E-commerce company Amazon entered the wearable fitness tracker market with a new paid subscription service called Amazon Halo.
The company will offer a Halo wristband that will connect to an app on a user’s smartphone through Bluetooth. The wristband contains sensors that monitor physical health and mental wellbeing.
“Health is much more than just the number of steps you take in a day or how many hours you sleep,” said Maulik Majmudar, a cardiologist and principal medical officer at Amazon Halo.
“Amazon Halo combines the latest medical science, highly accurate data via the band sensors and cutting-edge artificial intelligence to offer a more comprehensive approach to improving your health and wellness.”
Unlike other smartwatches and fitness trackers, Amazon’s Halo band does not have a screen. However, it does contain an accelerometer, a temperature sensor, a heart-rate monitor, two microphones and a button to turn the microphones on or off.
The microphones are not for communicating with other people but for capturing a user's emotional state from the tone of their voice.
The tone is analysed using machine learning technology to detect levels of energy and positivity, the company said.
“Using tone to reflect on your interactions can help build connections or identify patterns so you can consciously make improvements,” said Mr Majmudar.
For example, results may reveal that a difficult work call led to less positivity in family discussions, an indication of the impact of stress on well-being, he said.
Another features uses a smartphone camera to capture a 3D scan of a user’s body and then compute the level of fat.
The market for fitness trackers is growing at a compound rate of 15.2 per cent per year, according to research published earlier this month by Fortune Business Insights. It projects that the size of the market will grow to about $92 billion (Dh337.9bn) by 2027, up from $30.41bn last year.
Several layers of privacy and security are built into the Amazon’s service to keep the data of users safe and under their control, the company said.
“Health data is encrypted in transit and in the cloud and customers can download or delete their data at any time directly from the app. Body-scan images are automatically deleted from the cloud after processing, so only the customer sees them,” Amazon said.
The company said Amazon Halo was launched as an invite-only, early-access programme in the US, at a price of $64.99 for the device, which includes a membership fee for six months.
After that, the band will cost $99.99 and the membership, which is needed to gain access to more advanced features, will cost $3.99 a month. The service will then be introduced in other markets gradually, the company said.
Try out the test yourself
Q1 Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 per cent per year. After five years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
a) More than $102
b) Exactly $102
c) Less than $102
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q2 Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 per cent per year and inflation was 2 per cent per year. After one year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?
a) More than today
b) Exactly the same as today
c) Less than today
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q4 Do you think that the following statement is true or false? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”
a) True
b) False
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
The “Big Three” financial literacy questions were created by Professors Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business and Olivia Mitchell, of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Answers: Q1 More than $102 (compound interest). Q2 Less than today (inflation). Q3 False (diversification).
While you're here
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
Scoreline
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
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Michele Wucker: The difference between a black swan and a grey rhino
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U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
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What are the regulations?
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Towering concerns
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Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
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Company Profile
Name: JustClean
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Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
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UAE Premiership
Results
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Fixture
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