Amazfit Helio Ring review: A good smart ring with a bad sizing problem

Worth When Reviewed

$199.99

Greatest Costs At present: Amazfit Helio Ring

$169.99

The Amazfit Helio Ring is Zepp Well being’s first foray into the world of sensible rings and carries hopes it may well take pleasure in among the success led by the Oura Ring.

Oura is not the one participant on this area now with the Samsung Galaxy Ring and the likes of newcomers like RingConn and Ultrahuman additionally competing for a spot in your digits.

The Helio Ring, at its core, works similarly to these different sensible rings, monitoring metrics like coronary heart price and sleep, whereas working together with Amazfit smartwatches to supply a extra dependable window into your restoration wants. Like Samsung, Ultrahuman and RingConn, you don’t want a subscription to its monitoring to good use.

Even with a small variety of sensible rings accessible the competitors proper now’s fierce, so is the Amazfit Helio Ring truly the one you need to be sporting?

Design & Construct

• Out there in a single color 
• Solely three ring sizes accessible
• Makes use of related charging dock to Oura

The Helio Ring, not like different sensible rings, is available in only a single color, which I’d describe as a pleasant mix of gold and gray, with an nearly knurled impact that does assist to inform it aside from different sensible rings.

It’s comprised of titanium with a resin on the inside and a sensor bump which you can really feel on the underside of your finger, although at by no means made it uncomfortable to put on.

Mike Sawh

At 2.6mm thick, it’s not fairly the slimmest sensible ring you possibly can put on proper now. The Oura Ring 4 measures in at 2.88mm, the Samsung Galaxy Ring is 2.6mm thick and the Round Ring Slim is 2.2mm. In order for you the slimmest, it’s the RingCon Gen 2 at simply 2mm.

An attention-grabbing transfer right here by Zepp Well being is to solely provide the Helio in three ring sizes. That’s your choose of sizes 8, 10 and 12, which makes your choices much more restricted than different rings. You additionally don’t get the choice of a sizing equipment, with measurement strategies supplied to ensure you get the best dimension. 

Fortuitously, I used to be a dimension 8 and the match total was good. It didn’t spin round my finger and was snug to put on inside and out of doors of train and whereas monitoring my sleep.

Mike Sawh

Sturdiness-wise, it’s good to see the Helio affords a 10ATM waterproof ranking, which suggests it’s appropriate to be dunked in water as much as 100 metres depth and means you possibly can put on it for swims and showers.

One problem I are likely to encounter with sensible rings is that scratch too simply. I haven’t seen any dangerous scratches simply but, however it could nonetheless be one I’d advocate taking off for situations like lifting weights or anyplace the place it may get bumped and knocked.

Health & Monitoring 

• Tracks steps, sleep, coronary heart price and stress
• Options Readiness mode like rival rings
• Works together with Amazfit smartwatches

The Helio options sensors which are able to monitoring coronary heart price, blood oxygen, temperature and stress by coronary heart price variability measurements. There’s additionally an EDA sensor, which is a sensor that’s appeared on Fitbit’s smartwatches and feeds into its guarantees to watch your stress.

Mike Sawh

The thought, very like different sensible rings, is to make use of the Helio Ring as a restoration software and sporting alongside an Amazfit smartwatch to trace your exercises and create a extra complete overview of your restoration wants. It means you possibly can take the Helio to mattress with you to trace sleep should you don’t prefer to put on a watch and never miss out on the information. 

When worn collectively, the thought is that information is fused inside the companion Zepp telephone app utilizing algorithms (Samsung does an identical factor). You would possibly see completely different information throughout the person gadgets, however when mixed within the app, they’ll present the identical insights.

Like most rings, it’s about letting the sensible ring go about its monitoring enterprise. Then it’s over to the app, which because the launch of the Helio has been given a serious revamp.

The app now appears like a greater match for a sensible ring than it was beforehand. It’s largely free to make use of exterior of Zepp’s AI-powered Coach Chat function, which requires a premium subscription to entry. I believe most may reside with out entry to it although.

Mike Sawh

From the primary display within the app you’ll see your readiness rating, which appears to be like at sleep and exertion information, which is gathered out of your train information. Beneath that lies your core metrics together with resting coronary heart price and richer sleep information. You can even observe steps and see further metrics like PAI Well being scores fuelled by elevating coronary heart price by train all through the week. There’s additionally further tabs devoted to sleep and exertion (train).

When you’re looking for out this ring to trace steps, each day step counts have been similar to each day totals I captured on the Samsung Galaxy Ring and the step monitoring on an Apple and Garmin watch. Metrics like resting coronary heart price and coronary heart price variability have been just like these gadgets too. Once I in contrast sleep stats, the sleep scores have been related as have been sleep length whereas sleep levels like deep and REM have been related too.

Then we get into that headline readiness metric. That is one thing Oura, Samsung, Garmin and lots of others search to supply that will help you make higher selections about whenever you train or excited about typically whether or not it could be wise to have a extra relaxed day.

On some days, these Readiness scores chimed with Garmin and Oura’s readiness scores and Samsung’s Power scores. There have been some days, nonetheless, when the scores have been very completely different and is a sign of the ring’s limitations to trace train and needing a Amazfit smartwatch that may to fill in among the gaps in its monitoring talents.

Mike Sawh

Inside the Zepp app you’ll additionally see each day readiness insights. On one night time my coronary heart price was increased than regular, which was steered might be an indication of stress with some rudimentary recommendation to follow some rest methods to scale back that coronary heart price. There’s nothing groundbreaking right here, however for somebody’s that attending to grips with having their monitoring information put into some context, it might be useful.

One other side right here is the power to trace your stress and emotion. One some days, the app detected an emotional response prompting me to log in. I didn’t see these logged reactions till I get into the app, so a notification or immediate would possibly make it a extra helpful function to assist perceive what might need brought on that emotional response.

I’ve been utilizing the Helio with an Amazfit smartwatch, which does actually really feel like the best way to make the very best use of it. Not all Amazfit watches provide what Zepp refers to as ‘information fusion’, however most do and the T-Rex 3 I used is a kind of supported gadgets. This fashion you get the train information that the Helio Ring isn’t able to recording, together with train coronary heart price to actually put these readiness scores to greatest use.

Battery Life & Charging

• As much as 4 days battery life
• Expenses totally in 1 hour 40 minutes 

Relying on which dimension you seize, the battery capability of the ring does barely differ. A dimension 8 ring includes a 16.5mAh battery, whereas a dimension 12 makes use of a 20.5mAh battery.

Zepp Well being says the battery can last as long as 4 days, so not fairly the very best battery life on provide on a sensible ring however a good one nonetheless. You’d have to seize the RingConn Gen 2 for the very best, which may final for as much as 12 days.

Mike Sawh

I’d say that promised battery life is optimistic, particularly should you’re enabling every thing that the Helio is ready to monitor. Options like computerized blood oxygen, probably the most correct coronary heart price monitoring and superior sleep monitoring will see that battery drop a lot faster. 

You may get 4 days whenever you pare again a few of that extra superior monitoring, however it was nearer to 2-3 days with in a single day battery drop as a lot as 20% at instances. I discovered I used to be charging it as repeatedly as an Oura Ring Gen 3.

When it is advisable cost it, you’ll want to take a seat it exactly on prime of a charging dock that appears close to an identical to the one together with with Oura’s sensible ring. I desire the earbud-style charging case strategy that Samsung and RingConn have adopted, however a minimum of you already know the Helio goes to remain in place when it’s time to energy it up.

It takes an hour and 40 minutes to completely cost from 0-100%.

Worth & Availability

The Amazfit Helio Ring launched with a value of £269/$299 however has since dropped to round £150/$170, making it one of many least expensive sensible rings you possibly can choose up in the mean time.

You should buy it from the official retailer within the UK and US then retailers corresponding to Amazon/Amazon US.

As compared, the Oura Ring 4 prices  £349/$349 and requires an extra month-to-month or annual subscription. The Samsung Galaxy Ring sits at £399/$399 and just like the Helio, doesn’t require an added subscription.

You’ve additionally obtained the spectacular RingConn Gen 2 for $279, the Ultrahuman Ring Air ($349) and the Round Sensible Ring Slim ($264).

Try our checklist of the very best sensible rings to see all the highest choices.

Must you purchase the Amazfit Helio Ring?

The Amazfit Helio Ring is a great ring that provides one thing completely different by way of design in comparison with its rival, even when it’s not the slimmest accessible. The core monitoring has been good for me and now has a companion app that’s a a lot better match for what the Helio can observe.

It does really feel such as you want an Amazfit smartwatch to get probably the most out of it. Given each watches and rings aren’t ridiculously costly, you can feasibly seize each now for across the similar value as a rival ring.

There’s are some points to pay attention to although. The shortage of sizing choices being probably the most noteworthy one, which immediately limits its enchantment. It’s additionally providing battery life so long as Samsung, RingConn and, to a lesser extent, Oura are in a position to proper now.

If you will get it to suit, the Helio Ring provides you with an excellent sensible ring expertise. I’m simply not satisfied it does a greater job as a package deal than Oura and RingConn significantly, whereas Samsung’s ring affords a sleeker design, strong total monitoring, a extra handy charging resolution and higher battery to make up for its barely half-baked software program.

Specs

• As much as 4 days battery life 
• Works with Android and iOS
• Subscription-free app
• 2.6mm thickness
• PPG sensor
• Temperature and EDA sensor
• 10 ATM waterproof ranking