Amazfit Helio Strap The Amazfit Helio Strap isn’t trying to be a high-powered training tool, but instead a comfortable, distraction-free fitness and health tracker that delivers solid wellness insights without the bloat of a screen or the burden of a subscription. If you're after a low-maintenance wearable that quietly does its job and lets you focus on your day, it’s a great value at $99.
I’m a screen fiend as much as the next shopper, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a distraction-free wearable. Amazfit’s Helio Strap is the latest minimalist fitness tracker designed for those who want passive, no-fuss monitoring. At just $99 with no subscription fees, it’s an attractive, budget-friendly option with a good amount to offer. After spending some time with it, I can say it’s not going to topple Whoop anytime soon, but it holds its own as a solid activity tracker that stays out of your way.
Screen-free and comfortable all-day wear
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
Amazfit’s new Helio Strap drops into the landscape with an unassuming build and a complete lack of display. The result is a noticeably lightweight design. At just 20 grams, it’s one of the lightest wearables I’ve worn.
The strap itself is adjustable with a velcro closure, officially listed as fitting wrist sizes from 145mm to 205mm. It’s very slightly big for my wrist, which is just shy of 145mm, so you’ll see in the photos how I have to pull the closure all the way up alongside the tracking device. This looks a little less refined than it would otherwise, and it tended to catch on things, but it’s still comfortable overall and stayed put throughout my review. If I’m being picky, I would have preferred the logo in a more subtle tone like gray or white, rather than the brand’s iconic orange.
Unlike Whoop, Amazfit doesn’t offer any alternative ways to wear the tracker secured in clothing, but the company’s site does tease an armband option coming soon. For now, the simple nylon strap wristband is comfortable for all-day wear. My only complaint is that, like all fabric bands, it takes a long time to dry out, which meant after a sweaty gym session, I was left with that gross feeling akin to wearing socks after you’ve stepped in a kitchen puddle. The material comes in two colorways. I tested the black option, which still looks good after a week of use. I can’t imagine the white colorway would hold up quite as well on the hikes and outdoor workouts I completed.
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The tracker itself is loaded with sensors to monitor heart rate, HRV, SpO₂, skin temperature, and stress levels, providing continuous, behind-the-scenes tracking while you forget you’ve even strapped it on. Compared to testing a new smartwatch or traditional tracker, the strap feels incredibly low-maintenance. It doesn’t tempt me to tap through arbitrary settings or distract me with notifications. There’s a vibration alert available for alarms (which I really appreciate), but otherwise, no pings or pulls on my attention.
First and foremost, the Helio Strap is a distraction-free fitness tracker.
In a word, it’s pleasant. Like the Whoop band, the Helio Strap is ideal for anyone who doesn’t need on-wrist data or smart features, just passive health tracking with all the insights waiting in the app. Personally, I’d consider wearing this over a smart ring. It doesn’t get in the way during lifts or on handled machines and offers a similar level of subtlety.
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It also boasts fantastic battery life, so I rarely have to think about it. The strap features a 10-day battery life claim, and so far in my review period, that seems about right if not a little underestimated. After 8 days of testing, I still have about 30 percent left. Compared to smartwatches, or even my Oura Ring 4 (which is my go-to wearable for screenless tracking), more than a week between charges is an amazing luxury.
A useful (but basic) activity tracker
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
As mentioned, it tracks a wide range of health and fitness metrics, including daily steps, calories burned, stress levels, and PAI (Personal Activity Intelligence), plus continuous heart rate (resting and during workouts), heart rate variability, skin temperature, and detailed sleep data. It even monitors respiration rate during sleep and can be used for non-medical grade sleep apnea detection. For training purposes, the band also tracks Exertion, or your total daily energy output (in direct contrast to your rest/sleep data), and provides metrics like training status, training load, and recovery time.
The strap measures all the basics, plus a readiness-style BioCharge score.
Amazfit also introduces BioCharge, a readiness-style energy score similar to Garmin’s Body Battery. This metric centers the dashboard of the companion app, and I found these big-picture metrics super useful, though I’m not convinced it’s being executed perfectly. My workouts didn’t always logically impact my score, and my perceived energy didn’t align as closely as I would have expected. Still, if you use your BioCharge for general guidance and throw in the Exertion and sleep scores, the strap offers plenty of general insights.
The key to accurate measurement is accurate heart rate data, and there, Amazfit delivers. I tested the strap throughout a variety of workouts and was overall impressed with its heart rate sensor. For a majority of the workouts, the device showed close alignment with my dedicated chest strap, an impressive result at this price.
It did, however, struggle at times to pick up heart rate spikes, even compared to other wrist-based wearables. On the graph above, you can see where my Garmin Watch (which aligned with my chest strap) registered my heart rate jumping immediately when I started an intense interval. The Helio Strap, on the other hand, lags behind, recording values roughly 20bpm off. It eventually catches up, though, and did considerably well for the remainder of the workout; it’s just worth noting that it isn’t going to give you pinpoint accuracy. Still, I was happy with the results overall throughout this review.
With that said, the Helio Strap isn’t a Whoop strap, and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for serious athletes. Its companion app lacks the same training depth, and some of the tracking algorithms and software integration need polishing. For part of this review, I ran into issues populating an Exertion score. Automatic workout detection is also laughably unreliable. (If I actually worked out every time the Strap recorded a workout, I’d be much fitter.) Instead, the Helio Strap is better suited for users who care more about daily health trends than fine-tuned recovery or strain scores. Post-workout analysis exists in the Zepp app, but it’s not front and center. Like Amazfit’s Helio Ring, the strap is also compatible as a partner device to the brand’s watches, which remain stronger picks for training with real-time data and guidance. The strap also doesn’t pack GPS, so it can’t record routes like the Balance 2 or Active lineup.
Amazfit Helio Strap review: The verdict
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
The Amazfit Helio Strap isn’t trying to be everything, and that’s the heart of its appeal. It’s not flashy, it’s not overloaded with features, and it won’t impress hardcore athletes chasing precise training metrics. But if you’re looking for a lightweight, screen-free companion that quietly tracks your wellness, the strap makes a strong case. With solid sensor performance, excellent battery life, and no subscription fees, it’s a refreshingly simple alternative in a market full of bloated smart tech. Compared to the Whoop 5.0 , it boasts a very attractive one-time price tag of just $99. Just don’t expect perfection or a polished training suite, and you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised by what Amazfit delivers for the price.
Amazfit Helio Strap Budget-friendly price point with no subscription fee • Comfortable, lightweight, screen-free design • Broad range health and fitness tracker MSRP: $99.99 Distraction- and subscription-free fitness tracker. The Amazfit Helio Strap is a comfortable, distraction-free fitness tracker that delivers solid wellness insights without the bloat of a screen or the burden of a subscription. See price at Amazon Positives Budget-friendly price point with no subscription fee
Budget-friendly price point with no subscription fee Comfortable, lightweight, screen-free design
Comfortable, lightweight, screen-free design Broad range health and fitness tracker
Broad range health and fitness tracker Useful haptics for alarms and timers Cons Imperfect heart rate data
Imperfect heart rate data Unreliable automatic workout detection
Unreliable automatic workout detection Analysis tools could use refinement