There are many fitness bands out there that offer a lot of ways to track how healthy you are – and remind you that you are not active enough, sleeping enough or even eating right. Despite this, we still try to hit those goals and get healthier by the day, leveraging technology to help us as best it can. Amazon is now getting in on the fitness device industry, except it is taking a slightly different angle combining a fitness band, with your mobile phone and an online service that is designed to keep track of your health (as reported in Business Insider).
The service begins with their new fitness band, titled The Halo band that a user wears that will do all the usual fitness device stuff like tracking your activity levels, heart-rates and sleep tracking, though there is no specific information on whether it will do formal GPS tracking or exactly how much information it will capture during workout sections. With the device not having a screen though to actually visibly track their activities, it’s unlikely those who are very active will find much benefit out of the device.
Where Amazon’s approach differs is in how you can use your smartphone to take a 3D body scan to calculate your body fat percentage, using a combination of AI and how well you can suck in your belly while taking the picture. The device can also be used to identify the tone of your voice and use this to identify your mood and energy levels. This is all designed to give Amazon a more holistic view of a person’s well-being beyond just monitoring fitness activities.
It’s an interesting approach by Amazon, though I suspect not everyone e is going to be so keen to have pictures of their body uploaded onto Amazon’s servers. Given that the band itself is also light on activity features its appeal may be limited for many, but with Amazon planning to sell the band for the relatively low price of $99.99 (R1,703) when it eventually releases, it’s expected. The monthly cost of R68 per month for the service though will be less than welcome, though if amazon can build some useful features into it that can help a person with the right sort of activities and exercises to improve their health, it could certainly be worth it.
The Halo is available in early access at the moment for selected people before it is released officially. It is not clear if the devices will be released officially in SA, though it’s likely you could still order them online if they don’t get any official retail in this part. It is just another new link of the Amazon chain towards global domination
Last Updated: September 2, 2020
