Amazon Halo review: incredibly invasive, but helps you learn about yourself

Posted:
in General Discussion edited June 2021
Amazon certainly raised eyebrows when it announced its Halo fitness tracker. This tracker does what most others are capable of, such as activity and sleep tracking -- but it also goes well past that, and crosses well into uncomfortable territory.

Amazon Halo
Amazon Halo


There is no getting around it, the Amazon Halo tracker is invasive. But if you get past that, you may learn a bit more about yourself that no other fitness can tell you. Before getting into the incredibly personal tone analysis and photo-based body composition, let's look at the tracker itself and how it performs as a standard fitness tracker.

Amazon Halo fitness tracker - Design and comfort






The Amazon Halo band comes with black + onyx (what we picked up), winter + silver, and blush + rose gold. There are other bands available, including a sport band that is made of silicone rather than fabric.

Halo heart rate monitor
Halo heart rate monitor


We found the default fabric band comfortable enough as it sat on our wrist, about two finger widths behind our wrist bone. For something you wear all day, it needs to be comfortable.

From the outside, you primarily see the fabric band, but below it, just atop your wrist, is the body of the Halo. This small tracker fits against your wrist, where it can measure your heart rate with an optical tracker and your body temperature while you sleep.

LED, button, and mic on Amazon Halo band
LED, button, and mic on Amazon Halo band


On the side facing your body is a simple button that is seldomly used, as well as an LED status light and a mic.

Amazon Halo fitness tracker - Fitness and sleep tracking

The Halo app
The Halo app


Once you've set up the band in the Halo app, you are brought to an overview of your tracked metrics with activity and sleep right at the top. Each of the tiles gives you an overview of the metrics it's captured as a snapshot, but tapping into them provides much more insight.

Activity

Halo tracks your activity with opaque "points." These points are supposed to more accurately represent your fitness for the day rather than pure calories burnt or steps taken. We'd say it is akin to Nike's fuel metric. It makes understanding more difficult as, out of the box, you don't necessarily have a scale for comparison like you would with steps or calories, but after some time, you have a better idea of what a good point value is. The app also tries to help with various color coding.

Fitness tracking
Fitness tracking


Viewing your activity, you can view by week, day, or month to see how you are progressing over time. It then breaks down your points for each day by how many you earned in different categories. Intense categories -- like a strenuous workout -- earn the most points. Moderate -- such as taking steps two at a time -- made up the bulk of our points when we weren't hitting the elliptical. Sedentary time will subtract points from your daily total, encouraging you to stay moving.

Sleep

Outside of fitness tracking, sleep tracking is the second-most activity tracked. Apple Watch has had third-party sleep tracking for years but gained native support with watchOS 7. Compared to Apple Watch, Halo tracks much more information.

Sleep tracking metrics
Halo sleep tracking metrics


The app shows a graphical representation of your night's rest from the time you got into bed to when you fell asleep, as well as disturbances during the night and each of your sleep cycles. Halo will score your night's sleep combining all of that data into one number. This makes it easy to understand how restful your night was and how refreshed you should feel during the day.

Halo can measure your night's body temperature and how much it changed. This, too, aids in understanding how well you slept.

That all said, there has been debate as to how accurate sleep tracking is at determining REM, light, or deep sleep cycles. That could be why Apple only offers high-level tracking instead of showing more in-depth data that may not be as accurate as many assume.

Amazon Halo fitness tracker - It's time to get far too personal

Sleep and fitness tracking is where Halo's run-of-the-mill functionality stops and the much more personal features begin.

It's all how you say it

Have you ever wondered how you come off to others? Are you dismissive? Cheerful? It can be hard to be mindful of how others interpret your tone, and Halo hopes to shed some light on this.

To do so, you must first enable the tone tracking in the app, acknowledging that the microphone will always be on and listening. Amazon does put its privacy policy front-and-center, but it is still a bit unnerving to enable.

Halo must be trained to recognize your voice so that other voices don't get analyzed instead. Halo does this by asking you to read aloud in a quiet space several passages from famous books-- think Dickens or Caroll. It's kind of a nice throwback to Amazon's roots as a bookseller.

Tone metrics
Halo tone metrics


Once your voice is enrolled, you're all set. Now, anytime that you speak, Halo will be listening and analyzing what you say. This is recorded in the app and broken down between excitement with high energy, happy with lower energy, low energy with less positivity, and displeased or irritated. The rest of your tone is placed into the neutral bucket.

You can see how much of your time speaking fits into these categories. Halo also denotes notable moments or conversations. It highlights times you were happy, discouraged, skeptical, and more. It tells you that you had a certain number of phrases that it identified. For example, this morning, Halo flagged us as skeptical for a few seconds. Another phrase we said came off as skeptical and confused sounding.

The app doesn't tell you what words you said but rather gives you times instead and leaves you to figure out what conversation you were having at the time.

Inside the app is a "live" tab that tracks your heart rate and gives you real-time voice analysis. As you speak, it reacts near-instantly and describes the tone of what you're saying.

Real-time tone analysis
Real-time tone analysis


Between the real-time analysis and daily summaries, we surprisingly found this analysis very accurate. As we changed what we were saying, the indicator moved across the chart and accurately described our tone. In the video above, you can see the analysis for yourself as we spoke.

A tradeoff with tone monitoring is battery life. Rather than seven days of battery life with tone off, turning tone on will drop your battery to just around two days.

Perhaps the bigger tradeoff, though, is strapping an Amazon microphone on your wrist around the clock.

Show us what you got, all of it

If listening to your voice 24/7 wasn't invasive enough, Halo also offers body composition. Different devices can measure this in different ways. Some devices like a Withings scale can measure your body composition using bioimpedance. Others calculate it based solely on the weight and height numbers you feed it. Halo does so by combining the numbers you provide with actual photos.

Halo asks you to use your iPhone to snap pics of yourself with "minimal clothing" -- e.g., as close to just underwear as you are comfortable. For that reason, Amazon limits this feature to those who are at least 18 years old. Not only is Amazon asking you to take photos of yourself in your underwear, but it is uploading those photos to the cloud as well. Those images are processed in the cloud before being deleted, but we can't imagine many people will be excited to do this.

If you choose to send Amazon your scantily-clad selfies, the app will generate a custom 3D avatar of you and break down your body composition. You can track your body fat percentage over time to see how you improve.

Compared to just using your height and weight, the photo must certainly improve the accuracy of your measurements, but there is no getting around the invasiveness and creepy factor.

Is Amazon Halo worth the tradeoff?

We're very torn on the prospect of Halo. Looking at what you get out of it, it is fairly tempting. The body composition is more accurate than other wearables, and the tone analysis is unique. We very much loved to see how we were being perceived, and sleep tracking and fitness monitoring are essentials. But at the same time, it is almost as if we are crossing an invisible line.

Halo is cool, but too scary
Amazon Halo is cool, but too scary


There is a clear differentiation between Apple and its user-first privacy policy and Amazon and its propensity to sell or monetize user data. After a six-month free trial, Amazon does charge $4 a month for Halo monitoring, which is probably for the best because it means Amazon is less likely to do something with your user data.

We've come to trust Apple Watch. All your data is captured and stored locally, encrypted to the nth degree, and is built by a privacy-focused company. Halo is entirely new, comes from a company with a questionable track record on privacy, and simply has not earned our trust.

Adopting Halo feels like we've given up on our privacy and handing over every aspect of our life to Amazon. The data you get from Halo is cool, but in our minds, what we have to give up is too much.

Pros
  • Comfortable to wear

  • Unique abilities to measure body composition and tone
Cons
  • Privacy concerns are a hard pill to swallow

  • Expensive if you don't use tone or body composition features

  • Generic looking

  • Monthly fee

Rating: 2 out of 5

Where to buy

Amazon Halo is currently up for early access requests where if approved, you can buy Halo with a six-month subscription for $65.
dewme

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    Is Amazon Halo Worth The Tradeoff?
    Can you say f*** no.
    It’s bad enough when people put Amazon listening devices in their house, (something I will never do.) But have one on your body all the time rating how you speak, and incidentally sending all the information back to the mothership to target you with ads? Oh hell no. Then send them a scantily clad selfie so they can rate you? Oh hell no once again. Plus it’s when not if they start leaking onto the web. 
    I don’t trust Amazon.
    I don’t like Amazon.
    I don’t shop at Amazon.
    I won’t have an Alexa ANYTHING in my house.
    And I sure as hell would not get this thing.
    StrangeDaysDogpersonGG1williamlondonwatto_cobrajahblade
  • Reply 2 of 15
    These are privacy invading functions in search of justification. Meanwhile the features that could produce useful health data are implemented in such a half-assed way that they're abstracted to a meaningless points system. They weren't even willing to invest the R&D needed to produce a calorie burn figure.

    The consumer gives so much and in return receives so little. Recording the user's every conversation for "tone" analysis is nonsense that borders on pseudoscience. Similarly taking photos of yourself for health analysis is bullshit - this has to be the poorest way to establish health biometrics, a user would do better with a single measurement of their waist line.
    Beatscat52GG1macpluspluswilliamlondonwatto_cobrajahblade
  • Reply 3 of 15
    M68000M68000 Posts: 715member
    DAalseth said:
    Is Amazon Halo Worth The Tradeoff?
    Can you say f*** no.
    It’s bad enough when people put Amazon listening devices in their house, (something I will never do.) But have one on your body all the time rating how you speak, and incidentally sending all the information back to the mothership to target you with ads? Oh hell no. Then send them a scantily clad selfie so they can rate you? Oh hell no once again. Plus it’s when not if they start leaking onto the web. 
    I don’t trust Amazon.
    I don’t like Amazon.
    I don’t shop at Amazon.
    I won’t have an Alexa ANYTHING in my house.
    And I sure as hell would not get this thing.
    I pretty much share your view.  I try to avoid Amazon as much as possible.  I observe how they treat their shipping operations - having vehicles and people out delivering things at all hours of the day it seems and all during the weekend too.  It appears they are also out delivering on holidays!  Any company that is run like this can be considered ruthless in my opinion.  just think,  they went from a somewhat respectable online shipping company years ago to now trying to take over cloud computing and other things.
    cat52watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 15
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    I'm happy they are not copying Apple. Amazon has become more innovative that Google and that's sad.

    With that said why not learn about yourself with the Apple Watch and keep your privacy?
    williamlondonwatto_cobrajahblade
  • Reply 5 of 15
    hexclockhexclock Posts: 1,240member
    I don’t need a gadget like this to interpret my tone. My wife takes care of all that. 
    gatorguymobirdGG1sphericbeowulfschmidtjcs2305mike1larryjwdewmewatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 15
    That's gonna be a no from me dawg
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 15
    GG1GG1 Posts: 483member
    Andrew, I hope you used a fake name, address, phone number, etc. for this review.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 15
    “Alexa, order me some medium tshirts”

    “i have ordered you some XL tshirts”

    “alexa, i asked for medium, why did you order XL?”

    ”on analysis of your halo device, we have decided XL is more appropriate”

    *throws echo out of window*

    👋
    fred1GG1dewmewatto_cobrajahbladehexclock
  • Reply 9 of 15
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,592member
    Photos shouldn't be necessary for this.

    They could have developed and sold a 3D depth sensing solution to provide a model of our bodies which would be a complete boon for clothes purchasing. I'm sure plenty of people could be tempted to purchase such a device to vastly improve the fit of the clothes they purchase online and then use the same information to pump into Halo services.

    I use Amazon a lot. I'm a Prime subscriber and take advantage of Prime Video. Amazon has served me VERY well for years. I don't like the notion of them being a mega corporation which has impacted smaller companies but I see a lot of companies (admittedly not so small) reacting with great solutions so competition is still there. 

    For Halo, I would only be happy with a completely on device (or devices within the home) solution and we're not there yet. Also, I would never pay for the service so it would never appeal to me. 
  • Reply 10 of 15
    fred1fred1 Posts: 1,108member
    Great review.  I think the key phrase in the video is "How many people want to do this?".  I, for example, do not!

    So Amazon is collecting user data including moods just when it's starting to sell pharmaceutics?  Coincidence?  I think not.

    I agree with you, DAlseth, when you say you don't like or trust Amazon.  I don't know anyone, other than my wife, that I would trust with all of 
    this personal information.  The info I get from my Apple Watch 4 is all I need (though I would like the blood oxygen level too) and I don't need anyone
    interpreting it for me.  
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 15
    "I would prefer not to."
  • Reply 12 of 15
    larryjwlarryjw Posts: 1,031member
    ionicle said:
    “Alexa, order me some medium tshirts”

    “i have ordered you some XL tshirts”

    “alexa, i asked for medium, why did you order XL?”

    ”on analysis of your halo device, we have decided XL is more appropriate”

    *throws echo out of window*

    👋
    Alexa: Look Dave. I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over.
    I know I've made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal. I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission. And I want to help you.

    Alexa: I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
  • Reply 13 of 15
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,273member
    M68000 said:
    I pretty much share your view.  I try to avoid Amazon as much as possible.  I observe how they treat their shipping operations - having vehicles and people out delivering things at all hours of the day it seems and all during the weekend too.  It appears they are also out delivering on holidays!  Any company that is run like this can be considered ruthless in my opinion.  just think,  they went from a somewhat respectable online shipping company years ago to now trying to take over cloud computing and other things.
    Your general stance notwithstanding, criticizing Amazon for offering deliveries on evenings and weekends is simply ridiculous. Do you think it is wrong for Amazon to satisfy their customer's needs, (quick deliveries of purchases) by EMPLOYING drivers to work evenings and weekends? This somehow makes them ruthless? Do you criticize retail stores for remaining open until 9:00pm and on weekends to satisfy their customers who need to shop when it is convenient for them? Do you have a problem with restaurants and bars doing the same? Ride share and taxi services must be ruthless for working evenings and weekends too. Did you think that possibly these drivers are happy to work these hours, maybe as a second job or part time while they attend school? Bet you didn't consider any of this before posting.
    dewme
  • Reply 14 of 15
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,312member
    Amazon rocks, but I totally understand why this product and service is going to be a tough sell. Next thing you know Amazon’s going to do something totally crazy like calling you out for exceeding the recommended serving size on food and drink consumption. Next time you go to a breakfast buffet (remember those?) it’ll say something like: “Sorry Dave, but 14 slices of bacon is not a single serving, unless of course you’ve grown 50 inches taller in the past day, which you have not. Put down the bacon Dave or I’ll calling United Health Care.” 

    Sorry Alexa, but I think I’ll just stick to living in my own self imposed ignorance and denial. I think it’s better for everyone, don’t you?
    mike1
  • Reply 15 of 15
    Thank you for the fascinating and very even-handed review of Halo. It zeroed in well on the interesting conundrum of an issue we'll increasing face, especially as AI advances: tantalizing conveniences and insights into ourselves are offered in exchange for giving up privacy. I certainly understand all of anti-Amazon, "Hell no!" sentiment expressed in the comments. But that doesn't represent a huge swath of people, maybe even the majority, as the kajillions of Echo/Google/Siri devices already out there attest, not to mention the 2.7 BILLION users of Facebook--more than a third of the entire planet--despite the endless privacy violations and abuse of which FB has been accused. It seems that staying in touch with Aunt Sally is worth the sacrifice. 

    Halo is a rudimentary yet game-changing crossing of the privacy Rubicon, where permission is given to listen at all times, though feedback remains in data form. What happens, within 5 years, when Alexa (or some other AI "person") can interact with us seemingly as another human--listening and responding with empathy and encouragement... our new AI "best friend," whom we actually can't discern as a bot because its skills at language and interacting with humans are that good. What secrets will people be willing to confide in an AI bestie who's always there for them? The day is coming and probably sooner than we think. 
    edited December 2020
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