Behind the failure of Amazon Halo

The digital fitness brand will soon be discontinued

Image credit: Canva

As part of its Halo brand, Amazon had ambitious long-term ambitions to compete in the fitness and wellness sector.

The Big Tech firm, however, has unexpectedly abandoned the category owing to "significant headwinds, including an increasingly crowded segment and an uncertain economic environment." The whole Halo division will be shut down effective July 31, 2023 as per a recent press release.

Later this year, Amazon intended to launch a revamped Halo Digital subscription service, complete with an AI-powered fitness trainer and celebrity-led fitness sessions. The plan centered around a revised Halo mobile application with greater customization and more sophisticated training capabilities, including a "Halo AI Trainer" that would utilize computer vision to analyze and track a user's workouts.

Amazon was also looking for opportunities for Halo Digital in the health insurance sector as well as a health and wellness benefit for the company's employees.

However, early beta feedback on the AI trainer's performance was mixed, and Amazon employees expressed reservations about having a camera analyze them and share data with the company during workout routines.