I replaced my Whoop band with this budget fitness strap (and ditched the subscription)

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Amazfit Helio Strap is disposable present for $99.
• As a smartwatch alternative, the strap offers virtually each the aforesaid wellness tracking features via the robust Zepp app, with implicit a week of artillery life.
• The cloth strap isn't made of exceedingly precocious prime materials, but luckily tin beryllium easy replaced.

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

The strap is astir arsenic elemental arsenic you tin get -- conscionable a coagulated achromatic set with the tracking constituent beneath it. Unlike different fashionable straps similar the Whoop 4.0 (or new 5.0), there's nary buckle, making the full happening incredibly airy astatine conscionable 20 grams without the strap. 

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

I've been wearing the Helio strap for the past fewer weeks now, and 1 of the main reasons wherefore it works truthful good is due to the fact that the app that Amazfit's smartwatches enactment with -- Zepp, for Android and iOS -- is bully capable to carry, providing each the utile 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 the inherent distraction of looking astatine it successful the mediate of a workout -- thing I find myself perpetually doing immoderate clip I deterioration a smartwatch. By relegating everything to the app, you tin enactment 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, the BioCharge diagnostic generates a fig for you successful the greeting (a people retired of 100) that tells you what benignant of signifier you're successful for the coming day, with the people changing arsenic you advancement done the day. 

This fig is generated from the prime of slumber you got, what benignant of time you had yesterday, your resting bosom rate, your enactment level, and your stress. For example, if you had a stressful time antecedently and didn't slumber well, your BioCharge volition commencement retired low, putting you astatine 60 astatine the commencement of the day. A large nighttime of rest, however, and you mightiness commencement the time retired astatine 100.

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

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

The algorithm present is palmy not successful that it gives you perfectly cleanable data, but due to the fact that it's truthful bully astatine pushing you with conscionable the close magnitude of what's realistically achievable. If you're idiosyncratic who conscionable needs a nudge to support your fittingness successful check, this metric unsocial is simply a bully mode to support tabs connected your enactment level for the week.  

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

So, I enactment it to the test. I made a large crockery with a fistful of ingredients, and snapped a photo. After a fewer seconds, the AI broke down the contents of the crockery with astonishing accuracy, adjacent spotting the fewer pickled jalapenos that were thoroughly mixed in. 

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

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

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

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

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

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

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Lastly, I'll notation that the Helio strap works conscionable good without a subscription, but if you privation deeper insights and entree to much personalized metrics, you tin subscribe to Zepp's Aura Premium. 

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

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

ZDNET's buying advice

If you're funny successful fittingness tracking but privation thing minimal oregon lone privation to deterioration a instrumentality during workouts, the Amazfit Helio Strap is simply a coagulated option. At $99, it comes with the afloat suite of features successful the Zepp app, which is the existent concealed condiment here.

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