Amazfit Helio Strap Pro Launches With Two-Sensor Body Tracking

Amazfit unveiled the Helio Strap Pro at the HYROX World Championship in Stockholm on 18 June 2026, positioning the device as what the company describes as "a body-worn training system designed to help HYROX and hybrid athletes better understand how their bodies perform under load." Pre-orders in the United States opened the following day at $199.99, with shipping beginning around 25 June and wider availability through Amazfit.com and select retailers arriving by the end of that month. No official UK sterling price has been confirmed at the time of writing, and regional availability and shipping timelines are noted as variable.

What the Helio Strap Pro actually is

Unlike a smartwatch or a single chest strap, the Helio Strap Pro is a two-piece system. The first component, the Helio Core Motion HR, is an optical heart-rate sensor worn on the upper arm. The second, the Helio Core Motion Waist, is a 9-axis motion sensor strapped to the centre of the waist. Together, they allow the system to separate whole-body movement from limb movement — something a single wrist-worn device cannot do.

The arm unit carries Amazfit's BioTracker 6.0 PPG biometric sensor, which uses a five-photodiode, two-LED configuration alongside an accelerometer, gyroscope, temperature sensor, and geomagnetic sensor. Battery life on the arm unit is rated at up to 11 days. The waist pod, which contains a 9-axis IMU only, is rated at up to 44 days — a figure that reflects the fact it is active exclusively during HYROX Race and HYROX Simulation modes rather than continuously. Both modules hold a 232 mAh cell and charge via a magnetic head in two hours or less. Water resistance is rated at 5 ATM, and connectivity runs over Bluetooth 5.2.

The full box contains the Helio Core Motion HR, the Helio Core Motion Waist, a Helio Pro Clip, a wristband, an armband, and a magnetic charging head. The wristband is 22mm nylon in Charcoal Black, fitting wrists between 145mm and 205mm.

How it works in practice

The launch experience is built around the eight HYROX movements: SkiErg, sled push, sled pull, burpee broad jump, rowing, farmer's carry, sandbag lunges, and wall balls. The upper-arm sensor tracks cardiovascular effort across those movements; the waist pod measures core stability and movement quality; and a compatible Amazfit smartwatch captures overall workout performance from the wrist. The Zepp App then blends all three data streams together, delivering per-station analysis that includes a cardio-to-muscle-load split.

That per-station breakdown is not available unless the user calibrates the system before every HYROX Race or HYROX Simulation session — Amazfit's own documentation makes this a firm requirement, not a recommendation.

There is also a hard hardware dependency to be aware of. At launch, the waist sensor only functions during HYROX modes on the Amazfit Balance 3 or Balance Ultra. Amazfit has said that "at launch, one of these watches is required to use the full system," while adding that this requirement may not be permanent. Broader workout-mode support for the waist sensor has been confirmed by Amazfit but without a timeline.

Outside HYROX, the arm sensor operates independently, offering more than 50 sports modes, automatic detection of 30 movements, continuous heart rate, HRV, sleep tracking, and real-time heart-rate broadcasting over Bluetooth to compatible watches, cycling computers, fitness equipment, and training apps. Health data can also sync to Apple Health via the Zepp App. No monthly subscription is required to access or analyse any of this data.

The thinking behind it

The Helio Strap Pro builds directly on the original Helio Strap, which Amazfit released in June 2025. That screen-free device proved so popular that Zepp Health struggled to meet demand through late 2025, with extended out-of-stock periods frustrating prospective buyers. The Pro was prefigured by an FCC filing that hinted at a multi-position system rather than a straightforward second-generation strap.

The core sensor module is essentially unchanged between generations — both carry the BioTracker 6.0 optical PPG sensor — but the arm unit has moved from the BioCharge to the HybridCharge platform. The waist pod is the genuinely new element, and the one that justifies the Pro designation.

Scott Shepley, Amazfit's head of marketing, described the system's ambition at launch: "Helio Strap Pro introduces an innovative new approach to hybrid training by connecting upper-arm heart-rate data with waist-based motion sensing and smartwatch performance data. It represents the next step in our Hybrid Training System, giving athletes a more complete understanding of how effort, movement and performance change across a demanding workout."

Zepp Health's push into this space is backed by a three-year global partnership between Amazfit and HYROX.

Who it is and isn't for

The system's strengths are clearest during the HYROX movements that expose the limitations of wrist-only tracking — moments when hands are gripping handles, carrying kettlebells, or bracing against the floor and a watch face is jostled or obscured. For those athletes, the dual-sensor approach offers a level of movement and load analysis that has not previously been available at this price point without a subscription.

For casual gym-goers or those after a simple activity tracker, it is not a natural fit. The system has no built-in display, requires multiple straps for full functionality, and demands a compatible Amazfit smartwatch to unlock its headline features. The app compatibility requirements are Android 8.0 and above, or iOS 17.0 and above.

• US price: $199.99, one-off purchase, no subscription
• UK sterling price: not confirmed at time of writing
• App: Zepp App (Android 8.0+ / iOS 17.0+)
• Watch required for full functionality: Amazfit Balance 3 or Balance Ultra
• Sports modes: more than 60 on the arm unit; HYROX-specific modes require the waist pod and a compatible watch