Amazfit turns its Helio Strap app into a screenless device hub

Zepp Health has renamed its Helio Strap companion mini app to “Amazfit Screenless Devices,” a small change that says quite a lot about where the company is taking its wearable ecosystem. Version 2.0.1 adds Helio Strap Pro support and arrives just as Amazfit watches are gaining direct controls for screenless hardware.

What the mini app actually does

Let’s clarify a bit.

A Helio Strap can already connect directly to a compatible Amazfit watch and provide heart-rate data during workouts. So the mini app is not required simply to make that basic connection work.

Instead, the mini app acts as the management interface for the screenless device on the watch. Version 2.0.1 says users can view information such as battery level and software version, and manage functions including Heart Rate Broadcast and Activity Recognition.

That is also why recent Amazfit firmware updates can sound confusing at first. Zepp OS is starting to expose some of these screenless-device controls through places such as Control Center and shortcut cards, rather than forcing users to open the mini app every time.

The latest Cheetah 2 Ultra firmware is a good example. Its release notes say that once a screenless device is connected, users can manage it through Control Center, shortcut cards or the device app.

That “device app” appears to be the newly renamed Amazfit Screenless Devices mini app. So these are not competing ways of connecting to the Helio Strap, they are simply different ways of reaching the same device controls from the watch.

You could think of the mini app as the main device page. Control Center and shortcut cards then provide quicker access to selected functions without having to dig into the app itself.

That setup should become more useful as Zepp Health adds more controls. Checking the Strap battery, toggling heart-rate broadcasting or finding the device from your wrist is much more convenient during training than pulling out a phone.

Why the new name is interesting

Support for the Amazfit Helio Strap Pro is part of version 2.0.1, but that alone does not really explain the rename. Zepp Health could easily have kept the Helio branding if the app was only intended to support a couple of Helio products.

Instead, it chose Amazfit Screenless Devices. That is a much more generic name, and it leaves room for straps, sensors or other screen-free hardware that may arrive later – future straps, sensors or other display-free wearables.

The broader direction fits with what we have already seen from Zepp OS 6. Amazfit watches are gradually becoming hubs for external sensors and accessories, rather than devices that operate largely on their own.

For Helio Strap owners, the immediate benefit is fairly simple. More of the Strap can now be managed from the wrist, and common functions can surface directly in places such as Control Center instead of remaining buried inside a dedicated app.