Ant Afu Shows AI-Health Hardware Network With 18 Brands at Bund Conference

More than 10 smart devices compatible with Afu were displayed, including body-fat scales, wristbands and blood-pressure monitors. Afu now connects health hardware from 18 brands, including Apple, Huawei and vivo, according to ifanr. Home medical devices such as glucose meters, ventilators and blood-pressure meters can also be bound to the app. Health metrics from different devices sync into the Afu app.

ifanr reported that Ant Afu's app has 150 million users and nearly 20 million daily health consultation visits, and described it as the leading health AI. The product logic of AI plus hardware has become clearer over the past six months: use AI to connect smart devices across categories so hardware becomes an entry point for health services rather than a standalone measurement tool.

The same day, a forum titled 'The AI Moment for the Health Industry' was packed, with attendees standing in the aisles, according to ifanr. Speakers included representatives from Huawei, Mint Health and other hardware makers and brands.

At the end of June, Afu launched a 'lose 100 million jin' campaign with co-branded body-fat scales and a weight-loss challenge. ifanr reported that 2.75 million users checked in through Afu for 75 days and lost more than 5 million jin cumulatively. More than 50,000 people lost over 10 jin each, and more than 80,000 moved from overweight or obese BMI ranges back to normal. In two months, sales of the co-branded body-fat scale exceeded 3 million units.

At the forum, Yu Caihao, deputy general manager of Yuwell Medical, gave an example of how AI changes raw data into advice. When continuous glucose monitor data is connected to an Afu health record, AI feedback is no longer general education but can say, 'The milk tea you drank today kept your blood sugar elevated for four hours,' according to ifanr. Hardware shows users what is happening in their bodies, and AI translates it into adjustable actions.

Huawei, Yuwell and Leke were among companies that expressed optimism about combining AI with proactive health management. Afu added a 'Health' section to its app homepage. Users who bind watches or bands or log diet information can see more than 10 health trends, including weight and sleep, and receive a health status score with personalized analysis and advice.

Competition among health hardware makers is shifting. In the past, they mainly competed on accuracy, sensors and price. After connecting to AI services, they also need to compete on smooth connectivity and continuous service innovation. That partly explains why more hardware brands are working with Afu, seeking a '1+1 greater than 2' effect and more frequent user engagement.

Gong Yuansong, vice president of Huawei's Terminal BG smart wearables and sports health product line, said at the forum that AI plus smart hardware is becoming infrastructure for health management. Huawei wearables can detect more than 70 health indicators, and the next step is to further connect with Afu's AI capabilities. In China, more than 43 million Huawei users use wearables to monitor emotional state, and more than 15 million use watches to monitor pulse-wave arrhythmia, according to Gong. Huawei wearable data now supports binding to Afu, with weight loss and sleep among scenarios for more detailed health management.

For hardware makers, the opportunity is to extend products into long-term services and higher usage frequency. For ordinary users, the benefit is seeing body data in one app and receiving more targeted health services.

Afu is building a process from sensing to interpretation to action: measure the body, let Afu interpret, log diet and exercise, and then receive more personalized advice after behavior changes. Partners are extending that chain into real scenarios. Leke connects advice to exercise. Laoxiangji, Zhang Liang Malatang and Jian'ai put it into daily choices such as a meal or a cup of yogurt. Mint Health opened a nutrition database of 5 million foods and is improving AI recognition of food weight.

After upgrading 'AI photo diet' with Mint Health, a restaurant company in Guangdong launched a fat-reducing morning tea, while Laoxiangji and Zhang Liang Malatang tested AI diet recognition and calorie control in stores in Hangzhou and Harbin, respectively, according to ifanr. Body data is collected by hardware, and adjustment plans enter restaurants and gyms, moving health management from knowing to doing.

China's State Taxation Administration data showed that in the first quarter of 2025, sales revenue from smart health monitoring devices rose 41.6 percent year on year. For the full year of 2025, sales revenue from health consulting services rose 11.7 percent year on year, according to the article.

The 'lose 100 million jin' campaign offers an observable sample: body-fat scales record changes, AI explains reasons, and food and exercise partners optimize products accordingly. Similar collaboration could extend to sleep, diet and chronic disease management. At the Bund Conference, Ant Afu and hardware vendors formed an industry alliance aimed at mobilizing hardware, AI and offline brands around health management. The next question is whether AI plus hardware can refine services and help users act over the long term.