Since writing my evaluation of the COROS PACE 2 in the fall of last year, I’ve evaluated fitness trackers and watches from Garmin, Polar, Fitbit, Amazfit, and Samsung, giving me a much clearer idea of how well various manufacturers meet the demands of athletes. I was eager to test out the COROS APEX 2 in order to obtain a better understanding of how the running enthusiast brand stacks up against the competition.
The COROS APEX 2 is a mid-range multi-sport outdoor watch. It has the same thick, tough appearance as many running budget smartwatch in this price range, but it also has extra features like a touchscreen, titanium finish, offline maps, music storage, and all-satellite GNSS tracking that you’d typically expect to pay hundreds more for.
Any serious runner should give the COROS APEX 2 significant consideration because it more than competes with the Polar Pacer Pro and Garmin Forerunner 255 in terms of pricing and performance. COROS provides the resources you need to lead you to a quicker PR, from its tough stats to their marathoner training plans. The APEX 2 is a terrific delivery vehicle for those benefits, with the exception of a few peculiarities that might turn off certain customers.
The COROS Apex 2 is a demonstration of how significantly a watch band can alter your fitness smartwatch experience. It’s substantially thicker than other running watches, almost as thick as the cumbersome Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, and just a hair thicker than the Garmin Forerunner 955, with a 43mm titanium case that measures a whopping 14.6mm thick.
Coros Apex 2 review: Design
The Coros Apex 2 is small, light, and comfortable for all-day wear, weighing only 42g with the nylon strap. It’s well-made and comes in three colours (black, grey, and orange), making it more interesting than some multi-sport watches. It also has a more attractive appearance than the first Apex.
The 1.2-inch, Sapphire glass, always-on LCD touchscreen is housed in a 43mm casing and has a 240 x 240 resolution. With too many stats displayed, things could become cluttered on that screen, which is somewhat smaller and has a lesser resolution than the Apex 2 Pro. It isn’t exceptionally snappy, sharp, or stunning, but it is bright and legible enough in most lighting conditions.
The stainless steel cover and similarly robust, scratch-resistant PVD-coated titanium alloy bezel are included outside of that display. The touchscreen responds well in dry conditions but struggles in wet conditions. But primarily, we chose the simpler digital dial and buttons.
Under the hood, a recognisable sensor array can be found that includes a temperature, gyroscope, barometric altimeter, optical heart rate and pulse oximeter, and barometer altimeter. A heart rate wear detector is also included to screen out erroneous results. The Vertix 2’s ECG sensor technology is now included in the Apex 2 as well as the Apex 2 Pro. Digital crown electrodes are used to power new Heart Rate Variability Index insights and to measure heart rate.
Nylon and silicone 20mm straps are interchangeable. Our preference is the nylon strap. In addition, it is considerably simpler to acquire a decent fit with them fastened on one side as opposed to Garmin, which requires you to adjust both sides. However, compared to Garmin and Apple watch bands, the strap is still a little bit scratchier.
Coros Apex 2 review: Interface
The Coros Apex 2’s interface draws inspiration from Apple and Gamin, but sadly, neither comparison really flatters it. The rotating crown, which serves as the primary control interface, shows Apple Watch influence. Although the watch features a touchscreen, it is not usually used in the main interface. The interface movement is discrete and stepwise, whereas the crown is a continuous (smooth) control.
The nature of movement in your interface should match the manner of control motions, yet there is no match in this instance. It helped me realise that, despite the Forerunner 255’s button-based control scheme appearing to be simpler at first glance, I actually liked it. Because of how much the Apex 2’s user interface resembles Garmin’s, this comparison is appropriate. Below the watch face is a list of entries for key daily information including heart rate, steps taken, calories burned, floors climbed, and recuperation condition.
Pressing down on the crown from the watch face brings up a menu for the workout mode. Coros doesn’t really screw up any of this, but Garmin does it better with a nicer control interface, simpler fonts, and a marginally better overall user experience.
Coros Apex 2 review: Health and fitness tracking
It’s a multisport watch first and everything else comes second, like other Coros watches. Generally speaking, Coros watches have excellent sports tracking capabilities, and this watch is completely capable of tracking a triathlon as well as running, swimming, and other sports.
Along with the standard core sports, there are more than 20 different sport-specific game modes, including ones for windsurfing, skiing, hiking, and climbing. By pressing that crown, you’ll enter the primary monitoring page where you can examine workouts, view training programmes, and check your workout history. Workouts may be easily made in the Coros app. There are other settings specific to each mode, and they are not limited to activities like cycling, swimming, and running. Even activities-specific modes and metrics are available in speedsurfing.
You’ll be pleased with the performance you receive from the Coros Apex 2 if you stick with those primary sports modes. You may use five major satellite systems for outside workouts, and a new all-systems mode aims to increase outdoor tracking accuracy over the previous Apex.
The Apex 2 proved to be a reliable running companion, providing fundamental data and mainly accurate distance monitoring when compared to a Garmin watch. However, if you depend on accurate heart rate data, you’ll want to attach an external heart rate monitor here, which is something you can do. Heart rate monitoring accuracy was great as well and held up well even at high intensity.
Coros Apex 2 review: Performance
Even though the Coros Apex 2 and the Pro version don’t cost a lot more money, the latter does offer a longer battery life. Up to 17 days of typical sports watch use are still possible with the Apex 2. The number tends to decrease the more features and functionality you have on; if you decide to use every feature simultaneously, the battery life drops to 28 hours.
The Coros Apex 2 performs really well aside from that, and as it shares many essential features with the Pro edition, there isn’t much to distinguish the two. Given that this function is targeted more towards specialised sports like climbing, the absence of multi-band GPS may not be a problem for many. You can also take use of the Coros EvoLab training analysis via the app, which is really fantastic, with everything shown in vivid detail on your smartphone screen or online.
Looking at data on the sports watch’s smaller screen is a little more difficult, but if you get the hang of using the scrolling winder function, you can glance at your data while you’re on the go. The findings of heart rate monitoring and other tests appear to be pretty similar to the more expensive competitor overall, especially when used in conjunction with the Pro edition. Only the fact that it is difficult to gaze at while jogging prevents the maps feature from performing as well as the Pro edition does. The dimly lit screen does little to help.
Coros Apex 2 review: Battery life
The battery life of Coros watches is consistently impressive, and the Apex 2 is no exception. In smartwatch bands mode, it has a claimed battery life of 17 days and supports 45 hours of regular GPS tracking, which is reduced to 30 hours in all-systems-on mode.
Between activities, the battery level seldom decreases, in part because the Apex 2 doesn’t do much else—for instance, there is no HRV tracking at night and in part because heart rate readings are only taken every 10 minutes by default. The fact that it lasts for so long is still remarkable. Even when monitoring outdoor runs almost daily, the Apex 2 lasted for me 10–12 days between recharge.
Coros Apex 2 review: Price and availability
Released in November 2022, the Coros Apex 2 costs $399 in the US and £349 in the UK. The original Coros Apex, which was sold in two sizes and cost $299/£269 for the 42mm watch and $349/£299 for the 46mm, is now more expensive. Costing $499/£499, the Apex 2 Pro debuted at the same time as the Apex 2. you can buy this product from coros’s official store.
Final words
The Coros Apex 2 Pro is a fantastic, tough smartwatch that costs half as much as the Garmin Enduro 2, its main rival. The Apex 2 Pro matches this category well because Coros is known for providing comparable capabilities to Garmin for less. Although it doesn’t feel as high-end or last as long between charges as the Enduro 2, the coros Apex 2 Pro is still a viable option for those on a reasonably low budget.
Although it may be heavier and more expensive, the Apex 2 Pro is a better long-term investment than the Apex 2 because you’ll have plenty of battery life left, even as it degrades over time. Of the two variants (Coros Apex 2 and Apex 2 Pro), it’s difficult not to recommend the latter. The dual-frequency chip on the Apex 2 Pro contributes to improved GPS performance. Not to mention the bigger, higher-resolution display!
The Apex 2 Pro delivers an improved heart rate sensor, dual-frequency GPS chip, a tolerable touchscreen display, a robust titanium and sapphire glass build, plenty of trail running and outdoor sports capabilities, and a lot of training help via the Coros app and the Coros EvoLab at a reasonable price.
The Coros Apex 2 Pro will undoubtedly appeal to those who like the original version of the watch and are brand enthusiasts, a group that is growing in size these days. Garmin users might not be persuaded as easily, but that’s okay; there is place in the outdoor watch market for two wearable companies.
