Halo View vs Halo Band (2022): Which Amazon Fitness Tracker Should You Get?

The Halo Band was Amazon’s attempt to get into a crowded fitness tracker market. With the Halo View, staying in that crowd is the new aspiration. Amazon’s latest foray into wearables features a few hardware upgrades. Unlike the band-only Halo Band, the Halo View most noticeably boasts a color display. This should make it a more compelling alternative to other fitness trackers. But with these changes, is Amazon’s Halo lineup now on the right track?

Halo View vs Halo Band Comparison Chart

Design

The Halo View boasts an AMOLED touch display — an upgrade over the screenless Halo Band.

Just like some of the best cheap fitness trackers, Amazon’s Halo View and Halo Band keep things simple. Both are wristband-like devices that combine the main sensor and interchangeable straps. The biggest difference, however, is that the Halo View now comes with an AMOLED color touch display. It’s not the most impressive screen, but it does its job well.

On the other hand, the Halo Band lives up to its name. Except for the sensor underneath, it’s easy to mistake it as a fashion accessory instead of a fitness device. The lack of a screen also draws comparisons with another display-less tracker, WHOOP. But unlike the competition, the Halo Band has options for two kinds of straps: fabric and sport. The latter is the more sweatproof of the two.

Halo View doesn’t offer any bundled fabric option for the straps. Instead, you only get sport bands made of high-performance TPU material. Meanwhile, Halo Band’s sport bands are crafted from silicone. Both add little weight to the sensors. They’re also interchangeable with fancier-looking accessory bands, including leather and metal options.

Fitness and Health

Both the Halo View and Halo Band offer a suite of fitness tracking and health monitoring features.

Amazon doesn’t deviate too much from the standard capabilities of today’s fitness tracker. Both the Halo View and Halo Band rely largely on their optical sensor, accelerometer, and temperature sensor. With the optical sensor, the bands monitor heart rate, although you won’t get alerts for abnormal readings. On the Halo View, the sensor also measures blood oxygen levels.

The Halo View and Band have staple metrics like steps, calories burned, and activity sessions, courtesy of its accelerometer. There is even a movement assessment feature that recommends improvements to your posture and mobility.

You can track workouts, too, although it’s more cumbersome on the display-less Halo Band. Of course, you get sleep tracking as well. Combining all three device sensors, users get insights into their sleep stages, heart rate, and waking times. A sleep score is then provided.

Both the Halo View and Band offer a catalog of programs as well. These include mindfulness exercises, meditations, nutrition resources, and challenges designed to build healthier habits. Some are crafted by Halo Experts, while others are provided by Halo partners and third-party services.

Amazon’s fitness bands can also monitor body composition and make tone analyses. The former makes use of your smartphone’s camera instead of an electrical sensor. With tone analysis, you become more aware of how your voice sounds to others. Because of privacy issues, however, the Halo View does away with built-in microphones and uses your smartphone’s mic instead.

Halo Membership

To make the most of a Halo device, you’ll need to subscribe to a Halo Membership.

Central to Amazon’s fitness trackers is a Halo membership. Out of the box, the Halo View and Halo Band will give you basic activity metrics like steps, calories burned, and activity sessions. You also get real-time heart rate monitoring. When it comes to sleep tracking, both devices watch out for waking times and sleep temperature.

To access more advanced tools, however, you’ll need to sign up with Halo Membership. Some of the premium features you’ll get as a member include Body Composition, Tone Analysis, and Sleep Score. Users will benefit from Movement Health as well. A membership also links you to the full catalog of Halo’s native and third-party workouts, resources, and fitness programs.

Along with the release of the Halo View, Amazon is also introducing two new features to its membership. The first is Halo Fitness, a dedicated platform for studio-quality workouts. It’s expected to offer classes in cardio, yoga, strength, and mobility.

Next is Halo Nutrition. As its name suggests, this feature will serve as a resource for healthy and nutrient-rich recipes. Amazon shares that Halo Nutrition will have a library of over 500 recipes from partners. Both Fitness and Nutrition will be offered at no added cost to membership.

The Halo Band originally came with a six-month free membership. With the Halo View, you’re getting a free one-year, full-access membership. Subscriptions auto-renew after the end of your free access for $3.99/month.

Connectivity, Battery and Warranty

The Halo View and Band are Bluetooth-only devices with a 7-day battery life and one-year limited warranty.

Compared to other devices, the Halo View and Halo Band offer basic connectivity. To pair with your smartphone, both bands use Bluetooth 5.0. Since the Halo view comes with a display, the connection also allows for text notifications.

In terms of battery life, the Halo devices are comparable. Even with a full color display, the Halo View offers the same seven-day battery life as the Halo Band. Actual battery life, however, will vary according to usage and settings. The Halo Band, for instance, offers a built-in Tone Analysis. With the feature enabled, battery life can go down to just two days.

According to Amazon, you get one-year limited warranty for both the Halo View and Halo Band.

Verdict

The Halo View is a better fitness tracker than the Halo Band.

The Halo Band was Amazon’s attempt to enter the fitness tracker market. With its screenless design and subscription-based features, its place against the likes of Fitbit, Garmin, Samsung, and even Apple, however, felt unnecessary. Budget trackers with displays were a better option. On the Halo View, Amazon goes back to the drawing board to offer a product that’s more suited for today’s display-centric market.

The Halo View offers all the goods of the Band but with the benefit of a full-color touch display. Despite the hardware upgrade, it also sells for a lower price across its sizes compared to the Halo Band. Plus, you get a better one-year free Halo membership over the Band’s six-month free access. If you feel like trying out the Halo devices for their solid fitness and health features, you’re better off with the Halo View.

Please note that the Halo View and Halo Band are not medical devices. Both bands are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition. They cannot substitute the services of health care professionals.

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