The Coros Apex 2 is an exercise and health watch for people who wish to get an actual grip on their train routine.
Lets say it is for athletes, however this can be a far more approachable watch than simply that. Its battery lasts for ages, it’s smaller than most high-end health watches and supplies greater than what the perfect Garmin watches provide for comparable cash.
Coros Apex 2
As much as 17-day battery life
1.2in 240 x 240 Reminiscence LCD touchscreen
43.0 x 42.8 x 12.8mm
5ATM water resistance
8GB storage
42g (52g with silicone band)
Sapphire show glass
Titanium bezel
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 perfect health trackers.
The Coros Apex 2’s downside is it isn’t fairly as enjoyable to make use of because it could possibly be, with stilted navigation that lets down what is a reasonably handsome interface.
Coros Apex 2: Value 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 supplies 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 grow to be extra interesting with a value drop to $349/£349 and a software program replace that provides vital options together with a lot improved on-watch map help. Extra on that later.
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 may normally 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 nicely over time? Possibly not, however we’ve used the Apex 2 for a few months all-in, and it nonetheless appears to be like new.
The Coros Apex 2 watch physique itself can 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 — fantastic, 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 wise 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 traditional transflective display screen, that means it will get clearer in direct daylight however wants a traditional digital watch-style entrance gentle to be seen at midnight.
We discover its readability to be wonderful throughout the day. There are solely 5 Apex 2 watch faces preinstalled, however utilizing the Coros app (opens in new tab) you’ll be able to exchange these 5 slots with, by our depend, simply over 100 others. A lot of them look nice, and they’re all free. Fantastic.
Coros Apex 2: Options
How the watch appears to be like, inside and outside, is normally spot on. How the Apex 2 feels may do with somewhat extra work in locations.
Right here’s the way it works. The Coros Apex 2 has a stunning free-turning crown on its facet. You need to use this to flick by means of menus, or the touchscreen.
Contact and rotating crown? These are two of the perfect controllers for watches, however the interface gives no approach to really transfer by means of menus quick, as you may on a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, Apple Watch or Garmin Fenix 7.
The best way the system strikes in little discrete notches holds you again, and we discover it stops us from one of many primary interface areas in any respect usually, as a result of there’s an excessive amount of friction. If 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 depend, flooring climbed, restoration standing and so forth.
Equally, transferring by means of the train display screen usually 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, you probably have used a recent-era Garmin and are contemplating switching, you will see that the Apex 2 interface fairly acquainted because the format is comparable.
You additionally get the total array of inner health {hardware}. The Apex 2 has full GPS, in fact, a coronary heart price sensor, temperature sensor and barometric altimeter. That final one can be utilized to depend 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 price {hardware} can measure blood oxygenation, though it’s type of hidden on the watch, and it may well obtain notifications out of your cellphone. These appear to pop by means of near-instantly, making them helpful even if you happen to can’t reply to messages on the watch itself.
There’s even music help, with playback proper out of your wrist. Nonetheless, 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 help for any streaming providers, that means you want the digital music recordsdata many people have moved away from.
This storage can be used for what may 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’ll be able to’t obtain further areas on the watch itself, however now you can choose blocks of the map within the Coros cellphone app. The entire UK (the place we examined), bar the highest bits of Scotland, matches into 5 of those blocks, and solely take up a few hundred megabytes and alter.
These maps present roads, paths, and topographic knowledge. They usually grow to be the idea 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 may be accessed although a great deal of completely different tracked actions. Plan a hike and you may see the map within the mountaineering mode, for instance. This watch is likely one of the most inexpensive methods to get this full-on navigation expertise, the closest Garmin with such expertise being the pricier Forerunner 955.
Nonetheless, regardless of big enhancements to Coros’ software program in 2023, Garmin’s remains to be a lot better. You’ll be able to management your map library proper on the watch, generate routes proper on the watch. And the map knowledge contains native companies and the like.
If you wish to plan a hike proper in your watch, purchase a Garmin. Guided exercises are an identical case. There’s functionality right here for exercise plans, however Garmin’s implementation is simply a lot smoother and extra refined. It makes you respect the large quantity of time and money Garmin will need to have invested into software program growth over time.
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 price.
There are additionally coaching load and coaching readiness stats, which have grow to be 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 probably is to get again on it.
The ultimate shock is the Apex 2 has the {hardware} required for ECG readings, sometimes used to appears to be like for indicators of arrhythmia, which is usually a signal of critically underlying points. Nonetheless, proper now (within the UK a minimum of) we will’t use it. This sort of characteristic sometimes must be handed by means of a well being authority, due to the seriousness of what it purports to do.
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 sometimes 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 begin sucking juice at a a lot increased price, GPS goes to be the most important drain. Effectively, that and software program updates.
Care about accuracy? We discover the Coros Apex 2 tends to persistently report barely shorter distances than not too long ago examined units 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.
Trying proper down into the maps the watch produces, it could be all the way 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 price 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, nevertheless it does appears fairly good throughout run exercises.
There have been no apparent blended exertion spiked with the most recent firmware, and whereas the outcomes have been somewhat patchy within the first 5 minutes, we’re not speaking in regards to the form of irregularity of a primary HR array. We predict you’ll be able to largely belief this watch to observe your exercises.
Through the day, although? Issues can get a bit odd. It could actually over-react to your actions. Getting off a tube practice or going to make a espresso has brought on the Coros Apex 2 to, at occasions, double our precise coronary heart price, 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 incorrect thought at occasions. This may have extra of an impression on the watch’s workings if it recorded stress ranges. However it doesn’t. It may probably impression the watch’s estimate of how recovered you’re, nevertheless it appears to have labored OK for us.
Ought to I purchase the Coros Apex 2?
The Coros Apex 2 is likely one of the most inexpensive methods to get a devoted health watch with true on-watch mapping that doesn’t want any type of web connection to work. It’s best for hikers and adventuring sorts, even if you happen to solely plan to make use of watch maps as a backup.
Garmin’s mapping options are richer nonetheless, however the value of entry is increased for these. And the Coros Apex 2 beats such fashions with its use of high-end supplies like Titanium and Sapphire.
Stat accuracy is somewhat decrease than the perfect from Garmin or Apple in our view, though this principally appears to have an effect on all-day readings. We do suppose Coros’ software program ought to allow you to glide round its menus extra rapidly, although, as the present stilted navigation stops you wanting to take a look at your stats as usually as you may.
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 here are manufacturers like Suunto, Garmin and Polar.
The Suunto Baro 9 is considerably bigger, however comes throughout much less superior in-use as you’ll be able to’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 quite than an actual map. It does have higher water resistance, although, 10ATM.
We predict the Garmin Forerunner 955 is the true Apex 2 various, although. It has even higher mapping options, is usually a bit extra enjoyable to make use of in our expertise. Nonetheless, it’s dearer and the supplies used are considerably much less powerful — extra plastic, less-tough glass.