Amazon just launched Halo, a $100 Fitbit competitor and health monitoring service

Amazon Halo Icon
Amazon Halo Icon (Image credit: Amazon)

What you need to know

  • Amazon has a brand new accessory.
  • It's called the Halo Band.
  • It combines with a suite of AI-powered accessories to monitor your health.

Amazon has today announced Amazon Halo, a new health service that combines mobile software with a new wearable, the Amazon Halo Band.

In a press release today the company stated:

Amazon today introduced Amazon Halo, a new service dedicated to helping customers improve their individual health and wellness. Amazon Halo combines a suite of AI-powered health features that provide actionable insights into overall wellness via the new Amazon Halo app with the Amazon Halo Band, which uses multiple advanced sensors to provide the highly accurate information necessary to power Halo insights. Customers in the U.S. can request early access to Amazon Halo starting today, with the Amazon Halo Band and 6 months of Halo membership available for a special price of $64.99.

The new band, (which is 35% off for a limited early access period) comes in three colors and sizes. There's no screen or notifications, just a sensor for data such as your heart rate, temperature, and more:

Amazon Halo Band is purpose-built to focus on your health and wellness—unlike smartwatches and fitness trackers, it doesn't have a screen or constant notifications. The small sensor capsule delivers highly accurate data, and includes an accelerometer, a temperature sensor, a heart rate monitor, two microphones, an LED indicator light, and a button to turn the microphones on or off, among other functions. Amazon Halo Band is water resistant for all-day wear and the comfortable fit means it won't snag or irritate at night. Plus, the battery lasts up to seven days and fully charges in under 90 minutes. Customers can choose from three fabric band colors at purchase, with fabric and silicone sport accessory bands available in 15 additional colors.

The band itself combines with the Amazon Halo app suite to measure five key features to help you understand your health. They are; Activity, Sleep, Body (body fat), Tone (mental and emotional health and wellbeing), and Labs, science-backed challenges to help you discover what health habits work best for you.

Amazon says privacy is "foundational" to Halo, and that it has multiple layers of privacy and security built-in. Halo also works with a variety of third-party programs to enhance health monitoring.

You can request early access to Amazon Halo from today, for a special price of $64.99 (usually $99) including six months of Halo membership. After six months, membership renews at the price of $3.99 a month. As mentioned, there are three color combinations and various sizes:

Customers can choose from three color combinations for their Amazon Halo Band: a Black fabric band with an Onyx sensor capsule, a Blush fabric band with a Rose Gold sensor capsule, or a Winter fabric band with a Silver sensor capsule. Customers can purchase fabric accessory bands for the special early access price of $19.99 each. Six additional fabric color options include: Denim, Hummingbird, Mint Edge, Olive, Unicorn, and Volcano. Customers can purchase sport accessory bands for the special early access price of $15.99 each, with nine color options available: Ash, Black, Dark Mint, Domino, Lavender, Pink Slate, Seafoam, Sunset, and White.

The Amazon Halo app is available for iOS and Android.

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Stephen Warwick