Withings Body Scan vs Soma Axon: a smart scale and a weekly pod
Withings BodyScan 2 is a scale with a handle that reads a lot more than your weight, every morning at home. Soma Axon is a pod we're building for a few minutes once a week. Both read body composition with a very small electrical current.
| Soma Axon | Withings BodyScan 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A closed pod you step into for a whole-body scan, and an iPhone app between visits | A smart scale with a handle, with the Withings app |
| Where | Planned for Soma's own studio, longevity clinics, gyms, workplaces and pharmacies | At home, barefoot on the scale |
| How often | Once a week, for a few minutes. The app reads your phone and watch in between | A 30-second Daily Scan each morning and a 90-second Longevity Scan once a week |
| What it reads | Skin photos, heart and breathing, ECG, EEG, thermal imaging, body composition, balance and grip strength, plus an optional finger-prick blood test | Weight, body composition by zone (fat, muscle, water, visceral fat), heart rate, vascular age, a 6-lead ECG, blood oxygen and a nerve response score |
| Price | Not announced. It'll be priced like a weekly habit | $599.95, HSA and FSA eligible. Some scores need Withings+, at $9.95 a month |
| Medical status | General wellness: not a medical device, not cleared by the FDA, and it doesn't diagnose | The 6-lead ECG and AFib detection are cleared by the FDA. Withings says the rest is for general wellness |
| Available | Not yet. The first prototype is being built, and the waitlist hears first | Yes, in the US since July 15, 2026 |
What each one reads
Withings says BodyScan 2 reads you in two ways. A 30-second Daily Scan gives your weight, fat, muscle and water, visceral fat, heart rate and vascular age. A 90-second Longevity Scan, meant for once a week, adds a 6-lead ECG, blood oxygen, Heart Age and a nerve response score. It reads body composition by bioimpedance at 13 frequencies, through electrodes in the plate and the handle.
Soma Axon will read body composition the same basic way, with a very small electrical current while you stand with your feet on its plate and your hands on its grips. It'll add what a scale can't: photos of your skin all the way around, balance, grip strength, EEG and thermal imaging, along with your heart and breathing.
Where they differ
A scale lives at home, so you can step on it every morning without leaving the bathroom. Soma Axon is a place you'll go to once a week. In return, the pod will read you under the same light, from the same positions and with the same instrument every week.
Withings says BodyScan 2 isn't a medical device for diagnostic purposes, apart from its FDA-cleared ECG. Soma is a general wellness product, and it won't diagnose anything.
Which one fits
If you want a daily number at home, with an ECG you can take any morning, BodyScan 2 does that, and it's on sale now. If you want your skin, strength and balance read along with your body composition, the same way every week, that's what we're building Axon for.
Questions people ask
Is Withings BodyScan 2 a medical device?
In part. Its 6-lead ECG and AFib detection are cleared by the FDA, and Withings says everything else BodyScan 2 reads is for general wellness. Soma is a general wellness product and isn't a medical device.
Do they measure body composition the same way?
Both use a very small electrical current. Withings says BodyScan 2 sends it at 13 frequencies through electrodes in the plate and the handle. Soma Axon will read it while you stand with your feet on its plate and your hands on its grips.
Can I use a Withings scale with Soma?
Withings says its app can export your readings to Apple Health, and you choose which ones. The Soma app runs on iPhone and reads Apple Health between visits.
How do the prices compare?
BodyScan 2 costs $599.95, and Heart Age and Glucose Resilience need a Withings+ subscription. Soma hasn't announced a price. It'll be priced like a weekly habit, and prices come out before the first pod opens.