The screenless fitness tracker market, long dominated by subscription-based models, has a new and aggressive contender.In this in-depth Amazfit Helio Strap review, we’ll dive into its launch details, pricing, key specs, and standout features.
The Amazfit Helio Strap enters the arena as a direct, budget-conscious alternative to devices like the Whoop band.
Priced at a one-time cost of $99.99 and requiring no ongoing subscription, the Helio Strap promises to deliver serious health insights without the serious recurring fees.
But can a tracker that costs less than half of a single year’s Whoop membership truly compete? After extensive testing and analysis, the answer is a compelling yes—with a few important caveats.
Amazfit Helio Strap Price & Specs
The Amazfit Helio Strap was officially launched in late June 2025. It is available directly from Amazfit and major retailers for a price of $99.99 / £99.90.
For that cost, you get a complete package focused on core tracking, with the following key specifications:
- Design & Build: A single black colorway, featuring a fiber-reinforced polymer body and a lightweight, adjustable nylon strap with a hook-and-loop closure. The total weight is just 20 grams.
- Battery Life: A 232 mAh battery delivers up to 10 days of typical use on a single charge, which takes less than two hours.
- Sensors: Equipped with Amazfit’s BioTracker™ 6.0 PPG biometric sensor (5 photodiodes + 2 LEDs), plus accelerometer, gyroscope, and temperature sensors.
- Durability: Rated at 5 ATM water resistance, making it suitable for swimming and showering.
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2 for pairing with the Zepp app on iOS (15.0+) and Android (7.0+) devices.
In-Depth Feature Analysis
The Helio Strap’s value proposition is built on its comprehensive tracking suite, which is divided into three core areas.
Sports & Performance Tracking
The Helio Strap supports 28 built-in sports modes, ranging from standard options like outdoor running and cycling to specialized modes like official HYROX Race tracking.
A standout feature for strength athletes is the automatic recognition of 25 different strength training movements (like squats, bench presses, and deadlifts), which tracks reps, sets, and rest periods.
For performance analytics, it provides advanced metrics including:
- Training Load & Effect: Measures workout impact and helps balance effort.
- VO₂ Max Estimation: Tracks cardiovascular fitness over time.
- Recovery Time: Suggests how long to rest before your next hard session.
However, independent testing highlights a significant weakness: the automatic workout detection is often unreliable. Some reviewers found it can be overly sensitive, mislabeling brisk walks as workouts, or fail to stop tracking when an activity ends (like continuing a hike log during a car ride home). For consistent results, manually starting and stopping workouts in the app is recommended.
Sleep Tracking & Analysis
Sleep tracking is one of the Helio Strap’s strongest suits. It provides detailed, granular data that rivals more expensive devices.
Key Sleep Metrics Tracked:
- Sleep Stages: Analysis of light, deep, and REM sleep.
- Sleep Score: An overall score summarizing sleep quality.
- Sleep Breathing Quality: Monitors for potential disturbances (must be enabled in the app).
- Heart Rate Variability (HRV): Measured during sleep for recovery insights.
- Daytime Naps: Automatically detects naps over 20 minutes.
In comparative tests against devices like the Oura Ring and Whoop, the Helio Strap showed strong accuracy in measuring sleep duration and heart rate variability (HRV), often matching the readings from other trusted sources.
This reliable sleep data directly fuels its recovery metrics.
Health & Wellness Monitoring
Operating 24/7, the Helio Strap offers a full picture of your daily well-being.
- BioCharge™ Energy Monitoring: This is the core daily metric, functioning similarly to Garmin’s Body Battery. It generates a score out of 100 that represents your current energy reserves, “recharging” with sleep and depleting with activity and stress.
- Continuous Health Data: Tracks heart rate (every second), blood oxygen saturation (SpO₂), and stress levels throughout the day.
- PAI Health Assessment: A science-based metric that converts all your heart-pumping activity into a single, weekly score aimed at promoting long-term health.
- Smart Integrations: The free Zepp app syncs data with popular third-party platforms like Strava, Apple Health, and Google Fit.
Helio Strap vs. Whoop: A Detailed Comparison
This is the most critical battleground for the Helio Strap. The following table breaks down how it stacks up against the category leader, Whoop.
Why the Helio Strap May Be a Better Alternative For You ?
The decision largely comes down to cost versus polish. If you want the essential insights—accurate sleep, HRV, daily energy, and workout heart rate—without a monthly bill, the Helio Strap is a phenomenal choice.
It delivers about 80-90% of the Whoop experience for a fraction of the long-term cost.
For beginners or those curious about this tracker category, the low $99 entry fee is far less intimidating than a $200+ annual commitment.
Areas Where the Amazfit Helio Strap Needs to Improve
No device is perfect, and the Helio Strap has clear room for growth, mostly on the software side.
- Unreliable Automatic Workout Detection: This is the most consistent complaint across reviews. The system is either too sensitive or fails to correctly identify activities, making manual control a necessity for accurate logging.
- A Less Polished Zepp App: While feature-rich, the Zepp app lacks the intuitive flow, deep analysis, and sleek presentation of the Whoop app. Some users report minor bugs, confusing menu structures, and data syncing quirks.
- Limited Hardware Ecosystem: At launch, the strap is only available in one color (black) and lacks an official armband option for optimal heart rate accuracy during intense workouts, though third-party straps can be used.
- Overly Simplistic Metrics: Some metrics, like the daily Exertion score, cap at 100%, which doesn’t accurately reflect days of significantly higher effort.
Final Verdict: Who Should Buy the Amazfit Helio Strap?
The Amazfit Helio Strap is a groundbreaking product not because it’s the best tracker overall, but because it successfully democratizes advanced health tracking.
It proves that you don’t need to pay a premium subscription for accurate heart rate, detailed sleep analysis, and meaningful recovery insights.
Buy the Amazfit Helio Strap if:
- You want Whoop-like insights but refuse to pay a subscription.
- You value accurate sleep and heart rate data above all else.
- You’re new to advanced fitness tracking and want an affordable entry point.
- You don’t mind manually logging workouts in an app.
Look elsewhere (like Whoop or Garmin) if:
- A perfectly seamless, automatic, and polished experience is your top priority.
- You rely on ultra-reliable automatic activity detection.
- You want the most in-depth, analyst-level insights and community features.
- Longer battery life and a wider accessory ecosystem are critical.
In conclusion, the Amazfit Helio Strap is a true Whoop challenger that resets expectations for value in the wearables market.
By focusing on core tracking accuracy and eliminating the subscription, it delivers immense utility for its $99 price tag.
While it needs software refinement, its strengths make it an easy recommendation for any cost-conscious athlete or health enthusiast looking to train smarter and recover better.
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