After years of dominating the screen-less wearable category, WHOOP has a competitor. The Amazfit Helio Strap has entered the fitness-tracking world and they’re doing everything right- price point, a no subscription model, accurate biometrics and a long battery life.
But does it live up to the hype? I tested it out and here’s my review of the Amazfit Helio Strap.
Specifications
| Specifications | Amazfit Helio Strap |
|---|---|
| Colors | Black |
| Dimensions (without sensor) | 33.97 x 24.3 x 10.59mm |
| Weight | 20g |
| Material | Fiber-reinforced polymer |
| Water-resistance | 5 ATM |
| Motor | Rotor motor |
| Strap | Materials: Nylon Width: 22mm Min. & Max. Wrist Dimensions: 145-205mm Buckle: Hook & loop fastening |
| Battery Capacity | 232 mAh |
| Battery Life | Up to 10 days |
| Sensors | Health: BioTracker 6.0 PPG biometric sensor (5PD + 2LED) Movement: Acceleration, Gyroscope, Temperature Connection: Bluetooth 5.2, BLE |
| Supported Devices | Android 7.0 and above, iOS 15.0 and above |
| Sports Modes | 28 |
| Offline Heart Rate Storage | Up to 21 days |
| Sync to 3rd Party Fitness Apps | Strava, adidas Running, TrainingPeaks (via Terra), komoot, Relive, Google Fit, Apple Health |
| 24/7 Health Monitoring | Yes |
Features: What the Helio Strap Records
Apart from the three main metrics, the Helio strap gives the following data in the Zepp app:
- 24×7 Heart Rate
- Resting Heart Rate
- Workout Heart Rate
- HRV (Heart Rate Variability)
- Sleep metrics
- Sleep Score
- Sleep Stages
- Sleep Times
- Naps
- Breathing Rate (while sleeping)
- Steps
- Calories burned
- Stress
- PAI
- Biocharge (similar to Garmin’s Body Battery)
- Exertion (total energy expenditure)
- Skin Temperature
- Sleep Apnea estimation (not FDA approved)
- Training Status
- Training Load
Design and Comfort
The design of the Helio Strap would inevitably remind you of something that rhymes with OOPS. Yes, the WHOOP and the Helio Strap have an uncanny resemblance, but this is not the first time two wearables look extremely alike (Oura and Ultrahuman ring a bell?).
But this is more than just about the look. The Helio Strap may look like WHOOP, but it is much lighter, weighing just 20g. This sleek, screenless and feather-like device comes with a nylon strap that is so soft and comfortable that you can almost have a barely-there experience even by wearing it 24/7.
Water resistance of the Helio Strap stands at 5 ATM, but I would avoid hot showers and saunas. The wake-up alarm is also decent with a subtly vibrating motor.
If the goal was to mimic WHOOP without the recurring price tag, Amazfit has succeeded beautifully.
Heart Rate Sensors Accuracy
The Amazfit Helio Strap comes with a BioTracker 6.0 sensor with five photodiodes and two LEDs that provide a pretty accurate reading, especially at this price point.
While the reading is consistently good when worn normally on the wrist, it jumps significantly when worn on the upper arm. Many individual tests have found the heart rate data from Helio Strap stays within 1-2 bpm of the Garmin HRM chest straps, even during intense HIIT sessions.
Heart Rate Accuracy: 9/10
Sleep Tracking
Image Courtesy: DC Rainmaker
The Helio Strap has nailed sleep tracking when I didn’t think my Oura ring could have any competition. Its sleep score aligns with my Oura ring and WHOOP band, it captures daytime naps, the sleep time is pretty on point and the morning score feels pretty aligned to how I’m actually feeling.
What more can I ask for? Well, if I’m being a little needy, I could still ask for the ability to manually add sleep in case I forgot to wear the strap to bed or it ran out of battery in the middle of the night. I could also ask for a better sleep stage analysis and maybe not assume I’ve fallen asleep when I’m just binge-watching my new Netflix obsession.
But other than those few caveats, the sleep tracking is shockingly impressive.
Sleep tracking score: 9/10
Workout Tracking
The Helio Strap’s workout tracking is a mix of strengths and weaknesses. The manual workout tracking is reliable when started through the phone. It provides access to maps using the phone’s GPS and delivers solid fitness data such as heart rate zones, time per kilometer, pace and average speed.
It also has 28 sports modes, which I have found are pretty accurately detected automatically when it comes to the upper body movements; however, whenever I have leg days at the gym, the strap does not perform its best. I need to put it on my bicep with an arm band for lower body movements to be recognised accurately.
The lack of ability to let me customise the incorrect activity detected by the Helio Strap is a major put-off. This is something that is very basic, given that most wearables can easily misread an activity. It also frequently over-detects simple movements as a workout, which leads to maxing out my exertion pretty early in a day and excessive “A Activity Records” notifications.
Automatic Activity Tracking: 4/10
Metrics and Zepp App Interface
The app lacks a Zepp Coach AI on this device and also ranks pretty low in recent privacy audits, which is a major factor worth making a note of. However, the data syncing from the Helio Strap to the app is pretty quick and reliable.
I am not the biggest fan of the app’s UI because I have experienced some of the most beautifully laid out data from other wearable devices. What I do like about this app is that I can sync my data to be displayed in other apps such as Apple Health, Adidas Running, Strava, TrainingPeaks and Google Fit.
While there is a lot of data present in the Zepp app, the three main things displayed at the top of the app are:
Sleep Score
Similar to how other wearable devices score your sleep, the Helio Strap also gives a final rating based on the various sleep metrics it tracks.
Biocharge
Similar to Garmin’s Body Battery, Biocharge is Helio’s way of telling me how much battery I have left in me at the end of the day. It starts at the top at the beginning of the day and depletes throughout the day, depending on how my day goes.
Exertion
Exertion is how much energy I’ve spent in a day doing various activities. The goal is to always give my 100% and be super consistent with my workouts, but we know rest days are equally important, right?
However, I do find it is easier to max out my exertion on the Helio Strap. It can inflate even from light movement, which lacks the motivation my lazy self needs.
Software/App: 7/10
Battery Life
It is no surprise that the Helio Strap’s battery is impressive. The Amazfit smartwatches have always been a pro at cracking the code to a great battery life and the Helio Strap, being screen-free, had my expectations through the roof and let me tell you- it delivered!
The battery lasts me a good week to ten days, even while using it 24/7. Another thing I noticed is that even if I take off my Helio Strap while wearing a fancy dress, it doesn’t just drain the battery while it’s sitting on my bedside.
It does, however, take about 2 hours to charge fully, which is not the quickest boost, but at this price point, I really don’t mind.
Battery: 10/10
Price and Value
The Helio Strap undercuts every competitor with a $99 price tag with no subscription.
With its competitors standing at $199-$359 per year for the WHOOP band, $200 for the Polar Loop and $170 for the Garmin Index Sleep Monitor that only captures sleep, it is the best screenless fitness tracker I have tried and probably the best in the market too.
Value for Money: 10/10
Pros and Cons of the Helio Strap
Pros of the Helio Strap
- No subscription fee
- Long battery life
- Step count is accurate
- Extremely lightweight
- Sleep tracking is highly reliable
- Heart rate monitoring is accurate
- Tracks naps during the day
Cons of the Helio Strap
- Workout modes are limited
- GPS is not in-built and needs a phone to work
- Only black colour strap available
- Automatic activity detection is often inaccurate and inconsistent
Final Verdict: Should You Buy the Helio Strap?
The Amazfit Helio Strap delivers a WHOOP-style experience at a fraction of the price and no monthly subscription. It is accurate, comfortable and excellent for daily sleep and heart rate tracking.
While the software and app interface can use some major tweaks like improvements in the automatic activity detection, you should,
Buy the Helio Strap if you want:
- Accurate heart rate and sleep data
- A scree-free device that tracks your health 24/7
- No subscription fee
- Heart rate accuracy that is close to chest straps when worn on the bicep
- A great battery life
Skip the Helio Strap if you need:
- Accurate automatic activity detection
- In-depth recovery analysis
- AI coach
- A simplified app experience
- In-built GPS
Overall Rating: 9/10
Yes, it doesn’t match WHOOP’s polished recovery analysis or app interface, but, personally, at this price point and the data it gives, I love the Helio Strap as a great alternative to subscription-based wearable devices.
