Thermo

Withings, a company part of Nokia, is spot on when it claims that Thermo is “the world’s most advanced thermometer.” To label it as “just a thermometer” is taking away from its list of sophisticated features designed to keep a pulse on your family’s health. Whether it’s 16 infrared sensors providing highly accurate temperature measurement or its companion app recommending Ibuprofen dosage levels, Thermo is one of the most intuitive thermometers ever created…but I could see why some people would pass up on buying this.

Capable of taking a temperature without touching the skin and connecting to an app that allows users to track readings, Thermo would impress even your primary care doctor. Parents of children who have trouble keeping an oral thermometer under their kid’s tongue may find taking temperature much easier with this device.

Taking temperature readings from your temporal artery (which is considered the most accurate gauge), Thermo sweeps across your forehead taking over 4,000 measurements to find the hottest spot. Withings’ proprietary HotSpot Sensor Technology allows users to take your own temp in approximately two seconds.

Despite promoting its accuracy, I found that the Thermo device gave wildly different readings even when temperature was taken mere moments apart. The device is good for telling whether or not you have a fever, but not so much for giving a completely accurate reading.

Resembling a magic wand brushing past your forehead, Thermo is ideal for babies, children, and fussy adults who hate having their temperature taken. Instead, Thermo “avoids any contact with saliva, earwax or other body fluids – making it the most sanitary way to take anyone’s temperature.” It even takes a lights-off reading to not disturb your sleeping child while you check to see if their fever broke.

The official Thermo app did not work for me at all. Everytime I tried to create a new account, I kept getting the same error regarding my wifi connection. Eventually, I gave up and set up Thermo using the compatible Health Mate app. Without connecting to an app first you cannot use Thermo, which is a point against it.

With the Health Mate app keeping track of fever history and a list of symptoms, you can pretty much hand your family medicine doctor the entire illness play-by-play. Thermo supports up to eight users so if the flu wipes out your entire family, you’ll have the perfect device to take everyone’s temp and at the same time, keep track of medications.

However, for the steep price of about $80 dollars I can understand why some would choose a simple under the tongue thermometer they can get at the drugstore for $10 over Thermo. But if you want a thermometer that’s easier to use and offers more features out of the box, I would recommend Thermo.