Amid ongoing layoffs, Amazon will shut down its Halo division, which produced health-focused products, including fitness trackers. It has removed various product pages for Halo devices and is sending emails to affected customers.
“At Amazon, we think big, experiment, and invest in new ideas like Amazon Halo in our efforts to delight customers. While we are proud of what we built, we recently made the difficult decision to stop supporting Amazon Halo effective July 31, 2023,” the company says in the email.
As of Aug. 1, all Halo products will stop functioning and customer data will be purged. Hence, it’ll be up to the user to save any health data on their devices.
On the plus side, if you bought a Halo product in the past 12 months from Amazon, you can expect to receive a full refund. This includes the Halo Band and Halo View fitness trackers, the Halo Rise alarm clock, and other Halo accessories
“In addition, any unused prepaid Halo subscriptions fees will be refunded to your original payment method,” the company says. “If you have a paid subscription, as of today you will no longer be charged the monthly subscription fee. You do not need to take any additional steps.”
Amazon originally introduced the Halo brand in August 2020 in an effort to expand into the health and fitness market, years after rivals like Fitbit, Samsung, and Apple did the same. Its first product was the Halo Band, a display-less fitness tracker that could record all kinds of health-related stats in return for signing up for a paid subscription.
But now, Amazon is throwing in the towel on the whole effort at a time when it's been cutting costs and slashing thousands of jobs, citing an uncertain economy.
“More recently, Halo has faced significant headwinds, including an increasingly crowded segment and an uncertain economic environment,” Amazon said in a memo to employees, which The Verge obtained. “Although our customers love many aspects of Halo, we must prioritize resources and maximize benefits to customers and the long-term health of the business.”
The shutdown means Amazon is laying off employees in the Halo division. It's set to announce Q1 earnings tomorrow, which should offer a clearer picture of the company's financial situation.