Health and fitness bands are all the rage in fitness and sports these days. Some are capable of tracking your heart rate, skin temperature, electrocardiogram (ECG), electrodermal activity (EDA), or blood oxygen saturation levels (SpO2). Some are even capable of GPS, stress monitoring, and contactless payments through an onboard NFC chip.
The health and fitness band you choose to use in your daily workout routine or just your run-of-the-mill daily routine is up to a subjective choice. Some have more features than others, but with those features generally comes a higher price. Choosing the right health and fitness band for your needs depends on the most important features.
It is important to look at all of the features of any given health and fitness band to determine what features meet your needs and to purchase the band that has most of the features you desire in your price range.
Pros
Affordable
SpO2
The Halo can track oxygen saturation with its SpO2 sensor. This tells you how much oxygen is in your blood versus how much oxygen should be in your blood. An important stat while
Exercising.
Long Battery Life & Quick Charge Time
You won’t have to wait long for your band to charge up.
Sleep Tracker
Water Resistance
Automatic Workout Tracking
Wellness Programs
The Halo Band comes with a slew of wellness programs meant to help you track your mental and physical wellness. However, access to these requires a subscription. You get a free 6-month subscription with the purchase of a Halo Band, but then it auto-renews at $3.99 per month after that.
Cons
No Onboard GPS
Some people like to be able to track their runs or workout through GPS and upload the data to other tracking apps. Unfortunately, the Halo Band lacks a GPS antenna.
No Stress Monitoring
There is no direct stress monitoring past the typical health and fitness band. Bands such as the Fitbit Charge 5 include the ability to track your active stress levels throughout the day. However, that feature comes with a price increase.
No NFC Payments
Contactless payments are sought by many working out because it means fewer items they have to carry in their pockets while jogging, running, cycling, or working out. The ability to just stop in somewhere, grab a water, and pay with the NFC chip on your watch makes for a nice quality of life improvement.
Skin Temperature Only Active When Using Sleep Tracker
No Smartwatch Capabilities
If you want those features, you may need a smartwatch in addition to your Halo Band.
A Subscription Is Needed For All Features
You get a free sixth-month subscription with the purchase of a Halo Band, but after that, it is $3.99 per month.
