Coros APEX Premium Multisport Watch

Before going into details, I would like to list the pros and cons of the watch first based on my own experience. In general, the watch has very solid/high quality hardware but there is much space for software improvement.Pros:1. Building quality and material of the watch, high performance/cost ratio.2. Good battery performance.3. Accuracy in measuring heart rate and steps.4. Can be used to track over 20 types of regular sport (running, biking, swimming, snowboard, ski, Gym cardio, triathlon etc.).5. Sync with the iPhone is easy and very fast.Cons:1. The COROS App for iPhone need be improved. Only very few types of data in the App can be edited.2. The choices of watch face are very limited and the watch face cannot be customized.3. Sleep tracking function is limited. It will stop tracking the sleep after the 6-hour mark once you are awake. What makes thing worse is that you cannot edit your sleep data in the App (e.g. cannot add nap time)4. The way used by the watch to track treadmill running is weird and often inaccurate for distance measurement.I purchased the COROS Apex Premium GPS sports watch because the specifications shown on the product website (https://coros.com/compareChartPage.php) and many online reviews mentioned the long battery life of the COROS product and the quality of the watch itself (such as sapphire screen). Having used this watch a bit over a month, here is the battery life of the watch in reality:The first time the battery lasted 14.5 days from fully charged to 20% battery left, during which (1) I had five ~ 30-minute workout (mainly treadmill running), (2) with receiving notifications from the iPhone and gesture backlight being turned on for the first 4 days, (3) synced the watch with my iPhone once every day, (4) Sleep monitoring was turned on every day, and (5) All other functions, including GPS tracking were turned off.The second time the battery lasted 18 days from fully charged to 17% battery left, during which (1) I had six ~ 30-minute workout (mainly treadmill running), (2) changed watch faces four times, (3) performed one firmware update (added Galileo support for GPS), (4) synced with my iPhone once every day, (5) sleep tracking was turned on every day, and (5) with all other functions, including receiving notification from the iPhone, gesture backlight, and GPS tracking being turned off during the whole period.Thus, the battery life is satisfactory but not as strong as some online reviews stated. However, I need point out that I did not yet test the battery life with GPS turning on. Many online reviews commend the higher sensitivity and stability of COROS watches in receiving GPS signal and the long battery life under the GPS function being on (e.g. outdoor running, which is said to be much better than other peer GPS sports watch on the market, such as those from Garmin, Polar, and Sutto). Further research online revealed that the Apex Premium is equipped with a 320 mAh Lithium polymer battery, which is smaller than a peer product from Huawei, the HUAWEI Watch GT 2 Pro that is equipped with a 455 mAh Lithium polymer battery. Surprisingly, online customer reviews indicate that the battery performance of the former is much better than the later in daily use. Based on online customer reports and my own experience, COROS watches have better battery performance likely due to that 1) the COROS watches monitor heart rate very 10 minutes rather real time monitoring when you are not on a workout/exercise. It activates real time heart rate monitoring only when you are on a workout (You can change heart rate monitoring to always real time in the settings of the watch), 2) the watch does not have many functions that other sports watches equipped with (e.g., playing music, sending messages, making and receiving calls, display photos etc.), and 3) The COROS company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Yuanfeng (YF) Tech Corporation. YF is a company with expertise in GPS-related products. They thus may have know-how about tracking GPS signals in an energy-efficient way.The watch uses Totally Reflective liquid crystal display (TR-LCD). Thus, the display is very bright/clear and easily to read under strong light (e.g., sunshine). By contrast, it is very difficult to read under low light (in the evening and early morning you need turn on backlight to read it). There is a very simple user manual comes with the watch. It took me quite a while to figure out how to use the watch. I would suggest the company prepare a better user manual in PDF format with more detailed guidance such that customers can download conveniently meanwhile save production cost for the company. Based on limited experience in using the Apex, I found the function of vibration, turning on the backlight function and receiving notifications from the iPhone consume quite a lot of battery. You may need turn them off if you want to extend the battery life. I did not test the GPS tracking and the water-resistance function of the watch yet and will update my experience of using these functions later.Overall, I like the COROS Apex Premium watch so far. However, I give it only four stars this time due to the cons mentioned above (I actually want to give 4.5 stars but the Amazon system allows for integer only).

sw v2.22.0, hw v1.50 at the time of the review.I have owned few watches before, I suppose many of us can say who decides to buy Coros brand.My previous two ones were TomTom and Forerunner 935 and used a few others.To start with, as many said before, the battery is awesome, still after half year of use. Will see in a year.I take notes of every charge with date and percentage when I plug it, and it usually lasts for two weeks for me with about 6-7 exercise per week, reaching 10% when I plug in.I used open swimming with friends couple of times (Fenix 6x and Vivoactive 3), luck might have it, but my map was the closest where we swam in the ocean. I was quite surprised as I did not expect much of it. One time the reading was garbage, but the other three times was surprisingly good, even though the overall accuracy was around 85%.Indoor swimming isn't the best. If you swim 2k just freestyle, that might work, but I prefer switching styles and the reading is no always gets the laps as it gets confused where the next comes.Still no scratches on the bezel, neither on the glass. The turning know gets stuck few times I take my shirt on, but easy to use.I think the price is just right. I did not feel the other brands worth the extra money, especially the lots of bug they have after launching a model.It supports GPS, GLONASs and Beidou, however the GPS+other setting never gave me better accuracy when I changed, even though it should read more satellites in my region.Laugh at me, but I prefer the TomTom app the best. Garmin gives lots of data and the ecosystem is nice too. Coros application is somewhat between, probably getting better nowadays, but not very customizable. You can get used to it and integrates with many 3rd party apps (except Runkeeper).Syncing your data is fabulous. Especially compared to Tom and G. T is known to be slow, bu even G6X lacks behind. Same activity got synced 2 minutes with our G5/6X where Coros did it in 15 seconds with bluetooth! And it was not due to the phone, we tried with both iphone and android, as we did not believe why latest Gs are so slow.. (wifi was OK though)Lots of export formats from the App! Import to route is also possible.Integration with phone like receiving notifications, calls works fine for me, though I don't use it often.Support is great! This winter, they added bunch of activities missed by the community, they listen to your needs and your problems. Response time is fast and usually helpful.Cons: One minus star, because the watch is not perfect. Not sure which watch would I give 5.1. The optical HR sensor is quite funny at times during exercise.. Don't count on it hoping this brand/model will be different from others like Garmin. But at least they don't overcharge you..2. I don't feel the Current Pace accurate all the time in Run activity, even compared to my old TomTom. I noticed on several runs with steady pace, lets say 5 minutes, then I go DOWN on a steps/stairs, then returning to my target pace by feeling as I run before. The watch however does not follow up, showing 6+ pace, only after 150 even 200 meters, it catches up. Surely, the average will be OK given the time and the distance, but this I feel should be improved as it is a main feature.3. Sleep measure only works well if you set it to continuous HR reading, well at least for me. The default 1 minute per 10 minutes readings gives you an idea how you rest, but not that accurate (no wonder). I should note, that it works well with my girlfriend. If she wears it overnight, even with the energy saving mode, it matches her Vivoactive 3 data, not for me.4. The menu is simple, therefor lacks few features you may find at other brands (or not..), there are few functions you cannot set, for example if you are a nightcrawler, running before or after the Sun in the dark, there is no way to set the auto-light feature by activity, only by general. I know, don't bother the watch, just run! :D5. Pin a POI would be nice few times later to remember and save, but that does not really goes with the "cons" section.6. You can import a GPX file to your routes, but cannot change start/stop place. Import is only possible now with share the file from another app, not from the app, which is weirdOverall I'm quite satisfied with the this model and with the brand! I will probably upgrade to either Apex Pro, where the GPS module is stronger, or maybe the next model after a while; will see. Surely, I'm not looking back to Garmin, finally, I'm happy what I payed for, but I do keep an eye on others, while hoping Coros will continue the great job.Update later

I got this watch because I needed a GPS watch with enough battery to last for a 48 hour ultramarathon. It fulfilled that purpose and I've used it in several ultras. Configurable screens allowed me to present the most important data for each type of workout. I used it in a long mountain ultra in Colorado where I needed to access not just my distance & pace but also heart rate and elevation. It allowed me to load the course map which I did use. It also has a feature to let you retrace your steps which could come in handy in some cases.However the dial broke after 18 months and several ultras of using it. However I am still giving it five stars because their customer support was so helpful and got me a new one with no problems. That's a "feature" I was very glad for as well.

Battery life is insane.... so good, this is the second one I have bought, because my wife was so impressed she now has one too. Well done Coros.Helped with the completion of yorkshire 3 peaks challenge. Spot on

Absolutely love it! Battery lasts forever. After having iWatch this function is priceless. Very good for sports where you need to follow a certain pre-programmed training plan. Informs you about heart rate zones, time, pace, nutrition. Easy to follow the route. Easy to import the route from other sources. Love them!

My husband asked for this watch for Xmas. He had heard that the battery life on it was insane. Which was the reason he wanted it. That & the navigation. He runs 10-30k a week, plus we walk as a family at the weekends. Yesterday 14/01/21 was the first time he has charged it since receiving on the 25/12/20.He really is impressed with this watch.

Fantastic sports watch, that with recent update got even better. It makes it easier to keep an eye on your performance and all the data. The battery life is tremendous. I use it for ultra & trail running and it easily lasts for 30 + hours.

Excellent value for money for the features