Fitness trackers and wearables are steadily turning mainstream in the multi-trillion healthcare industry as they now became the most convenient options to monitor personal health with accuracy, track fitness and perform the post-operative care of patients.
Moreover, with continuous innovation in technologies through AI, ML and the IoT that by and large back these automated devices, precision of health information is being consistently achievedand enhanced everyday. This, in turn, also bolsters the wide and rapid adoption rate of e-gadgets.
Given this upbeat scenario, Amazon AMZN finally made its foray into the promising fitness tracker and wearable market by launching Amazon Halo and Amazon Halo Band, the fitness tracking service and wearable, respectively.
Notably, the latest move by Amazon is expected to challenge the competitive moat of Apple AAPL in the wearable space.
Further, Amazon Halo is likely to intensify competition for other incumbents like Alphabet’s GOOGL Google, Fitbit FIT, Garmin GRMN and Samsung, which are leaving no stone unturned to expand their footprint in the booming fitness tracker space in a bid to penetrate the healthcare industry fast.
Per a Market Data Forecast report, the global fitness tracker market is expected to witness a CAGR of 20.1% between 2019 and 2025. Further, a Mordor Intelligence report indicates that the worldwide wearable space is expected to reach $614.3 million by 2025, seeing a CAGR of 19.1% over the 2020-2025 period.
Additionally, Gartner’s data shows that user spending on wearable devices will globally increase 22% year over year to $63 billion in 2021.
Moreover, the current unprecedented times are witnessing higher health risks induced by thecoronavirus, which in turn, is driving demand for smartwatches and fitness bands.
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Is Amazon at an Advantage With Halo?
We believe the launch of Amazon Halo will bolster thise-commerce giant’s aggressive efforts to expand its presence in the healthcare industry. The Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company strives to aid users in maintaining their health and wellness with its latest offering.
Notably, Amazon Halo Band, which is an all-day wear water-resistant fitness band, comprises a heart rate monitor, a temperature sensor and an accelerometer. Moreover, it includes two microphones, an LED indicator light and a small sensor capsule for providing accurate data.
This apart, Amazon Halo appconsists of five core features, namely activity, sleep, body, tone and labs, all developed for lending meaningful healthcare insights.
Meanwhile, Amazon Halo is a service that offers wellness insights through Amazon Halo app in integration with Amazon Halo Band. Moreover, its bundle of AI-driven health features remains noteworthy.
All the above-mentioned features are likely to help Amazon gaining traction from the fitness tracker market. Moreover, Amazon Halo holds promise amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which triggered the importance of health consciousness worldwide.
Should Apple Worry?
Amazon’s entry into the fitness tracker market is going to stiffen the wearable battle.
Nevertheless, Apple, which is currently dominating the wearable space on the back of its expanding Watch family, is constantly making strong efforts to sustain its supremacy.
According to a Counterpoint Research report, Apple continued to lead the smartwatch market in first-half 2020 by capturing 51.4% of the global smartwatch shipment revenues.
The built-in electrocardiogram (ECG) reader in the company’s Watch series, helps detecting an atrial fibrillation. Evidently, the company provides an advanced heart monitoring system to the Watch users in this fast-paced world.
Further, the always-on retina display on Apple Watch Series-5 enjoys a strong momentum. Also, fitness features like Cycle Tracking, the Noise app and Activity Trends on the watch are facilitating a hassle-free user experience.
Recently, the company previewed watchOS 7, offering advanced customization tools andan array of new health and fitness features including sleep tracking, automatic handwash detection, additional workout types including dance and a new hearing health feature, which gives a perspective to the overall user well-being.
We believe that continuous advancements made by this currently Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company in the fitness tracking field will likely lead to more customer wins further. Notably, more than 75% customers who purchased Apple Watch during third-quarter fiscal 2020 were first-time users.
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What Are Others Doing?
Garmin gradually built itsproduct portfolio for fitness business through both internal development efforts and acquisitions.The synchronization of Cardiogram heart health appwith its wearables featuring an optical heart rate, such as fenix, Forerunner and vivo devices remains a major positive.
Further, this presently Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company’s vivoactive 4 and 4S GPS smartwatches provides abnormal heartrate alerts. Besides, advanced sleep tracking, respiration tracking, Body Battery energy monitoring, women cycle tracking, stress tracking with relax reminders and hydration trackingconstitute some other interesting features.
Meanwhile, Google is making concerted efforts to bolster its footprint in the wearable market. The growing momentum of its Wear OS remains a tailwind. Further, its acquisition of Fossil’s FOSL smartwatch technology is noteworthy.
Additionally, the company reached a definitive agreement to acquire the wearable fitness company Fitbit, which is billed as a remarkable buyout in the fitness tracking space. Also, the acquisition will aid in enhancing the company’s healthcare initiatives.
Currently, Google’s parent Alphabet carries a Zacks Rank of 3.
Fitbit is gaining traction from its expanding wearable portfolio. Recently, this Zacks #3 Ranked company unveiled a smartwatch called Sense, which will help users track key health trends. The smartwatch is equipped with stress management and other attractive features as well.
Additionally, it introduced revamped versions of its Versa, namely Fitbit Versa 3 and Fitbit Inspire 2.
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