Comparing Amazfit screenless wearables Helio Ring vs Helio Strap

Zepp Health now offers two Helio wearables built around the same core idea: minimalist form, 24/7 wear, and recovery-focused tracking without a screen. The original Helio Ring launched in May 2024, followed a year later by the more affordable Helio Strap. Both aim to deliver health insights through the Zepp app, letting users focus on training, recovery and sleep without smartwatch clutter.

On the surface, the two devices don’t look remotely related. One sits on your finger like a regular ring, the other wraps around your wrist or upper arm like a soft, lightweight band. But under the hood, they share a lot. And, of course, they share the same smartphone app.

I reviewed the Helio Ring at launch and found it surprisingly capable, especially for heart rate tracking during workouts. The Strap follows the same low-profile, sensor-driven approach, but reworks it into a format that might appeal to a different kind of user.

Depending on how you train, and what kind of data you care about most, one of these might suit you better. So let’s take a closer look.

View on Zepp Health website, Amazon (Helio Strap, Helio Ring)

Minimalism, two ways

These two don’t look like they come from the same product line at all. The Helio Ring is clean, minimal and sleek. You’d never guess it’s a fitness tracker. The Strap, on the other hand, is more of a soft, practical band that wraps around your wrist or upper arm. It’s built to stay out of the way, not win any design awards.

The Ring is the better-looking option by a mile. With its titanium alloy outer shell and super slim 2.6 mm profile, it feels like something you could wear with anything. I wore it day and night for weeks, including during sleep, and it never felt intrusive. The edges are rounded, the finish is smooth, and after plenty of use, mine still didn’t have a single scratch. At under 4 grams, you really do forget it’s even there. It also comes with 10 ATM water resistance, so swimming and showering are not a problem.

The Strap is less about looks and more about utility. It’s built with a fiber-reinforced polymer case and comes with a soft nylon band and Velcro buckle. That makes it easy to adjust, whether you’re wearing it on your wrist or higher up on your arm. That dual placement is a useful feature. You can keep it tight and low-profile during workouts, or move it further up if wrist movement is an issue. At 20 grams it’s still fairly light, but definitely more noticeable than the Ring. It also has 5 ATM water resistance, so it can handle pool sessions and everyday splashes, just not as deep or as reliably as the Ring.

In terms of comfort, both get the job done. The Ring fits like any other band-style ring, and once you find the right size, it stays put. I used to switch fingers for workouts just to get a tighter fit. The Strap gives you more flexibility with placement, which helps with sensor stability and comfort depending on what you’re doing.

Both devices skip the screen entirely. No buttons, no LEDs, nothing visual on the hardware. Everything runs through the Zepp app. That simplicity is part of the appeal. You just wear it, go about your day, and check the data when you want to.

Same platform, different sensors

The Ring uses Zepp Health’s older BioTracker PPG module with one dual-color LED and two photodiodes. It’s not the newer 6.0 version, but honestly, it doesn’t need to be. When I tested it during a half marathon, the heart rate readings were nearly identical to what I got from a Garmin chest strap. That’s rare for a smart ring. It also has a gyroscope to help with motion accuracy and an EDA sensor that tracks skin conductance, which can give you some insight into stress and recovery. You don’t see that in many wearables, let alone in this form factor.

The Strap goes with the newer BioTracker PPG 6.0, which should bring some improvements in optical tracking, especially during movement-heavy workouts. You also get a geomagnetic sensor thrown in, which can help with orientation and activity recognition. But it drops the EDA and gyroscope. So while the Strap keeps things simple, it’s clearly built with physical training in mind more than stress or emotional tracking.

Both devices have a temperature sensor and accelerometer. And both rely on connected GPS from your phone when logging outdoor sessions. So you’ll get the same mapped runs or rides either way.

Battery life that fits the form

The difference here is clear. The Helio Strap lasts up to 10 days on a single charge. That’s a solid stretch for a screenless tracker and lines up with what you’d expect from a larger device.

The Helio Ring gets you up to 4 days, depending on how many features you’ve got switched on. In my experience, it was more like 3. During my half marathon test, it dropped just 15 percent, which is pretty good. Charging takes around 90 minutes, though getting it to sit right on the dock can be a bit fiddly.

If you want less charging, go for the Strap. The Ring still holds its own, but you’ll be plugging it in more often.

Features compared

The Helio Ring keeps things pretty lean on the sports side. You get four workout modes, but it does throw in some nice extras like advanced running support and race predictions. There’s also a trial of Zepp Fitness, which adds coaching content through the app. It syncs with all the popular platforms – Strava, adidas Running, komoot, Relive, Google Fit and Apple Health.

The Strap, however, goes much further if workouts are your focus. It supports 27 sports modes and can auto-detect 25 strength training exercises. It is also likely to give you more accurate data than something sitting on your finger, particularly during high intensity exercises. 

Plus you can hook the strap up to treadmills, stopwatches or even other Amazfit watches. It also stores up to 21 days of heart rate data offline and can broadcast your heart rate to other smartwatches in real time. Same syncing options as the Ring, but it adds TrainingPeaks via Terra to the mix.

When it comes to health, both devices track the essentials. You also get PAI. Worth a separate mention is the EDA sensor on the ring. It’s used by the Auto Emotion Monitoring feature to spot changes in your mood. You can check your emotion log in the app and tell it if the suggestions feel right.

Where things split further is in recovery. The Ring uses a Readiness Score, which pulls in various metrics and gives you a simple number and some insights. The Strap ditches the older Readiness system in favour of BioCharge, a newer energy score that actually works better in practice. That system will probably roll out to the Ring eventually, but for now it’s Strap-only.

Price and bottom line

The price gap between these two is big. The Helio Ring launched at around $299, though you can often find it discounted. The Strap comes in at just $100. So that alone will be a deciding factor for a lot of people.

What you’re paying for with the Ring is the form factor, build quality and extra sensors. It’s smaller, made of titanium and tracks things like EDA and stress that the Strap skips. It also feels more like a lifestyle wearable. You can wear it all day and night without even noticing it’s there.

The Strap is built for training. You get more sports modes, strength tracking, offline HR storage, and that new BioCharge energy metric. It doesn’t have the polished look or premium materials, but it makes up for that in function.

If you want something lightweight, stylish and focused on recovery, the Ring is a great option. But if you’re into workouts, want more data during exercise and don’t care about wearing a ring, the Strap makes a strong case at a third of the price.

View on Zepp Health website, Amazon (Helio Strap, Helio Ring)

Helio Strap – buy if:

• You prefer wearing a strap over a ring
• You need long battery life with minimal charging
• You want solid tracking without spending too much
• You like the idea of a daily energy score (BioCharge)
• You want detailed workout tracking with lots of sports modes

Helio Ring – buy if:

• You want a discreet, lightweight tracker you can wear 24/7
• Recovery insights and guided coaching matter more than raw workout modes
• You like the look and feel of a titanium smart ring over a strap
• You’re fine with shorter battery life for a sleeker design
• You’re willing to pay more for premium materials and extra sensors

Tech specs comparison: Amazfit Helio Ring vs Helio Strap