The Coros Apex 2 is an exercise and health watch for folk who need to get an actual grip on their train routine.
Let’s imagine it is for athletes, however it is a way more approachable watch than simply that. Its battery lasts for ages, it’s smaller than most high-end health watches and offers greater than what the most effective Garmin watches supply for comparable cash.
It’s harder, and has legit on-watch mapping, together with full navigation of routes and programs you’re employed out beforehand. This earned it a spot in our information to the most effective health trackers.
The Coros Apex 2’s downside is it isn’t fairly as enjoyable to make use of because it may very well be, with stilted navigation that lets down what is a reasonably handsome interface.
Coros Apex 2: Worth and availability
Coros launched the Apex 2 in November 2022 for $399/£419 (opens in new tab) , alongside the Apex 2 Professional at $499/£499 (opens in new tab) . The Professional is barely bigger, has a longer-lasting battery and Multi-Band GPS, which offers extra dependable GPS monitoring in powerful environments. Run within the native park? You in all probability don’t want it.
Since launch, these watches have develop into extra interesting with a worth drop to $349/£349 and a software program replace that provides vital options together with a lot improved on-watch map assist. Extra on that later.
(Picture credit score: Andrew Williams)
Coros Apex 2: Design and Show
It should be difficult for Coros to get a lot consideration when it has to compete with firms like Apple and Garmin. However it’s actually attempting.
The Coros Apex 2 design is notable in a minimum of a few essential methods. First, there’s the strap. The watch features a nylon weave strap, the type you would possibly often have to purchase as an aftermarket accent.
It’s super-comfy and safe, and makes it simpler to get a stable match than a silicone strap. Will it fare as properly over time? Possibly not, however we’ve used the Apex 2 for a few months all-in, and it nonetheless appears new.
The Coros Apex 2 watch physique itself can also be spectacular, with a lot higher-end supplies than these of the comparable Garmin Forerunner 255 Music. That watch has a plastic physique and a Gorilla Glass 3 display screen — effective, however nothing particular. This watch has a titanium bezel and backplate, and Sapphire show safety. It’s nearer to the stuff utilized in Garmin’s costliest watches.
The sidewalls of the Apex 2 are plastic, however that is smart because it lowers weight. This watch weighs 42g with the nylon strap, and has a 43mm watch face. We like this dimension of watch, however there’s additionally the Apex 2 Professional. It’s very comparable however has a bigger 46mm diameter and a barely 1.3in bigger display screen.
You get a 1.2-inch display screen in the usual Coros Apex. It’s a basic transflective display screen, that means it will get clearer in direct daylight however wants a basic digital watch-style entrance mild to be seen at nighttime.
We discover its readability to be glorious through the day. There are solely 5 Apex 2 watch faces preinstalled, however utilizing the Coros app (opens in new tab) you may exchange these 5 slots with, by our rely, simply over 100 others. Numerous them look nice, and they’re all free. Great.
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Coros Apex 2: Options
How the watch appears, in and out, is often spot on. How the Apex 2 feels may do with a bit extra work in locations.
Right here’s the way it works. The Coros Apex 2 has a beautiful free-turning crown on its facet. You should utilize this to flick by menus, or the touchscreen.
Contact and rotating crown? These are two of the most effective controllers for watches, however the interface provides no solution to really transfer by menus quick, as you would possibly on a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, Apple Watch or Garmin Fenix 7.
The way in which the system strikes in little discrete notches holds you again, and we discover it stops us from one of many major interface areas in any respect typically, as a result of there’s an excessive amount of friction. Whenever you flick up from the watch face you’ll see a display screen near-identical to Garmin’s glances. These present you day by day bits of information like your step rely, flooring climbed, restoration standing and so forth.
Equally, shifting by the train display screen typically feels prefer it takes too lengthy. It’s not that the Apex 2 appears laggy or not highly effective sufficient: that is how the watch is designed. It’s only a bit laboured.
Nonetheless, when you’ve got used a recent-era Garmin and are contemplating switching, you’ll find the Apex 2 interface fairly acquainted because the structure is comparable.
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You additionally get the complete array of inner health {hardware}. The Apex 2 has full GPS, after all, a coronary heart charge sensor, temperature sensor and barometric altimeter. That final one can be utilized to rely the variety of flights of stairs you climb every day, or and to estimate altitude and the grade of slopes (GPS knowledge can present this too).
The guts charge {hardware} can measure blood oxygenation, though it’s sort of hidden on the watch, and it will probably obtain notifications out of your telephone. These appear to pop by near-instantly, making them helpful even should you can’t reply to messages on the watch itself.
There’s even music assist, with playback proper out of your wrist. Nevertheless, with solely 8GB storage, not all of which is obtainable to make use of, the 32GB Apex 2 Professional is the higher wager for music. There’s additionally no assist for any streaming providers, that means you want the digital music recordsdata many people have moved away from.
This storage can also be used for what could be the Apex 2’s stand-out characteristic, on-watch maps. When the watch first launched, getting maps onto the Apex was an actual ache. However a Might 2023 replace improved issues considerably.
You may’t obtain further areas on the watch itself, however now you can choose blocks of the map within the Coros telephone app. All the UK (the place we examined), bar the highest bits of Scotland, suits into 5 of those blocks, and solely take up a few hundred megabytes and alter.
These maps present roads, paths, and topographic knowledge. And so they develop into the premise for the routes you’ll generate within the Coros app, and fling over to the watch over Bluetooth.
The routes are then used within the Apex 2’s Navigation mode, which might be accessed although a great deal of completely different tracked actions. Plan a hike and you’ll see the map within the mountain climbing mode, for instance. This watch is without doubt one of the most reasonably priced methods to get this full-on navigation expertise, the closest Garmin with such expertise being the pricier Forerunner 955.
Nevertheless, regardless of large enhancements to Coros’ software program in 2023, Garmin’s remains to be a lot better. You may management your map library proper on the watch, generate routes proper on the watch. And the map knowledge consists of native companies and the like.
If you wish to plan a hike proper in your watch, purchase a Garmin. Guided exercises are an analogous case. There’s functionality right here for exercise plans, however Garmin’s implementation is simply a lot smoother and extra refined. It makes you admire the large quantity of time and cash Garmin will need to have invested into software program improvement over time.
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Nonetheless, an Apex 2 does all we want it to, a lot of the time. We get stacks of train modes, together with heaps with extra considerate and significant knowledge fields. The observe run mode counts your laps, for instance, and the rowing app your stroke charge.
There are additionally coaching load and coaching readiness stats, which have develop into tent poles of high-end working watch metrics. These let you know the sort-of general present exertion “mass” of your coaching routine, and the way prepared your physique possible is to get again on it.
The ultimate shock is the Apex 2 has the {hardware} required for ECG readings, usually used to appears for indicators of arrhythmia, which generally is a signal of critically underlying points. Nevertheless, proper now (within the UK a minimum of) we are able to’t use it. This type of characteristic usually must be handed by a well being authority, due to the seriousness of what it purports to do.
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Coros Apex 2: Efficiency
Like most fanatic watches with transflective screens, the Apex 2 can final ages between every cost. After our tracked runs the watch has usually solely misplaced 2-3% cost, and real-world battery lifetime of a full two weeks is eminently do-able.
Coros charges its battery life at 17 days. And since there’s no OLED or LCD display screen right here to start out sucking juice at a a lot greater charge, GPS goes to be the most important drain. Properly, that and software program updates.
Care about accuracy? We discover the Coros Apex 2 tends to persistently report barely shorter distances than lately examined gadgets just like the Forerunner 965, Fenix 7 and Amazfit Bip 3 Professional. We’re speaking about maybe 230m over a 9km distance, a disparity of round 2.5%. It’s not a dramatic distinction, however we did discover it.
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Trying proper down into the maps the watch produces, it might be right down to Coros making use of extra route smoothing than Garmin between the precise recorded location nodes. There are in any other case not apparent foul-ups.
The Coros Apex 2 coronary heart charge knowledge is usually stable too, a minimum of throughout train. We’ve had a number of completely different points with the Apex 2, utilizing it for 5 months on and off, however it does appears fairly good throughout run exercises.
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There have been no apparent combined exertion spiked with the newest firmware, and whereas the outcomes have been a bit patchy within the first 5 minutes, we’re not speaking concerning the kind of irregularity of a fundamental HR array. We expect you may largely belief this watch to watch your exercises.
Through the day, although? Issues can get a bit odd. It could actually over-react to your actions. Getting off a tube prepare or going to make a espresso has brought on the Coros Apex 2 to, at occasions, double our precise coronary heart charge, recording a determine of, say, 160-odd when the precise studying was 80-something.
The Apex 2 isn’t making stuff up right here, it simply will get the mistaken thought at occasions. This could have extra of an impression on the watch’s workings if it recorded stress ranges. Nevertheless it doesn’t. It may probably impression the watch’s estimate of how recovered you’re, however it appears to have labored OK for us.
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Ought to I purchase the Coros Apex 2?
The Coros Apex 2 is without doubt one of the most reasonably priced methods to get a devoted health watch with true on-watch mapping that doesn’t want any sort of web connection to work. It’s very best for hikers and adventuring sorts, even should you solely plan to make use of watch maps as a backup.
Garmin’s mapping options are richer nonetheless, however the worth of entry is greater for these. And the Coros Apex 2 beats such fashions with its use of high-end supplies like Titanium and Sapphire.
Stat accuracy is a bit decrease than the most effective from Garmin or Apple in our view, though this principally appears to have an effect on all-day readings. We do assume Coros’ software program ought to allow you to glide round its menus extra shortly, although, as the present stilted navigation stops you wanting to have a look at your stats as typically as you would possibly.
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If the Coros Apex 2 is not for you
In case you’re this watch, you’ve in all probability already discounted an Apple Watch. Our actual rivals listed below are manufacturers like Suunto, Garmin and Polar.
The Suunto Baro 9 is considerably bigger, however comes throughout much less superior in-use as you may’t save maps to the watch itself. Equally, whereas the Polar Grit Professional X can tie in with Komoot for turn-by-turn navigation, you’re solely going to see a breadcrumb path line fairly than an actual map. It does have higher water resistance, although, 10ATM.
We expect the Garmin Forerunner 955 is the true Apex 2 various, although. It has even higher mapping options, is mostly a bit extra enjoyable to make use of in our expertise. Nevertheless, it’s dearer and the supplies used are considerably much less powerful — extra plastic, less-tough glass.