Amazfit has announced the Amazfit Helio Ring, a new smart wearable designed for “optimal sports performance,” at CES 2024.
Amazfit is the latest brand to compete with top smart rings, like last year’s Ultrahuman Ring Air and the Oura Generation 3, and while we don’t know everything about the Helio Ring right now, we’re missing a release date and even a price. – We know some details about the device itself.
Made from a “skin-friendly” titanium alloy and weighing less than 4g, the ring is said to offer detailed sleep tracking (after all, its main competitor, the Oura Ring, is considered our best sleep tracker) and athletic recovery statistics. It’s 10 ATM water resistant, so it’ll be happy to be submerged up to 100 meters deep, and it’ll deliver weekly and monthly sleep reports along with sleep health assessments.
Like the best Garmin watches, the Helio will also feature a readiness score that incorporates your physical effort and the quality of your sleep, and if you’re a runner it will provide you with predicted race times from 5K to marathon, again, like a Small Garmin watch. However, it appears to come with only four training modes announced so far: running, walking, cycling and treadmill; Hopefully others will be announced in due time.
Like seemingly every other wellness device debuting at CES this year, it also has an AI element: The companion app is called Zepp Aura AI and is described as a “sleep and wellness service” that includes an AI chatbot that you can ask about your health.
However, to access this AI chatbot, you’ll need to subscribe to the premium version of the app, which also provides you with weekly and monthly fitness reports and costs $69.99 (about £75 / AU$105) per year.
See our thoughts on smart rings in the video below:
@techradar ♬ Mine – Yailin La Mas Viral
Analysis: the smart ring revolution is coming
I love the idea of smart rings. Hardware that monitors our health with all the sophistication of a smart watch and that can be worn on the finger? More comfortable during sleep, discreet during the day, much less obvious than a big, flashy screen on your wrist, with NFC payments and advanced fitness tracking? Sign me up. With a lot of competition after the Helio Ring, 2024 looks like the year of the smart ring.
However, the price of this technology appears to be monthly and annual payments. Oura and Ultrahuman have also gone the monthly subscription route, so perhaps we can expect this to be standard for smart rings in the future, although I’d certainly appreciate a one-time purchase from someone. I understand that developing wellness apps that are continually updated requires capital and many premium services are good value for money; But deep down, I don’t like being sold my own data.
Perhaps the much-rumored Samsung Galaxy Ring will be the one to break ranks; Samsung doesn’t require you to get a premium subscription to fully enjoy the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, so hopefully that extends to the almost confirmed Galaxy Ring. I’ll be interested to know how much Amazfit plans to sell its Helio Ring for, as it could mean the difference between a great value device and one that doesn’t launch.
We are covering all the latest news. CES news of the program as it happens. Stay with us for the big stories on everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home devices and the latest in artificial intelligence.
And do not forget follow us on tiktok For the latest from the CES fair!
You might also like…
