Withings to Charge New Users $100 a Year for Apple Health Sync

The change applies to accounts created after October 13, the report said, citing a post on Withings' support forum. Users who registered before that date do not appear to be affected, and existing accounts retain the automatic syncing they had before. An official reply on the forum, labeled as an official response from Withings, confirmed the shift, stating that after the 13th, automatic sync to third-party apps is part of Withings+.

For new users who do not pay for the subscription, the alternative is manual. Rather than allowing automatic syncing, free accounts created after the cutoff must export their history and upload it themselves each time they want their latest Withings data available in another platform such as Apple Health. Engadget said it had contacted Withings for additional comment and would update its report if the company responded.

Much of the reaction on the forum came from existing users, who questioned applying an additional charge to new customers for what the report describes as a comparatively simple feature. The complaints centered on the cost of Withings+, which runs $100 a year, relative to the function being placed behind it.

Withings is best known for high-end smart health hardware. The company recently released the Body Scan 2 scale at $600, while its mid-range version sells for $280. The subscription requirement marks a shift in how the company packages data portability for the newest cohort of customers, separating automatic syncing from the hardware purchase itself.

Editor's Summary

Withings has moved automatic syncing to Apple Health and similar third-party apps behind its $100-a-year Withings+ plan for accounts created after October 13, while leaving existing users unaffected. New free users must manually export and upload their data instead. The change drew criticism on the company's support forum, and Withings did not immediately respond to a request for comment.