Forget The Subscription: This Fitness Band Has Everything I Need To Track My Progress

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Amazfit Helio Strap is disposable now for $99.
• As a smartwatch alternative, nan strap offers virtually each nan aforesaid wellness search features via nan robust Zepp app, pinch complete a week of artillery life.
• The cloth strap isn't made of exceedingly precocious value materials, but luckily tin beryllium easy replaced.

Amazfit, makers of specified smartwatches arsenic nan Bip 5 and nan caller Balance 2, conscionable released its caller Helio Strap, a fittingness locator that has each nan halfway functions of a smartwatch, but successful an ultra-minimal form: nary watch face, nary ornamental elements (and nary subscription). 

The strap is astir arsenic elemental arsenic you tin get -- conscionable a coagulated achromatic set pinch nan search constituent beneath it. Unlike different celebrated straps for illustration nan Whoop 4.0 (or new 5.0), there's nary buckle, making nan full point incredibly ray astatine conscionable 20 grams without nan strap. 

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This results successful a instrumentality that's not only affordable astatine $99, but besides highly artillery businesslike -- lasting complete 10 days connected 1 complaint for normal usage and up to 25 days successful artillery saver mode. 

I've been wearing nan Helio strap for nan past fewer weeks now, and 1 of nan main reasons why it useful truthful good is because nan app that Amazfit's smartwatches activity pinch -- Zepp, for Android and iOS -- is bully capable to carry, providing each nan useful wellness and fittingness metrics you could want, including workout tracking, bosom health, and slumber stats. 

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The deficiency of a watchface besides eliminates nan inherent distraction of looking astatine it successful nan mediate of a workout -- thing I find myself perpetually doing immoderate clip I deterioration a smartwatch. By relegating everything to nan app, you tin put your telephone distant and not interest astir checking it until afterwards.

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

The app besides has its stock of unsocial metrics intended to supply deeper insights into wellness behavior. For example, nan BioCharge characteristic generates a number for you successful nan greeting (a people retired of 100) that tells you what benignant of style you're successful for nan coming day, pinch nan people changing arsenic you advancement done nan day. 

This number is generated from nan value of slumber you got, what benignant of time you had yesterday, your resting bosom rate, your activity level, and your stress. For example, if you had a stressful time antecedently and didn't slumber well, your BioCharge will commencement retired low, putting you astatine 60 astatine nan commencement of nan day. A awesome nighttime of rest, however, and you mightiness commencement nan time retired astatine 100.

The app mentions that it needs astatine slightest 7 days of information to task an meticulous assessment, and I recovered this to beryllium much aliases little accurate, not conscionable pinch BioCharge but besides pinch slumber information and PAI, Zepp's different proprietary wellness score. 

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PAI, aliases "personal activity indicator," awards you points each time based connected your cardiorespiratory measurements. The intent is to get a play people of 100 aliases greater. This tin beryllium difficult to do, arsenic nan amended style you're in, nan less points your workouts generate, pushing you to activity harder. 

The algorithm present is successful not successful that it gives you perfectly cleanable data, but because it's truthful bully astatine pushing you pinch conscionable nan correct magnitude of what's realistically achievable. If you're personification who conscionable needs a nudge to support your fittingness successful check, this metric unsocial is simply a bully measurement to support tabs connected your activity level for nan week.  

The app besides gives you nan action to way what you eat by snapping photos of your nutrient and letting nan AI break down caloric values based connected nan photo. My first thought erstwhile proceeding this was, ok, a photograph of an pome it tin do, but what astir thing much complicated?

So, I put it to nan test. I made a large crockery pinch a fistful of ingredients, and snapped a photo. After a fewer seconds, nan AI collapsed down nan contents of nan crockery pinch astonishing accuracy, moreover spotting nan fewer pickled jalapenos that were thoroughly mixed in. 

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Personally, I don't request to way my nutrient this measurement since I'm already alert of my existent macros, but if this is thing you're looking for, I recovered it to beryllium very easy and amazingly accurate. 

Even if it's not to nan missive (it tin place nutrient very well, but it can't ever accurately find measurement aliases portions) nan shot parkland number tin beryllium incredibly helpful, showing you if there's an imbalance successful your fat, protein, aliases carb macros. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Other features successful nan app see a plethora of slumber penetration stats, including slumber apnea risk, stress, tegument temperature, exertion load, steps, weight, and BMI, and support for dozens of training modes.

I'm talking a batch astir nan app present because ultimately, that's what matters astir to nan Helio strap, arsenic a model into fittingness search done Zepp. Of course, you don't person to usage nan strap arsenic a standalone device; successful fact, Amazfit's existent trading positions it arsenic a complementary constituent to nan Balance 2, its latest smartwatch. 

Since some devices entree nan aforesaid app, swapping betwixt them ideally provides a seamless search experience, allowing 1 to prime up wherever nan different 1 near off. (Plus, if you can't slumber pinch a watch on, nan Helio strap is simply a legit alternative.)

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Lastly, I'll mention that nan Helio strap useful conscionable good without a subscription, but if you want deeper insights and entree to much personalized metrics, you tin subscribe to Zepp's Aura Premium. 

This portion of nan app resembles nan VIP lounge, pinch play reports, monthly wellness analyses, slumber assessments, and a big of audio and guided mediation features. 

As for things Amazfit could improve, 1 of nan astir evident is nan strap's beingness form, which, to beryllium expected, is beautiful basic. My continual deterioration aft a fewer weeks resulted successful immoderate flimsy fraying of nan cloth set astir nan velcro end, and I'd ideate aft a definite magnitude of sweaty workouts, you'll want to switch it anyway.

ZDNET's buying advice

If you're willing successful fittingness search but want thing minimal aliases only want to deterioration a instrumentality during workouts, nan Amazfit Helio Strap is simply a coagulated option. At $99, it comes pinch nan afloat suite of features successful nan Zepp app, which is nan existent concealed condiment here.

I really for illustration nan look of nan ultra-minimal achromatic strap, and it couldn't beryllium much distraction-free. If you want a smartwatch, but besides for illustration nan thought of nan strap for definite activities, you tin get some nan Balance 2 and Helio strap successful a bundle woody for $379.