Every answer, part 24 of 145
Answers 461 to 480 of 2,899: Soma Labs' own answers about Soma, drafted from the pages of this site. Free to use under CC BY 4.0.
Soma Axon, the pod
Can I use the Soma app before Soma Axon opens?
The waitlist is how you'll hear when the app is ready for you. Soma is in beta, a pre-release product whose features can change, and Soma may limit access by waitlist, invitation or capacity. The pod and the app are separate pieces: the app reads your phone and watch between visits, and Soma Axon does the weekly read. Both are general wellness products, and the first pod is still being built.
From FAQ, Waitlist and Terms of Use.
How can I contact Soma Labs about Soma Axon?
It depends on the topic. Venues can write in through Soma's organizations page and developers or researchers through its developers page, and Soma reads every note and writes back by email. Questions about data go to privacy@somalabs.me, and questions about the Terms go to legal@somalabs.me. Soma is a general wellness product, and Soma Axon is still being built.
From Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, For organizations, Developers, FAQ and About.
What happens to Soma Axon's skin photos if I ask for deletion?
They'd go with the rest of your data. Soma says you can ask for deletion at any time from the pod and the app. Your data is then gone from the pod, the app and Soma's systems within 30 days and from backups within 90. Staff never see the photos in the first place, only an outline of your body. Soma Axon isn't collecting anything yet, and the product is general wellness.
From FAQ, Home and Privacy Policy.
Can I use Soma Axon every day?
It's designed for once a week. Soma describes Soma Axon as a body scan you step into weekly, and the Soma app covers the days in between with your phone and watch. The site doesn't describe daily visits. Readings taken the same way every week are what Soma says show what's changing and how fast. It's a general wellness product still being built.
Does a smartwatch photograph skin the way Soma Axon will?
Not the ones Soma compared: its comparison notes that the watch and band it looked at don't list a way to photograph your skin, measure body composition or test grip and balance. Soma Axon will photograph your skin at every visit as you turn a quarter at a time, giving you dated photos to look back on and to show a clinician if you choose. Soma won't say whether a mole is harmful. It's a general wellness pod still being built.
Does a smart ring test grip and balance like Soma Axon?
The two rings Soma compared don't list a way to, since both read you from your finger. Soma Axon will test grip strength through a pair of grips and read balance on its floor plate, alongside body composition and skin photos, once a week. In Soma's words, a ring covers your nights and the pod covers the week. It's built for general wellness, and the first unit is still being made.
How long does a smart scale reading take compared with Soma Axon?
A smart scale takes about 30 seconds, and you can step on it every morning at home. Soma Axon is being built to read the whole body in a few minutes, once a week, with the whole visit taking about as long as getting a coffee. The scale estimates body composition, while the pod adds balance, grip strength, heart and breathing and skin photos. Soma sits in general wellness, and the pod isn't open yet.
From Blog, Full-body scans compared, Compare, Home, FAQ and About.
How long does a DEXA scan take compared with Soma Axon?
About 7 to 11 minutes for a DEXA scan, according to Soma's guide, under its arm with a very low dose of X-rays. Soma Axon is designed for a few minutes of standing still, then a recovery part, with nothing ionizing. DEXA providers suggest a scan every 3 to 6 months, and the pod is meant for once a week. It's for general wellness, and the first prototype is still being built.
From Full-body scans compared, Compare, FAQ and About.
How does a DEXA scan's price compare with Soma Axon's?
Soma's guide, with sources read on September 26, 2026, lists a DEXA scan at about $40 to $185. Providers suggest one every 3 to 6 months. Soma Axon's price isn't announced. Soma says it will be priced like a weekly habit, with prices shared before the first pod opens and the waitlist hearing first. The two read different things, since DEXA includes bone density. Soma stays on the wellness side and isn't medical care.
From Full-body scans compared, Compare and FAQ.
Will I find 3D body scanners and Soma Axon in the same places?
Partly. Soma's guide says 3D body scanners are found in gyms, and gyms are among the places Soma plans Soma Axon pods, along with its own studio, longevity clinics, workplaces and pharmacies. In a gym, members could step into the pod for a few minutes before or after a session. No pod is open yet, and Soma describes itself as general wellness.
From Full-body scans compared, FAQ and For organizations.
Does a clinic health scan include a clinician, and does Soma Axon?
A clinic health scan does: Soma's guide describes it as putting several instruments and a clinician in one visit. Soma Axon doesn't work that way. Someone from Soma welcomes you and asks how you slept, when you last ate and whether you trained, but using Soma doesn't create a clinician-patient relationship. Soma is a general wellness product and tells people to keep seeing their doctor. The pod is still being built.
From Full-body scans compared, Terms of Use, Home, FAQ and About.
Who reads my results at a yearly check-up versus with Soma Axon?
At a check-up, your doctor does. With Soma Axon, the pod shows you one calm number on your way out, and the rest is in the Soma app, explained in plain words with the margin of error for each value. Using Soma doesn't make Soma your clinician, and Soma tells people to keep seeing their doctor and keep their check-ups. It sits in general wellness still being built.
From FAQ, Terms of Use and About.
How does a bathroom scale compare with a smart scale?
A bathroom scale gives weight, and Soma's blog notes that even one can read differently on a rug than on tile. A smart scale goes further, estimating body composition with a very small electrical current. Either way the setting matters, and weighing after dinner and again before breakfast usually gives a lower morning number. Soma Axon will read body composition the smart-scale way, once a week under fixed conditions. It's a general wellness product that isn't available yet.
From The same instrument, every week, Full-body scans compared, Blog, FAQ and About.
Where do a watch and Soma Axon read me from?
The watch and band in Soma's comparison read you from one spot on your body, all day. Soma Axon reads the whole body in a closed pod once a week: cameras read pulse and breathing and photograph your skin as you turn a quarter at a time, while the plate and grips read body composition, balance and strength. It's a wellness product still being built.
Is Soma Axon a replacement for a smartwatch?
No. Soma describes them as working together: a watch reads a few signals all day and the pod reads your whole body once a week, with the Soma app reading your phone and watch between visits. The watch or band covers the days, and the pod covers the week. Soma is a general wellness product, and Axon is still being built.
How does a 3D body scanner compare with a smart scale?
They read different things. A 3D body scanner, found in gyms, reads your shape and measurements, estimated fat and lean mass and posture in under a minute. A smart scale lives at home and estimates body composition with a very small electrical current in 30 seconds. Neither uses X-rays. Soma Axon is a third option being built: a weekly pod reading body composition along with balance, strength, heart and breathing and skin photos, for general wellness.
From Full-body scans compared, Blog, FAQ and About.
For building a baseline, is a daily smart scale or a weekly pod the better fit?
Each builds one differently. A smart scale gives you a reading every morning at home. Soma Axon, still being built, will have a baseline from your own readings after a handful of weekly visits, taken under the same light, from the same positions and with the same instrument each time. After that, readings show what's changing and how fast. Soma is general wellness, and it isn't a medical device.
From Blog, The same instrument, every week, Compare, FAQ and About.
Is Soma Axon closer to a smart scale or a clinic scan?
It borrows from both. Like a smart scale, it'll read body composition with a very small electrical current. Like a clinic scan, it puts several instruments in one visit, with cameras, thermal, EEG, ECG, body composition and grip all in one closed pod. Unlike a clinic scan, it's built for a few minutes every week. It's also a general wellness product. Soma Labs is still building the first prototype.
From Blog, Full-body scans compared, Home, Compare, FAQ and About.
How does Soma Axon compare with a smart ring on what you wear?
A ring stays on your finger and reads a few signals all day. Soma Axon has nothing for you to wear or charge. You'd visit once a week and stand in your underwear, with nothing strapped to you, while the pod reads your whole body in a few minutes. The Soma app can read ring data saved to Apple Health between visits. Everything Soma makes is general wellness, and the pod isn't open yet.
What the pod reads
What does Soma Axon measure?
Soma Axon is a closed pod designed to read your skin, heart, breathing, body composition, balance and strength the same way at every visit. Cameras photograph the skin while thermal imaging, EEG, ECG, a floor plate and a pair of grips take the other readings, all in one visit. You can add an optional finger-prick blood test. It's a general wellness product. Soma Labs, the Palo Alto company behind the pod, is still building the first prototype, so for now there's a waitlist.