Amazon jumps into wellness tracking, challenges Apple and Fitbit

[WASHINGTON] Amazon.com introduced a wearable fitness gadget called Halo, entering the market for health monitoring devices dominated by Apple and Fitbit.

The Halo wrist band uses artificial intelligence to monitor a range of personal wellness metrics, from physical activity to sleep and even mood. The device's features include 3D scans for body fat and voice-tone detection to analyse emotion. The Halo will also come with an app, and users will be able to connect their accounts to third-party programmes to further monitor weight and health.

"Despite the rise in digital health services and devices over the last decade, we have not seen a corresponding improvement in population health in the US." said Maulik Majmudar, principal medical officer for Amazon Halo, in a statement.

The company is offering invite-only early access beginning Thursday with an introductory price of US$64.99 that includes six months of the service for free.

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