Searching for a detailed Coros Apex review? Read one here. Get to know about sports features, apps, battery life, guided workouts, and more.
Coros Apex is a multisport watch with GPS and extensive battery life. That is a data-rich device that offers a wide range of insights into your bike, swimming, and running sessions. For cycling, Coros is one of the best options, so a smartwatch from them offers the best training experience.
Our Verdict
Although this is a great sports watch, it doesn’t have much smartwatch functionality, as it integrates only with basic sports apps to track your stats. It has a powerful GPS, battery life, and sports tracking for athletes. Also, it has multi-option stats, which are very detailed.
Why we like it:
- Great design
- Can track sleep well
- The battery life is excellent
- Smart stamina features during runs
Why we hate it:
- No touch screen
- Might look rather bulky on small wrists
Design
Coros Apex has a simple design that is also smart enough to wear it everywhere you want it. It looks for its price and has a feel of a premium device, despite the silicone band. It is comfortable and you can also wear it at night without difficulty.
There are black and silver bezel options, and there are seven colors available if you want to change the default black to something else. There aren’t any materials besides silicone, so you cannot get a more premium-looking metal or leather band.
There are two models, the first of which is 42mm with stainless steel bezel and a 1.1” color LCD. It has three available colors, which are black and gray, silver and white, or gold and purple. The other is 46mm, it comes with a titanium alloy bezel, has a 1.2” LCD screen, and has black and gray, white, or midnight black options. They have a classic design of a round watch with a durable silicone band.
Features
The watch face has plenty of widgets. It can display a bar of your progress through the daily calorie goal and exercise time goal. There is also a heart rate that can show current beats per minute and a graph of max, min, and average heart rate over the recent time.
You can access the Toolbox menu where you can turn on Don’t Disturb mode, manually take heart rate, set alarms, change the watch face, and more. The device also has a map, a navigation feature, a timer, a stopwatch, and a 3D compass.
Coros Apex can sync with third-party apps like TrainingPeaks, Final Surge, Strava, and Relive. There is a possibility to pair up your device with heart rate monitors, speed and cadence sensors, bike trainers, and speed sensors.
Fitness Tracking
Running
When you run, the device gives you up to six stats that you can swipe when you’re running. If these parameters are vital for you, that's a great option. On the first use, you will need to set up your data in the partner app, which is a bit annoying. Still, you only have to do this one time.
There are standard stats like distance, time, and pace. Still, there are more interesting ones, for example, stamina. The device will show you how much energy you will have left, and the percentage will drop when you run. You can read the stamina at any time.
The Coros Apex allows aerobic and anaerobic training in the form of guided workouts. You will make sure that you have the desired effect from your training, but the guide should be a bit better for people who are first-time runners.
Cycling
Unlike in the running feature, you cannot see stamina and training effect, but you gain different power options. You can also see how steep the hill is when you cycle. Apex has a long battery life, and heart rate tracking is always correct. It is even more accurate than running one.
Coros is famous for its smart cycling helmets, fitness trackers, and sports watches. Its biking functions are superb, and the stats include heart rate, heart rate zone, time, stride, pace, distance, elevation, and training effect.
Activity Tracking
Coros Apex can track all of your everyday activities, such as steps, exercise time, calories burned, and floors climbed. You can see all the stats by scrolling up or down. Also, these screens show daily activity.
Another good function is a reminder to move if you are inactive for long. The device doesn’t read heartbeats all the time when you’re not exercising. It only takes a reading once in ten minutes.
Sleep Tracking
Coros app displays your sleep stats the next morning. The graph will show your heart rate, time spent in deep sleep, or time awake. Also, there is a total amount of hours slept and an average heart rate. Sadly, the device doesn’t give recommendations on how to sleep better and doesn’t show sleep trends, unlike many other smartwatches.
The Coros App
The device navigation is simple. The app is simple, too, as it’s not overboard with stats and menus. There are graphs of your activity like energy plotted, stamina, steps, training data, etc.
Also, this section has an estimate of your running pace, which you can sustain for 50-60 minutes. The app can show your workout history, so you may see all your swims, runs, and rides, along with the history of your watch faces.
Battery Life
The device doesn’t need charging often. If you regularly track outdoor activity, you get two weeks without charge. With less frequent training, the number climbs up to three weeks. The 46mm model has a better battery life than the 42mm, although the latter will still have more than a day of GPS tracking.
Specs
| Battery | Up to 24 days, 25 hours in full GPS mode, 80 hours in UltraMax GPS mode |
| Features | Barometer, ANT+ & BLE Connections, GPS, Heart Rate Tracking, Altimeter, Compass |
| Design | Stainless steel bezel, Sapphire glass, Silicone strap |
| Water-resistant | Up to 100 meters |
| Colors | Black/Grey, Gold, White, Grey |
| Distance tracking | GPS, GLONASS, BDS satellites even in dense woods, Direct integration with apps |
| Apps integration | Strava, Relive, TrainingPeaks, Final Surge, Runalyze |
| Display | Option 1: 42mm with stainless steel bezel, 1.1” color LCD screen Option 2: 46mm, titanium alloy bezel, 1.2” color LCD screen |
| Sports | swimming, cycling, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, triathlons, running |
This watch is sports-centered and allows you to measure a wide variety of fitness and health data. It also has notifications to assist with training.
Conclusions
If you are an athlete, Coros Apex is best for you. Still, it lacks the multisport mode, which is a must-have for many. Other devices have many more sports tracking options. However, if you are a fan of running, swimming, and especially cycling, this phone is for you.
It doesn’t have many “smart” options, though. There are no contactless payments or storage for music.
That is a watch for purely athletic purposes, and the smart features are minimal. It shows lots of stats about your training, which are as detailed as possible. The device also gives performance stats and has recommendations on how to improve your sessions. The design and battery life are great, as the latter allows more than two weeks without charge.
