Amazon launches first fitness band in bid to take on Apple, Fitbit

Amazon on Thursday launched its first fitness band and app, Halo, as the e-commerce giant looks to take on Apple, Fitbit, and Samsung in an increasingly crowded fitness tracker market.

The Halo band, which does not feature a display screen unlike most of its rivals, is priced at $99.99, while the app membership costs $3.99 per month, Amazon said.

 

Introducing Amazon Halo, a new wearable band and membership that helps you improve your health and wellness. #AmazonHalo

Request early access now ➡️ https://t.co/smPIrmXkEH pic.twitter.com/OvsFYGanHW

— Amazon (@amazon) August 27, 2020

The scope of growth in the fitness band market has prompted tech giants such as Apple and Samsung to introduce many sophisticated features for health tracking, including electrocardiogram and blood pressure sensor.

Fitbit unveils stress-tracking smartwatch with Google deal pending

In comparison, Amazon has featured a relatively new technology in the market called tone analysis, which reviews users’ tone during conversations. When enabled, a microphone on the band listens to detect emotions such as happiness, confusion, or affection in the speaker’s tone.

It remains to be seen if consumers would embrace this feature or would it spark privacy concerns. Amazon said the technology was designed in a way that protects privacy.

Earth flying through ancient supernovae's dust

The company said the water-resistant band, with a battery life of up to 7 days, also contains an accelerometer, a temperature sensor, a heart rate monitor and can measure body fat percentage.

Alphabet-owned Google is also making strides into the fitness market. Google in November said it would buy Fitbit for $2.1 billion, a deal that is currently under regulatory scrutiny.

The market is also crowded by cheaper offerings from China’s Huawei and Xiaomi Corp.