Withings Thermo is the contactless credit card of thermometers

I’m hot…

Now, now. Nobody likes a boaster.

No, I mean I think I have a fever

Ah OK. Sorry to hear you’re feeling flushed. But there’s a new thermometer on the way that promises to make taking your temperature a whole lot less… intrusive.

Tell me more…

It’s called the Thermo, it’s made by Internet of Things specialist Withings, it connects to your smartphone wirelessly, and it uses and a very smart sensor to measure your body temperature without the need to be stuck in your mouth, ear, or… er, other uncomfortable places.

Dubbed the HotSpot, the sensor is actually made up of 16 individual infrared sensor, which take over 4,000 readings of your forehead to locate its hottest point. The whole process takes just two seconds, and involves nothing more than you touching the Thermo to your dome – much like the process of paying for something with a contactless credit or debit card, in fact.

What happens next?

Thermo then uses all the data it’s collected from your forehead, along with a reading of the ambient temperature in the room, and processes it using an algorithm to come up with an accurate reading of your body temperature. It then feeds that info via Wi-Fi to a companion app for Android or iOS (plus Apple Health if you’re an iPhone user).

But I’m not a doctor – I don’t necessarily know if my temperature means anything important

Don’t worry – there’s an app for that. The Thermo’s companion app will, after taking your vital statistics like weight, height and age, tell you if your readings indicate a fever or not. In fact, it’ll feed that info back to the Thermo itself, so you can find out instantly without pulling out your phone.

So when’s it out?

Thermo is on sale in the US now, priced at US$99.99, and will be coming to the UK at some point. Withings lists the UK price as £79.95 on its site, but there’s currently no option to pre-order – just one to be notified via email when it’s available.