A brief history of the Halo Band

The $99 wearable, which was initially available in late 2020, has a sporty design with no display and a single button for turning microphones on and off. The device measures a plethora of metrics by using various sensors such as an accelerometer, optical heart rate sensor, temperature sensor, and two microphones.

Tracking of physical activity and sleep

The Halo band tracks activity 24 hours a day, seven days a week, using a point system that deducts one point for each hour of sedentary time. Users are tasked with accumulating 150 activity points per week. This is similar to what other companies do with “rigorous activity minutes”. The accompanying smartphone app recommends science-backed challenges, experiments, and workouts.

Sleep tracking includes measuring the time it takes to fall asleep, the time spent in each sleep phase, and the temperature of the skin. Each morning, users are also given a Sleep Score, which ranks their sleep quality on a scale of 100.

Voice tone analysis and body fat analysis are two unique features

It gets more interesting, though. The Halo band’s two microphones enable some unique functionality.

This includes voice tone analysis, a feature that analyzes users’ voices to estimate social and emotional well-being. Users have to manually enable this feature and set up a voice profile within the app. The functionality is activated and works in short bursts throughout the day or during a 30-minute continuous tone analysis for important conversations. Amazon assures customers that speech samples are processed locally on their phones and then deleted.

Body fat analysis is another unusual feature that requires users to take four images of themselves wearing tight, minimal clothing. The app then generates a 3D body model, as well as a body fat estimate and scan time. This method, according to Amazon, is as accurate as doctors’ measurements and twice as accurate as smart body scales. To address privacy concerns, Amazon stated that after processing, body scan images are automatically deleted from the cloud.

Amazon’s fitness offerings’ uncertain future

While the company did not state explicitly why the fitness tracker is being discontinued, it is likely due to poor reception. The wearable has some interesting features. However it was intended as a competitor to the likes of the Apple Watch and Whoop band. But it falls short as compared to these offerings.

Amazon continues to sell the Halo View, a low-cost fitness band with a rather uninspiring set of features. It will be interesting to see if the company pulls entirely from this space.

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This information comes from Mozilla’s Privacy Not Included guide. The company refreshes this list on a regular basis to pinpoint the most “Creepy” products. It is something you might want to check-out before deciding on that last minute Christmas gift.

Mozilla is the non-profit organization behind the Firefox browser. They describe their mission as working to “ensure the internet remains a public resource that is open and accessible to all.”

Privacy and security of data

It’s important at the outset to mention the distinction between privacy with security – they are not the same. Security is about preventing unauthorised access. A good example of bad security is the hack Garmin experienced a couple of years ago. This led to 5 days of Garmin server outage and lots of frustrated users. Luckily, the situation was resolved and users regained access to their data.

Essential reading: Best fitness trackers and health gadgets

Privacy is something different. It is more to do with the way your data is used – for example, for marketing purposes. It is also about whether your data is sold on to third parties. This type of stuff usually appears in the small print. But who bothers to read that stuff?

Perhaps you should.

Mozilla recommends avoiding these products

Here’s a list of wearables that collect a large quantity of user data of various kinds. If you want to avoid a privacy nightmare, you might want to think twice before purchasing them.

1. For the second year in the row, topping the rankings in a negative way is the Amazon Halo Band. Mozilla says that Amazon has taken creepy to a whole new level with its release. Not only does it have the option to listen to and analyse what you are saying, but you are also meant to upload pictures of yourself with little clothing on for body fat analysis. That’s kind of hard to beat as far as creepy wearables. Do you really want Amazon to have that kind of information about you?
2. Another Amazon product is next on the rankings. This is a new device called Halo Rise. Launched in September, the radar-like sleep tracker sits at your bedside and sends out a low energy, milimeter-wave radar to collect information while you are lying asleep. Okay, you are probably safe from Amazon selling your data to third-parties. But it is possible the retail tech giant could use this information to sell you more stuff.
3. Watches meant for kids are high up the rankings this year. And flagged by Mozilla as worst for privacy in this group is the GizmoWatch. Verizon doesn’t exactly have the best track record at protecting their users’ privacy so this is something those looking to purchase should consider.
4. Ray-Ban Facebook Stories. Smart glasses are also not faring very well on the privacy list. One example are the Ray-Ban Facebook Stories. The specs have built in microphones and cameras that can record what you’re seeing and hearing. The problem is not so much with the glasses, but with Facebook’s poor record when it comes to respecting people’s privacy.
5. Huawei Watch Kids 4 Pro is another smartwatch for little ones on this list. Mozilla doesn’t mention any specific privacy flaws. But there is an overall warning on trusting your kid’s information with Huawei. Privacy isn’t exactly what the Chinese tech-giant is known for.
6. Snap Spectacles 4.0. These specs come with a touchpad, two cameras, and four microphones. All of this allows you to photo and video the world (and people) around you. Some might even say they make it easy to secretly film people!
7. A third kids smartwatch appears in the top 10 health and fitness gadgets ranked as very creepy. TickTalk 4 has not been flagged for privacy issues to do with kids’ data. Instead, it is to do with information TickTalk collects about the adults or guardians. This includes things such as name, email address, relationship to the child, location information, device information and more. TickTalks explicitly says they can use this information for things like personalization and promotions. 
8. Mirror. As its name implies, this is a full-length mirror that projects all kinds of workouts in your living room for a monthly subscription. You exercise in front of it and the mirror lets you know how well you are doing. Mozzila quite rightly points out that you should be careful with any device that brings a camera and microphone into your home. 
9. Xiaomi Mi Band. With millions of these devices sold globally, this is one of the most popular budget fitness bands in the world. The issue here is Xiaomi, the parent company of Mi. They were recently caught secretly collecting data on some users. So there’s the danger that your personal information may be shared with any number of Xiaomi affiliate companies.
10. Amazfit products. The manufacturer of Amazfit watches and fitness bands is Huami (Zepp Health). They are also the manufacturers of Xiaomi Mi Bands. Amazfit privacy policy states that “HUAMI may disclose your personal data to Xiaomi or other Mi Ecosystem companies so as to provide you with and improve existing products and services.”

Other products that do not fit the wearable category that Mozilla suggests avoiding include the Facebook Portal, Meta Portal, Eufy Video Smartwatch Lock and Amazon Astro Robot. These present the highest privacy risk to consumers.

There’s a silver lining

Let’s end this article on a positive note. After all, it is the holiday season. The good news is for Garmin product owners. Epix 2, Fenix 7 and a number of other Garmin devices appear on the list as excellent when it comes to handling privacy. A couple of Withings products are there, as well.

Little danger of Garmin or Withings using or selling your data for marketing purposes. Both companies do a pretty good job at protecting your privacy with all that health data they collect.

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Amazon Music is one of the largest global audio libraries. It comes with unlimited access to over 100 million songs and thousands of playlists and stations. If you’re not already a member, the subscription will set you back $9.99 per month. The first month is free and if you don’t like it simply cancel before the 30 days are up and you won’t be charged. Amazon Prime Members get access for free.

Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets

Amazon Music has been available on select Garmin smartwatches since 2019, but it is only now that it is coming to WearOS. This means users of one of the most popular smartwatch operating systems can now gain access to the service.

Amazon Music joins Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music, NavMusic and Shazam. Some of these have been available on WearOS watches for quite a while now.

If you check on Google Play, you’ll notice that images have been added from the Watch app. You can see some of them pictured in this article.

The list of WearOS features is as follows;

• Access your favourite music, right from your wrist;
• Play top recommendations, songs from your library, or search for your favourite artists, albums, playlists and more;
• Use your watch to cast to and control playback on compatible Android devices.

There doesn’t appear to be functionality that allows for offline listening. At least, it is not mentioned in the description and there’s nothing in the screenshots that suggest there is. To remind, on Garmin watches you are able to listen to streaming content as well as download songs as long as you have an active subscription to Amazon Music.

The Amazon Music app for wearOS features goes under version number 22.15.0. It is around 64.3MB in size. The description states that it “requires WearOS” but it doesn’t state which version. So it is not clear at this stage whether it works both on WearOS 2.0 and 3.0 watches. Hopefully all WearOS devices will gain access.

The app doesn’t seem to be downloadable at the moment. However, the APK is available on the apkmirror website.

The Amazon Music app on Google play has pretty poor reviews. Hopefully the WearOS functionality will get a better reception!

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We reported, the other day, on Peloton’s latest gadget – a Bluetooth heart rate monitor that is designed to be worn on the forearm. The company is no stranger to heart rate monitors having already released a chest strap.

Peloton’s new arm band is easier to wear and has a set of indicator LEDs that show your heart rate zone and other information. However, it is more than twice as expensive than the chest strap and lacks ANT+ connectivity. Plus there are third party options that are cheaper and do basically much the same thing.

The heart rate arm band is not exactly headline grabbing news. But more interesting developments might be just around the corner.

It has not been plain sailing for Peloton

Peloton has gone through some turbulent times since the start of the COVID-19 crisis. It underestimated demand in the early stages of the pandemic, then overestimated it leaving lots of unsold equipment lying around in warehouses. Then there was the rather unflattering TV series coverage which we won’t go into. Reportedly the company is now looking to to lay off employees and pause the production of its fitness bike range.

Peloton’s share price has been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride due all this turbulence. However, the most recent move is up – about 30% up! But that still leaves it significantly below its $52 billion market capitalisation peak in early 2021. If gains hold when trading opens on Monday, Peloton’s market capitalisation will be around $10 billion. That’s with these most recent gains.

Amazon & Nike interested in acquisition

The most recent jump in share prices comes on the heels of a report from Reuters news agency. Which revealed there could be an imminent takeover of Peloton by Amazon.

Their sources have said the online retail giant is serious in its intentions. So much so that it is in consultation with advisers on how and whether to proceed. The sources added that Peloton has not decided yet whether its future should lie in a takeover. It is reportedly considering its options.

Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets

Amazon is not the only party that is interested. In fact there are several potential buyers. According to the Financial Times, one of these is sportswear company Nike. Reportedly, they are also weighing a bid.

For now, it is business as usual at Peloton. But don’t be surprised if there is some big news on the acquisition front in the coming days and weeks.

Peloton and Nike did not immediately respond to requests from news media for comment. Amazon has also refused to issue a comment on the speculation.

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Privacy and security of data

It is important to note, privacy should not be confused with security. The two terms are similar but privacy is more to do with the way your data is used and if it is sold on to third parties. Security is about preventing unauthorised access. And most people will remember the 5 days of Garmin server outage due to a cyber attack a while ago. It’s kind of hard to forget… That is to do with Security.

Mozilla is the non-profit organization behind the Firefox browser. They describe their mission as working to “ensure the internet remains a public resource that is open and accessible to all.”

Mozilla recommends avoiding these products

The company has a list of what it calls creepy products which it updates occasionally. The latest refresh comes in time for last-minute Christmas shopping. The company says it took roughly 1,000 hours of research to come up with their guide.

Here’s a list of wearables that collect a large quantity of user data of various kinds. If you want to avoid a privacy nightmare, you might want to think twice before purchasing them.

1. Unsurprisingly, the first on this list is the Amazon Halo Band. Mozilla says that Amazon has taken creepy to a whole new level with its release just over a year ago. Not only does it have the option to listen to and analyze what you are saying, but you are also meant to upload pictures of yourself with little clothing on for body fat analysis.
2. Another Amazon product, Echo Frames are also rated as “Super Creepy”. The smart specs come with two microphones and four micro speakers so you can communicate with Alexa. Questions here arise about others listening to Alexa responses and the microphones picking up on the voices of people around you.
3. Snap Spectacles 4.0. These specs come with a touchpad, two cameras, and four microphones. All of this allows you to photo and video the world (and people) around you. Some might even say they make it easy to secretly film people!
4. Ray-Ban Facebook Stories. Smart glasses are definitely not faring very well on the privacy list. According to Mozilla, another creepy product are the recently released Ray-Ban Facebook Stories. Once again, the built in microphones and cameras can record what you’re seeing and hearing. The problem is not so much the glasses, but Facebook’s poor record when it comes to respecting people’s privacy.
5. Xiaomi Mi Band 6. With millions of these devices sold globally, this is one of the most popular budget fitness bands in the world. The issue here is Xiaomi, the parent company of Mi. They were recently caught secretly collecting data on some users. So there’s the danger that your personal information may be shared with any number of Xiaomi affiliate companies.
6. Amazfit products. The manufacturer of Amazfit watches and fitness bands is Huami (Zepp Health). They are also the manufacturers of Xiaomi Mi Bands. Amazfit privacy policy states that “HUAMI may disclose your personal data to Xiaomi or other Mi Ecosystem companies so as to provide you with and improve existing products and services.”
7. Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 tracks a lot of information. The main issue here is that Samsung may share your data with their business affiliates. This info can in turn be used to make predictions about your interests and fling targeted ads your way.

Other products that do not fit the wearable category that Mozilla suggests avoiding include the Facebook Portal, HER app, Amazon Smart Thermostat, WeChat and Facebook Messenger. These present the highest risk to consumers.

It is not all gloom and doom! There’s some good news for Apple and Garmin watch owners. Mozilla uses them as an examples of the best wearable tech companies when it comes to handling privacy. Little danger of Garmin or Apple using or selling your data for marketing purposes.

Mozilla has called out Samsung watches before

While the Xiaomi and Amazfit products are new entrants on the list, Samsung watches have been flagged for privacy issues for a while now. The reason stays the same. Despite all the health and fitness benefits of wearing the Galaxy Watches, Samsung collects and potentially sells your personal health data to consumer data resellers.

So let’s say the device on your wrist figures out you are not sleeping well and potentially have insomnia. Don’t be surprised if you see an advertisement or two with ads for sleeping pills on your Smart TV, for example.

Check out the Samsung Ads Privacy Notice and you’ll notice that the fear may be justified. It’s worth noting – the Privacy Notice page doesn’t mention watches specifically.

“The Service provides Customized Ads by using unique, randomized, non-persistent, and resettable device identifiers, known as “Advertising ID” on Samsung mobile devices and “PSID” on Samsung Smart TVs.” it reads.

The company says info about you that is collected may be used to “provide you with Customized Ads about products and services tailored to your individual interests.” And adds that it may share the data with their “subsidiaries, affiliates, service providers, and business partners”.

Essential reading: Best fitness trackers and health gadgets

Samsung points out that you can opt out of Customized Ads. But that doing so “may not prevent the delivery of all advertisements from Samsung, including tailored advertisements provided by other Samsung services. “

Super creepy or not creepy? You be the judge.

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This seems to be the retail giant’s answer to the likes of Fitbit activity devices. Something for the masses, that dishes out basic health and fitness data and doesn’t break the bank.

Standard fitness sensors plus SpO2 & skin temperature

Amazon View has most of what you expect from a run-of-the-mill activity device. Users can expect to get 24/7 activity and sleep data, along with sports tracking. No built-in GPS, though, which is reflected in the low price.

There are also some more exotic health monitoring features. These come in the form of an SpO2 sensor for blood oxygen tracking and a skin temperature sensor. Both useful to have considering the pandemic.

The one important difference, though, between this and the original Amazon Halo is that View comes with an AMOLED display which makes it a good upgrade. The original has no screen and comes across as a simplified version of the Whoop activity band. Therefore you do get support for notifications this time around.

Amazon Halo view packs an uninspiring boxy design

Despite the addition of the screen, the overall design of the 5 ATM rated device is pretty dull. It reminds very much of Fitbit Charge 5 – something that we’ve seen many times before. The three body colors that are available are Active Black, Sage Green and Lavender Dream.

Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets

Below the touchscreen is a large single physical button. The body of the device is attached to a sporty strap that is available in 15 different colors. These come in a small / medium band size for wrists between 130-195 mm and a medium / large for wrists between 160 and 225 mm.

Additional sport straps can be purchased starting at $14.99. More pricey options starting at $29.99 can be bought in one of eight fabric ribbons, along with tan band black leather options and a metal ribbon iteration.

7 day battery life

As far as battery life, you can expect to squeeze out about seven days between charges. That is pretty much what you get with other fitness trackers that pack similar technical specs. A full refuel takes about an hour and a half.

One-year Halo ecosystem membership

When you purchase the tracker, you also get a free one-year Halo ecosystem membership. This currently includes things such as body composition and monitoring tone and weight. But the ecosystem will soon be upgraded with two additional services: Halo Fitness and Halo Nutrition.

Halo Fitness is something akin to the Apple Fitness+ offering. It gives users access to a plethora of instructional workout videos. The range is wide and covers cardio, yoga, strength, mobility classes and more. These are curated by professional trainers such as Michael Hildebrand, Elena Cheung and Elizabeth Andrews. Users will be able to keep tabs on heart rate and intensity zones on the tracker display while they are doing the workouts.

Halo Nutrition is something entirely different. This is Amazon’s attempt to mimic the plethora of smartphone food tracking apps and meal planners that are out there. Amazon says Halo Nutrition will offer personalized, time-saving tools to help members build healthy habits.

Users will be able to easily plan health meals and choose from 500 recipes from partner organizations such as WW, LifeSum and Whole Foods Market. They’ll even be able to link their healthy Halo shopping list to Alexa Shopping for a seamless ordering experience. The Halo Nutrition service is expected to go live in January 2022.

Amazon Halo View: Price & release date

It is difficult to know what to make of Amazon’s latest attempt at an activity tracker. There is nothing really that makes it stand out from the crowd apart from, perhaps, the nutritional part of the Halo membership. One would have hoped, with immense financial resources behind it, the company would come out with something with realistic potential to garner lots of interest.

The original does have some innovative features which we do get once again. But it is questionable how useful these are in real life. Perhaps that is why the first device did not pick up much traction. In our view, Amazon Halo View will find it difficult going to capture a significant share of the activity tracker market. There really is very little to make Halo View a more attractive purchase over already established devices.

Amazon had stayed true to its word that Halo View will be available “in time for the holidays”. You can pre-order it now at $300 off the $79.99 price (check current price on Amazon). As far as the Halo membership, this currently runs at $3.99 per month. Amazon did not mention whether this cost will be going up once the expanded service is up and running. Actual availability starts on December 8th.

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The retail tech giant is slowly expanding its range of Alexa connected devices. The latest one to join the fun is Amazon’s first indoor air quality monitor. This is all the more important with health challenges of the past two years and the increasing amount of time spent by people working from home.

Most of us don’t realise how much time we spend indoors. Official figures estimate this at around 90%. We read so much these days about outdoor pollution, but indoor pollution can be many times worse.

We’ve reviewed a number of air quality monitors over the years. These devices sit quietly at your bedside or in the living room and at a glance let you know when it is time to open the window and air out your surroundings. Such small tweaks in your daily life can help greatly with your long-term health.

This is exactly what Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor does. It reports on the level of indoor allergens and toxins, i.e. dust, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, in addition to temperature and humidity. This is pretty much on par with other such devices.

However, Amazon’s product is cheaper than most air quality monitors on the market – it retails for only around $70 (check current price on Amazon). Pre-orders are open now with shipping starting early next month.

Essential reading: Improve the air in your home with one of these devices

The device itself is fairly small measuring just 65 x 65 x 45 mm and weighing a mere 120 grams. There is no display so you’ll need to use the multicolor LED status indicator to understand the quality of air around you.

The other option is to use the Echo Family Devices or Alexa App. All of these connect to the air quality monitor. And that is an advantage over other such devices – the seamless integration with Alexa.

If the air quality is poor, you’ll immediately get an alert or hear an announcement on your Echo device. The app will also allow you to view a historical timeline of what you are breathing, including an easy to understand air quality score.

Amazon says the setup of its air quality monitor couldn’t be simpler. Simply plug it into a power outlet and follow the instructions in the Alexa app.

If you don’t have an air quality monitor we feel you are missing a trick. It’s a small investment and the inherent value of such a product is abundantly clear.

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The kids market is currently dominated by Garmin and Fitbit, with Apple also looking to make some headway. There are lots of small brands, though, fighting for a slice of the pie. If things go as planned, soon another big brand might join this space – Amazon.

Amazon kids-focused wearable

According to a report from Bloomberg the retail giant is specifically looking at a product to target the 4 to 12 year olds. Codenamed Seeker, the wearable would take the form of a wristband, keychain or clip.

As its codename indicates, it would be GPS enabled to let parents monitor the whereabouts of their little ones and stay in contact with them. The voice-activated wearable would also have the ability to communicate with Alexa.

In addition to keeping kids safe, the idea of Seeker is to provide kids with easy access to Amazon’s children focused content. Hence, the Alexa compatibility. This would also be what really distinguishes it from the competition.

The Bloomberg article says the device has been some time in the making. Amazon was initially targeting a 2020 release date. It is unclear why this did not go as planned and how much the project has moved forward.

Essential reading: The best gadgets for advanced sleep monitoring

The only other info that is currently known is that the company is considering a $99 price-point for the kid-focused gizmo. This includes a Kids+ subscription lasting a full year and wireless connectivity.

Kids+ is already available. For $2.99 per month it gives access to thousands of kid-friendly movies, TV shows, apps and games.

The bigger picture

The subscription model is something the company has used before for a wearable. Amazon Halo was launched towards the end of last year.

In addition to the usual fitness data, the screen-less device has some unique abilities. This includes voice tone analysis to figure out your “social and emotional wellbeing”, along with body fat analysis. More recently, a movement health feature was thrown into the mix.

Some of these do conjure up the creep factor. You have a device that is listening out to what you are saying. Plus it requires images with little clothing on in order to arrive at body fat estimates.

A few weeks ago, Amazon also received FCC approval for a radar-like sleep tracking device. This appears to be a palm-sized hexagonal pad connected to a metal wire base that will sit on your bedstead. From there it will send out millimeter-wave radar to sense your breathing while you are lying asleep. The team has apparently been working on the gadget for at least a year.

Health and fitness wearables have been around for just over a decade now. But it is only recently that Amazon has shown interest. This is a lucrative and fast growing market so don’t be surprised if the retail giant tries to make some headway in this space.

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To remind, the wearable was launched towards the end of last year. With a rather plain design the fitness band puts function over form. Having said that, it looks perfectly fine. But there is no screen.

Essential reading: Best fitness trackers and health gadgets

The combination of sensors inside the band tracks the fitness basics including steps, sleep, heart rate and temperature. But there are some rather odd aspects to the wearable.

The first of these comes in the form of voice tone analysis to figure out your “social and emotional wellbeing”. The other one offers body fat analysis by utilizing your smartphone’s camera. This requires you to take images of yourself with minimal clothing and upload them to the app. Of course, privacy concerns are the first thing that springs to mind, but Amazon assures us there is no reason for worry.

With this latest update the camera is getting one additional function. The wearable was already unlike anything else out there, now the functionality gets even stranger.

Movement Health

Dubbed Movement Health, the feature is being advertised as a tool to provide users with insights into their “functional fitness”. In English this means the smartphone app grades you on stability, mobility and posture on a scale from zero to 100. This is done for different parts of your body.

The app also spits out personalized video suggestions (5-10 minutes in length) to help you correct any problems. You are meant to do these 2-3 times per week and then retest yourself (every 2-4 weeks).

To capture a measurement you are required to go through a series of movements including single leg balances, forward lunges, overhead squats, overhead reach and foot-together squats. To an extent, this is designed to mimick movements you are likely perform as you go about your day. The app walks you through the 10 minute test and your movements are recorded with the smartphone camera.

Amazon says the analysis combines artificial intelligence, computer vision and machine learning to assess your movements. Privacy concerns are addressed by the fact that the videos are encrypted before making their way to the cloud. Also, once the algorithm has done its thing they are deleted.

We’re not really sure what to make of this latest add-on to Amazon Halo. It sounds like it could be a useful tool. How well it works in real life remains to be seen. It’s not really clear what you are being graded against. An ideal posture for one person might not be ideal for someone else. At least this feature doesn’t have the creep factor of some of the other ones!

But what is undoubtedly a good thing is the novelty aspect. There are a plethora of fitness trackers and smartwatches on the market with hardly anything to separate them. Just look at the number of Apple Watch lookalikes out there.

Amazon is thinking outside the box, so should be applauded for that. Even if we don’t necessarily agree with some of the directions it is taking its Halo fitness band.

Those interested can purchase the $99 wearable in one of three colours: black, blush and silver (check current price on Amazon). There’s also an on-going $3.99 monthly subscription.

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The company’s first-ever fitness band was announced in late August. Amazon Halo has some unique functions including the ability to estimate your body fat.

The retail giant had opted previously to stay out of this market, preferring to sell other brands’ devices. But at a time when there’s more competition than ever, Amazon has come out with its own wearable device.

The good news is that the retail giant has not simply decided to copy what others have done and package it up under its own name. The bad news is that a lot of the functionality sits behind a monthly subscription service. Then there are the inevitable questions about privacy. Amazon already knows so much about us…

But let’s walk you through the functionality and specs.

Amazon Halo – the look, specs

The wearable takes the shape of a sporty looking fitness band. There’s no display which is a bit of a surprise. Instead, the thing takes the form of a stylish, sporty looking bracelet. It has a single button on the side that is used to turn the microphones on or off and a discreet LED indicator light.

Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets

Inside is a host of sensors including an accelerometer, optical heart rate sensor, temperature sensor and two microphones. This allows it to capture the standard gamut of metrics including steps, activity, sleep and more.

In this sense, Amazon Halo is like any other fitness band. It monitors your activity around the clock and aims to get you moving. The thing has a points system that deducts one point for every hour of daily sedentary time. You are meant to try and accumulate 150 activity points during the week. The accompanying smartphone app will suggest science-backed challenges, experiments and workouts.

At night the fitness band measures the time it takes you to fall asleep and wake up, time spent in deep, light, and REM phases of sleep, and skin temperature. The last one on this list is also something introduced by Fitbit for its Sense and Versa range. There’s a points system here, too, and users will get a Sleep Score in the morning that ranks your kip time on a scale to 100.

The fitness band is water resistant and has a battery that can keep going for a full week on a single 90 minute charge. You can also pretty it up with a colorful range of different straps.

Non-standard features

Now you might be wondering why Amazon Halo needs two microphones. The answer will surprise you. This is where it starts to get a bit strange!

Voice tone analysis

Amazon claims its AI technology can analyze your voice to figure out factors such as “energy and positivity. In essence, the claim is that the wearable can estimate social and emotional wellbeing purely based on tone – hence the two microphones.

The company says it wants to help you improve your communication and relationships. For this purpose it analyzes the pitch, intensity, tempo, and rhythm of your speech to predict how others will react to you. Hmmmm.

The good news is that the function is not activated by default. You need to switch it on manually and create a voice profile via the Tone tile in the Halo smartphone app. This trains AI to only analyze your voice, not the voices of others.

From that point on the functionality is switched on, working quietly in the background, listening to and analyzing what you are saying. Not all the time, but in short bursts throughout the day.

For an important conversation, click on the physical button and this will activate a 30 minute continuous tone analysis. If you’re concerned about privacy, Amazon says the speech samples are processed locally on your phone and deleted straight after.

Body fat analysis

The other non-standard function for a fitness band is body fat analysis. Now we have seen this as its a standard metric on any self-respecting smart scale. Having said that, the figures are not that accurate and should be taken with a pinch of salt. Anyone who owns a smart scale knows that while they can trust weight measurements, the body fat readings can swing wildly from day to day.

Amazon has come up with an entirely unique approach to estimating your body fat. It requires you to take four images of yourself —front, back and each side. The app will guide you where and how far away from the camera to stand. For best results you should wear tight, minimal clothing.

A few seconds later you’ll get your very own 3D body model in the app, along with a body fat estimate and time of scan. Sounds pretty cool, right? The company suggests you take scans every 2 weeks in order to follow trends. Apparently, this method is as accurate as doctors would use. It’s also nearly twice as accurate as the results you’d get from a smart body scale.

If you were worried about privacy on something that listens in on what you are saying, that concern is now multiplied many times over. After all, in order to get body fat analysis to work you are required to take pics of yourself with minimal clothing through a third party app!

Amazon want’s to put your fears to rest once again. It says that your body scan images are automatically deleted from the cloud after processing. This goes a fair way to addressing some of these concerns.

Price and availability

So there you have it. That’s Amazon’s first ever fitness band. The Halo Band is available in the US for $99 in three colours: black, blush and silver (check current price on Amazon).

To get the most of it you’ll need a monthly membership that auto-renews at $3.99 each month (after a complimentary six-month trial period). Those that are not members get only basic fitness tracking info.

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The post Amazon makes body fat measuring Halo fitness band available to all appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.