Offerings from Fitbit, Xiaomi, and Garmin dominate our list of the best fitness trackers. But these are not the only companies dabbling in such wearables. Shopping giant Amazon also has a range of affordable fitness trackers under the Halo brand that pack all the health tracking features you can wish for. Admittedly though, Halo fitness trackers were never as popular as the likes of Fitbits and Garmins. Add in the slowdown in consumer spending, and Amazon has decided it’s time to shut down its Halo division for good.
In its announcement, Amazon says it will stop supporting all Halo services from July 31, 2023. So while your Amazon tracker will continue to work for now, it’s time to start looking for replacements.
Melissa Cha, Amazon’s VP of smart home and health, in an internal email (via The Verge), told employees that “Halo has faced significant headwinds, including an increasingly crowded segment and an uncertain economic environment.” The first fitness band from Amazon launched in 2020, so the company was late to the fitness wearable market. And given the products were mostly mediocre, it’s not surprising that they did not find many takers.
On the bright side, you’ll get a full refund if you purchased the Halo View, Band, Rise, or any Halo accessory band in the last year. Additionally, if you were subscribed to Halo premium, Amazon will stop charging you the monthly subscription fee starting today itself. The company has already removed listings for all Halo wearables from its website.
Amazon will delete your Halo health data after August 1, 2023. You can download or manually delete all your data before that using the Halo app on your phone. Amazon will also email all affected customers, informing them about the shutdown of its fitness tracker.
Since the Halo division is being dismantled, Amazon is also laying off employees that worked on the project. This move is part of a broader layoff from the company due to the economic downturn, which will reduce its headcount by 9,000 employees.
