Amazfit Helio Ring gets a surprisingly big update after 10 months

The Amazfit Helio Ring has been pretty quiet lately, so this one is a pleasant surprise. Firmware version 2.9.0.1 is now rolling out with HybridCharge, more frequent health monitoring and another tweak to heart rate accuracy.

HybridCharge finally arrives on the Helio Ring

Most of the recent crop of Amazfit watches have transitioned from Readiness to HybridCharge. The Helio Ring now joins them. Once the firmware is installed, users should see the new status graphs inside the Zepp app rather than relying on the older Readiness setup.

We have covered the wider HybridCharge rollout before. This is essentially Zepp Health’s newer way of looking at how ready you are for training and everyday activity. It combines BioCharge with Training Load and LifeLoad, so the score can take into account recovery, exercise and some of the things happening outside training as well.

That makes the Helio Ring a particularly logical place for it. The Ring spends most of its time collecting exactly the kind of background health and recovery data that HybridCharge needs.

Health tracking is getting more aggressive too

There are a couple of smaller changes in firmware 2.9.0.1. Automatic heart rate monitoring is now enabled by default, with the minimum measurement interval set to 10 minutes.

Automatic stress monitoring is also switched on by default. More interestingly, the Ring can now take stress measurements every five minutes, giving the Zepp app considerably more data to work with throughout the day.

That raises an obvious battery question. More frequent measurements usually come with some power cost, and the Helio Ring already has a much smaller battery than a smartwatch, so it will be interesting to see whether users notice any change in real-world longevity after installing the update.

The Helio Ring is still getting some attention

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this update is simply that it exists. Zepp Health has put a lot more visible effort into the Helio Strap family lately, while the original Ring has largely disappeared from the conversation.

The last major Helio Ring firmware update we covered arrived back in January. Version 2.7.0.2 focused on sleep tracking, heart rate accuracy and overnight battery behaviour, so owners have had a fairly long wait for something substantial.

Firmware 2.9.0.1 is rolling out gradually, so it may not show up for everyone immediately. If you own a Helio Ring, it is worth checking the System Update section in the Zepp app over the next few days.