Garmin Index S2 smart scale review

Many of us use our fitness trackers to track our steps and daily activities. However, smart scales enhance the health tracking experience by providing an easy way to keep track of your weight, BMI, and other important body metrics. If you’re a Garmin user, the new Garmin Index S2 is the obvious choice for your smart scale needs.

This new scale is a refresh to the hugely popular Garmin Index, now five years old. Since the original was released, smart scales have gotten cheap. Attractively priced. So if you are spending $ 150 on a smart scale, it is better to be good. Read our full Garmin Index S2 Smart Scale review to see if it’s worth the money.

About this Garmin Index S2 Smart Scale Review: I used the Garmin Index S2 for nine days. Garmin delivered Android Authority with the Smart Scale Review Unit Garmin Index S2.

What You Need to Know About the Garmin Index S2 Smart Scale

Surprisingly, there hasn’t been much functional advancement in the smart scale world in the past five years. The S2 index isn’t entirely different from the original under the hood index, although the new look may make you think differently.

I love the look of the Garmin Index S2. You could say it’s one of the prettiest smart scales out there (controversial, I know). It has a mirror-like finish on top, a new color display, and is slightly smaller than the original index. It’s pretty compact so you should be able to tuck it away behind a cabinet in the bathroom.

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It comes with four AAA batteries to power the scale and four shoulder straps in case you need to use the scale on a carpet. There is also a switch under the scales that allows you to switch between pounds, kilograms or stones.

The new scale from Garmin supports up to 16 users, making it a great choice for large families or sports teams. Each user must be added as a connection to the primary user’s Garmin Connect account. It’s easy to set up the app so I don’t have to walk you through the process.

To start using the scale, tap it once and wait for the display to turn on. You can then step on it to start your recording. Next, tap the scales until you find your initials, which you would have entered when you connected your Garmin account. Once you find your initials, release the scale and those stats will be sent to your Garmin Connect account over WiFi.

A note on connectivity: like the first index, the index S2 can connect to multiple Wi-Fi networks. This is an important distinction between the S2 index and other scales that only use Bluetooth. You keep your scale connected to Wi-Fi at all times, so you don’t have to worry about connectivity after setting it up. With bluetooth scales, we all know how unreliable bluetooth connections can be.

The design of the Garmin Index S2 is smart and compact.

The Garmin Index S2 records your weight (duh), your body mass index (BMI), your body fat percentage, your skeletal muscle mass, your bone mass and your body water percentage. These are all metrics that you can track using other smart scales, Garmin, or otherwise. During the weighing, the scales automatically scroll through the scales. It goes through each metric pretty quickly, but the information is of course available in Garmin Connect for further analysis once it’s synced.

Garmin has also added a weather widget that will be displayed according to your weighing stats. It’s a nice touch.

New to Index S2 – and the feature that many Garmin users will be very excited about – is a 30-day weight trend chart on the device. This puts your data in the context of your long-term health journey. Everyone’s weight fluctuates so much from day to day that, in general, it’s important not to get too bothered with your daily numbers. The 30 day chart is designed to show you whether or not you are going in the right direction of your goals.

This is something you would normally only see in the companion app, not the scale itself. I loved having a quick look at my weight trend every time I step on the scales in the morning. If I weigh a few pounds more on a given day but the weight trend is telling me I’m heading for my overall goal, it gives me a little peace of mind.

If you take care of your daily weighing changes, then index S2 has you covered. Above your initials, you’ll see a small number that tells you how your weight compares to your previous weigh-in. If you’re exercising vigorously and losing a lot of water, this feature will point you in the right direction as to how much you should rehydrate.

Weighing details and Garmin Connect

Once the scale is synced to your Garmin Connect account, your measurements will appear in the Weight section on the Health Stats tab or on your home screen if you have the Weight widget enabled. You will see your current weight with the weighings for the day below. Here you can see your weight change, your BMI, your body fat, your skeletal muscle mass, your bone mass and your body water percentage. You can also clear weighings if you think the scale was turned off for some reason.

At the top of the Weight page, you can view your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly weight trends. All of your averages are shown below. You can weigh in on a specific day from there if you want more details.

I am not very good at checking whether the Garmin Index S2 is correct or not. Perhaps it is just as important as being specific to be consistent – which the index S2 definitely is. I recorded my weight 3-4 times within a few minutes during multiple weighing sessions. My results stayed consistent with every reading. The only changes I noticed were my weight fluctuated 0.1 pounds or my body fat percentage dropped 0.1%. Really, nothing to complain about here.

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Garmin says it has improved its algorithms for bioelectrical impedance-based metrics such as body fat percentage and muscle mass to improve accuracy and sensitivity to physical changes. You may notice a change in these metrics if you are from a first generation index scale. Both were consistent in my tests, although again I don’t have any technical equipment or a way to verify the accuracy of the data. However, impedance-based metrics like this should sometimes be taken with a grain of salt. They are best achieved by looking at general trends, rather than the exact dates.

One final detail about Garmin Connect. You can turn off any widgets that you don’t want to track. For example, if you don’t want to keep displaying your BMI, body fat percentage or bone mass all the time, you can turn them off for your profile.

Garmin Index S2 Smart Scale Specifications

Garmin Index S2 Smart Scale Review: Price and Competition

The Garmin Index S2 is available in black and white at Garmin, Amazon, and other retailers for $ 149.99.

We’ve already pointed this out, but the Garmin Index S2 faces tough competition in almost all price ranges. The new smart scale competes directly with the Withings Body Plus and Body Cardio smart scales, which cost $ 100 and $ 150, respectively. The Withings scales take most of the same readings as the Index S2, and the Body Cardio even records your heart rate. I also think that Withings’ dials are pretty pretty too.

The Fitbit Aria Air also looks great and records your weight, BMI and of course connects to the Fitbit app. The Eufy Smart Scale P1 and Wyze Scale cost around $ 50 and $ 30, respectively, and have been well tested on the internet. They also record weight, BMI, body fat and water percentage, muscle and bone mass and much more. However, these scales require bluetooth connections to upload data, which can be annoying.

Garmin Index S2 Smart Scale Review: The Verdict

So why buy the Garmin Index S2 when there are similar devices out there that will cost you far less? That’s a good question. The Index S2 offers the convenience of detailed uploads directly to your Garmin Connect account. If you’re a dedicated Garmin user, this is the smart scale for you – especially when you consider that not many third-party scales can cleanly upload data to Garmin Connect.

Ultimately, there isn’t much to complain about with the Garmin Index S2. And there shouldn’t be. This is a pretty minor update to an already popular product. If you’re not in the Garmin ecosystem and planning to be soon, there are cheaper options out there that might fit all of the criteria for you.

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