Amazon sent out a note to Halo customers today announcing that it is shutting down its Halo Health division, effective July 31. Included in the announcement is news of layoffs, as well as full refunds on hardware purchased over the past 12 months.
That includes Amazon Halo View, Halo Band, Halo Rise, and a bunch of accessories. That’s not an unprecedented move (Google did something similar when it recently shut down Stadia), but it’s a sign of goodwill for customers and a tacit acknowledgment that the hardware won’t be worth a hell of a lot when its associated services shut down. The company will also be ending subscription fees and refunding those that were pre-paid.
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In a letter addressed to “Halo Member,” the company says, “At Amazon, we think big, experiment, and invest in new ideas like Amazon Halo in our efforts to delight customers.” All of the above-mentioned products will stop working at the start of August. Additionally, Amazon has included instructions on how to recycle the hardware and save scan images to a phone’s camera roll.
The corporation announced 9,000 layoffs at the end of last month, bringing the total to 18,000 since January. The first round had a disproportionately negative effect on Amazon’s hardware divisions, with the Alexa/Echo team receiving a lot of attention.
When the first Halo tracker went public in August 2020, privacy advocates reacted negatively. The range continued to expand swiftly, including the Halo View, an $80 Fitbit rival, along with other fitness and nutrition programs, in late 2021. It unveiled the Halo Rise, a nightstand sleep tracker, in September of last year, and it went on sale in December.
Amazon Halo is a fitness wearable device and accompanying app that was launched by Amazon in August 2020. The device is designed to help users improve their overall health and wellness by tracking various aspects of their lifestyle, including activity levels, sleep, body fat percentage, and even their tone of voice.
The Amazon Halo device is worn as a wristband and features sensors that can track a user’s heart rate, motion, and temperature. The device also has a microphone that can be used to analyze a user’s tone of voice and provide feedback on their communication style.
Overall, the Amazon Halo is designed to be a comprehensive health and wellness tool that can help users make positive changes to their lifestyle by providing personalized recommendations and insights.
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