monitors. However, it goes further still in monitoring your everyday health. It tracks sleep through sensors placed beneath the mattress and can also monitor diet with the Nutrio U-Scan, a urine analyser. That is the device we are examining today.

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On paper, Withings makes an ambitious promise. The company aims to turn an everyday act into a genuine health-monitoring tool, with no inconvenience whatsoever for the user. Behind this device, which looks as though it has come from a futuristic film, Withings provides a wealth of data.

How valuable is that information? Can it be trusted? Above all, does it genuinely add anything to daily life? Those are the questions we will answer in this review.

Nutrio U-Scan: quick and straightforward installation

Before looking at the device itself, its technical specifications or the data it supplies, it first needs to be installed. While putting on a smartwatch or stepping onto a scale requires no tutorial, setting up a urine analyser is slightly more involved.

Below is the tutorial explaining how to replace the cartridges in the U-Scan and clean the device.

Fortunately, Withings supports the user at every stage. Using the companion app on your smartphone, you can follow a video tutorial and carry out your first reading. Setup is fairly simple and takes only a few minutes.

One device, one user: a disappointing limitation

As soon as it was installed, the device naturally became a talking point in my household. Yet, because I was set as its default user, every result was analysed through my own profile: age, sex, height and weight.

The device cannot support several separate user profiles. That is particularly regrettable when a product such as a urine analyser is, by its very nature, likely to be used by more than one person.

Withings stands by this approach, saying that assigning one device to each user is the best way to ensure highly reliable data. On that point, the brand has made the right call, as we will revisit later in this review.

A significant investment

Buying a Nutrio U-Scan is a long-term commitment. This is not the sort of product to purchase on impulse. Instead, it should be regarded as a genuine long-term investment in your health.

The Nutrio U-Scan itself is only one part of the process. On the Withings website, there are two plans. The first, called “Proactive”, provides between 2 and 4 tests a week. Those tests are carried out by a “cartridge” with a limited lifespan. Withings states that a cartridge can complete around twenty tests. Once it is empty, it must be replaced. A new cartridge on the “proactive” plan costs €99.95.

For more than 4 readings per week, you need the “intensive” subscription, which allows between 5 and 7 readings each week. Replacements are supplied as a set of 2 cartridges each time, priced at €179.96.

Both plans include free access to Withings+ data in the companion app. The initial purchase for the “Proactive” subscription - the device and one cartridge - costs €349.95. Is the “intensive” version sold at a starting price of €429.96?

Is the Nutrio U-Scan data useful?

Now that the Nutrio U-Scan has been installed in the toilet and its pricing model is clear, it is time to take a closer look at the information Withings delivers through the device.

Below is one of the first readings taken during this review.

Ketones

The first measurement highlighted by the brand is the level of ketones in urine. This directly reflects the body consuming fat. Keeping an eye on ketone levels is especially relevant if you are dieting, doing a great deal of exercise or following intermittent fasting.

The medical community is nevertheless somewhat divided on measuring urinary ketones. This information is far less precise than a blood test, and can only provide a trend and an overall picture. That makes it well suited to long-term monitoring.

Urinary pH

The U-Scan also measures urinary pH, which can be used to assess the body's acid-base balance. It is an indicator directly connected to diet. With this information, users can tell whether their diet contains too much protein or fibre.

For the best results, readings should be taken at a fixed time where possible. Urinary pH can change very quickly: hydration, medication or your most recent meal can alter it completely. Once again, its main value lies in building a long-term view.

HydroStatus

78% of people in France do not drink enough fluids. As a reminder, each person is recommended to drink between 1 and 1.5 litres of water per day. In response to this public-health issue, Withings offers the beginnings of a solution. By measuring HydroStatus, the U-Scan can tell users whether they are adequately hydrated.

This is extremely useful in everyday life and, during my test, it was by far the metric I watched most closely. It was also the one that had the greatest effect on my lifestyle.

Vitamin C

Finally, the U-Scan provides a fourth and final measurement: the level of vitamin C in urine. This data can help users balance their meals more effectively. A vitamin C level that is too low can be explained by insufficient consumption of fresh produce, namely fruit and vegetables. If deficiencies persist over the long term, add the following foods to your diet: citrus fruits, kiwis, strawberries, peppers, broccoli or tomatoes.

Conversely, vitamin C results above the normal range are not normal either. The issue may result from poor hydration or a deficiency in another area. Adding protein sources, in place of a fruit or vegetable high in vitamin C, may help.

Our view of the U-Scan Nutrio

With this device, Withings offers a way to monitor your health without having to think about it too much. You do, however, need to remember to start an analysis before going to the toilet. This can lead to amusing situations, when the device's few seconds of start-up time become a real ordeal.

Putting this practical issue aside, the U-Scan Nutrio is an excellent device. It offers a quick, simple way to track important information including hydration, ketone and vitamin C levels, as well as urinary pH. The Withings smartphone app makes the figures easy to understand, and the user experience is very smooth.

That said, the device has several shortcomings. The two most significant are its far-from-straightforward pricing model, as mentioned above, and the inability to use multiple user accounts with one device, which is a real drawback.

As for the reliability of its readings, several scientific studies have shown the benefits of using this type of device. They are highly practical for identifying broad trends, while remaining, understandably, less precise than laboratory analyses.

Withings says it has conducted several “internal analytical performance studies”. It reports very strong results, with agreement of 97 to 100% for the biomarkers measured.