Amazon.com Inc. AMZN,
launches a new healthcare brand called Amazon Halo, combines artificial intelligence tools with a wrist-worn fitness tracker, and competes with Fitbit Inc. FIT,
and capitalize on trends for home training amid the pandemic. The Halo app will provide “insights” on sleep patterns, activity, workouts and so on, Amazon said. Amazon will work with the American Heart Association, the Mayo Clinic, Headspace, and other health organizations on some of the features, it said. The Halo Band has seven days worth of battery life and fully charges in less than 90 minutes, the company said. Amazon is selling an “early access” package to the Halo for $ 64.99, including a six-month Halo membership. That membership renews for $ 3.99 a month thereafter. The package normally costs $ 99.99, Amazon said. The announcement comes shortly after Fitbit introduced its latest products, including a watch with stress management features and an upgraded version of its fitness tracker that comes with a one-year free trial of Fitbit’s own premium subscription service for healthcare. Amazon shares are down 0.2% in Thursday trading, but they have gained 42% over the past three months as the S&P 500 SPX,
has won 15%.
.
