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Amazon Halo

August 28, 2020.

Amazon Halo.

Halo. © Amazon.

Amazon is getting into the health gadget market with a new physical activity tracking band, called Halo. Unlike most fitness bands, like the Fitbit or Garmin’s Vivosmart, the Halo doesn’t have a screen; it interfaces with a mobile application through a Bluetooth connection. If you want to know how many steps you’ve taken, you’ll have to check your phone. With its accelerometer, temperature sensor, heart rate monitor, two microphones, LED indicator light, and button to turn the microphones on or off, Halo records your physical activity, which the mobile app uses to give you challenges to improve your health habits. So far, nothing startlingly new; where the Halo service really differentiates itself is in two new features, called Body and Tone. The former uses your smartphone camera to capture a 3D scan of your body and then calculate your body fat, and the latter uses a microphone on the Halo Band to listen to the tone of your voice and report back on your emotional state throughout the day. Halo will come in a choice of three colours (black, light blue and pink) to start with, at a price of USD100. The subscription service, required for Halo’s more advanced features, will cost an extra USD4 per month.

The Verge, Dieter Bohn, “Amazon announces Halo, a fitness band and app that scans your body and voice.”