COROS APEX 2 and COROS APEX 2 Pro – Details and information of the new models

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COROS announces today its two new models, long awaited for some months now. The changes focus on hardware upgrades and in the case of the COROS APEX 2 Pro, practically becoming a somewhat smaller VERTIX 2.

The basis of the two new models is the same: a more durable design, a new GPS antenna, route navigation with maps in both cases, a new optical HR sensor with additional features and much more battery life than previous models.

The GNSS chipset is also updated with the same one used by the VERTIX 2, but only in the COROS APEX 2 Pro it has support for multiband (along with the screen size it is its most notable difference). But if multiband is not used, there is the option of using all the satellite constellations simultaneously.

But they are practically identical in every other regard. From support for (non-routable) global maps, music playback, heart rate variability tracking, a PVD-coated titanium bezel…

For your convenience I'll put it in a list. Give me a sec...

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COROS APEX 2 specs and what's new

Below I detail what are the new features found on the COROS APEX 2, which are obviously shared with the COROS APEX 2 Pro. That APEX 2 Pro has some extra features, but for now let me tell you some of the things they share and then I'll tell you how it's different.

• 43mm diameter
• 1,2" touch screen display
• Weight: 42 grams with nylon strap
• Sapphire glass
• Titanium bezel and cover, with PVD coating (aluminum in previous models)
• New GNSS chipset with support for all constellations simultaneously
• Satellite antenna redesigned for better performance
• New optical heart rate sensor
• Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measurement
• Blood oxygen saturation estimation
• Up to 45 hours using GPS 1 second (28 hours with all systems)
• Up to 17 days in watch mode
• Route navigation with map layers (geographic, topographic and hybrid)
• MP3 music playback (streaming music in future firmware updates)
• 8GB of memory for maps and music
• Insta360 and GoPro cameras support
• Night mode to turn on the lighting at night and turn it off at dawn
• New 20mm nylon strap, with Quick Fit system
• Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth 5.0
• WR 50m (100m in the previous model)
• With no ANT+ support
• Price: 479€
• Available in black, coral and grey

This is what the COROS APEX 2 offers. And what are its differences when compared to the COROS APEX 2 Pro? Well, that is what I'll tell you next.

COROS APEX 2 vs COROS APEX 2 Pro, what's different?

The COROS APEX 2 Pro is very similar to the APEX 2, but more "pro". More battery life, larger screen, multiband, more memory... similar features but a step above in several aspects. So the APEX 2 Pro has everything you've seen before, with these differences

• 46.5mm diameter
• 1.3″ touch screen display
• Weight: 53 grams with nylon strap
• Same GNSS chipset with support for all constellations simultaneously and also multiband support
• Up to 75 hours using GPS 1 second (45 hours all systems, 25 hours with multiband)
• Up to 30 days in watch mode
• Multi-pitch climbing profile
• 32GB of memory for maps and music
• Global maps
• New 22mm nylon strap, with Quick Fit system
• Price: 579€
• Available in black, green and grey

In short, for 100€ more you will have a larger screen, multi-band satellite reception, more memory for maps or music and more battery life. It seems like a good deal.

Some details of COROS APEX 2 / APEX 2 Pro

Waiting to have some test unit for now, I leave you with some initial details of both watches, since I cannot draw any kind of conclusion until I have the watches in use and see if what is promised is real or is simply on a data sheet.

Touch screen

Naturally, both the APEX 2 and the APEX 2 Pro inherit many things from its older brother, the VERTIX 2. Starting with the touch screen, something that is really interesting when using maps for navigation, since it allows us to move around the screen faster than if we do it using the crown.

For route navigation, being able to use the touch screen to scroll the map and the crown to zoom is quite useful and quick to execute.

Maps

I have to remember that they are not routable maps. That is, there is no turn-by-turn navigation, the possibility of navigating to a specific direction or back to start by the fastest route. COROS maps, geographic or topographical, are like an image layer on which another layer is placed with the route we have to follow. It is an ok solution, but not as complete as we can have in other models on the market.

Where there are no changes yet is in the app, COROS still does not have a planer to prepare routes and you have to rely on third-party services to do so. It's not difficult, but we already depend on something else and we have to import the file to the COROS app, something that can be complicated for the most inexperienced users.

But COROS says it's working on a new route planning feature for its app. Something that I think should already be integrated into the it given the importance that COROS gives to the mountain and outdoors in its higher-end products (these APEX 2 and VERTIX 2).

Multiband support

Among the differences of the APEX 2 and APEX 2 Pro is the support for multiband. Perhaps it is the difference that catches your attention initially, but you must remember that it is not a radical change and that, as we have seen in other models, multi-band support will be useful in some very specific scenarios, but if the conditions are good we will not notice too much difference between the tracks of one or another model.

I say this so that you take it into account when making decisions and that you are not blinded by said multi-band support.

As for the satellite chipset, it is the same one that came with the COROS VERTIX 2.

Music

There is another detail that stands out from the list of features, and that is that COROS talks about “support for streaming music”.

Currently the COROS VERTIX 2 already has support for MP3 playback (just like the VERTIX and APEX Pro, which received it via firmware update), and it's something that comes to the new models from the beginning. But we are talking about "20th century style" music playback. It will be necessary to connect the watch to the computer to add MP3 files of music/podcasts/audiobooks/etc that you want to listen to, and obviously you must already have those MP3s on your computer.

But COROS also talks about the inclusion of music streaming services in the future. For this COROS specifies that the watch include internal hardware that will allow adding support for streaming platforms. I understand that it is some kind of hardware to allow the use of DRM.

COROS does not currently support any streaming platforms, but they say they are working on it and hope to release something sometime in 2023. This DRM hardware is possibly an industry requirement to be able to add support to those platforms.

According to indications they give, it is one of their priorities right now. You also have to understand that, given the size of COROS (nothing to do with Garmin, for example), it is not an easy task.

By the way, I don't have 100% reliable confirmation but the VERTIX 2 does not have the specific hardware to receive this feature, so when it is released it will be something exclusive to the APEX 2 and APEX 2 Pro.

New optical heart rate sensor

The optical HR sensor of the APEX 2 (normal and pro) is new. It has a system of 8 LEDs arranged around the sensor itself and covered by a scratch-resistant cover.

It is an evolution of the one that was launched in the VERTIX 2. One of the new things that this model announced was the inclusion of an electrocardiogram. But it is not an ECG sensor that can perform electrocardiogram functions like an Apple Watch can, but COROS uses it to measure heart rate variability.

At least for now, I have asked COROS if there is a plan to allow the electrocardiogram to do some other type of reading and they have told me that there may be a firmware update in the future to add more features, but for now its only purpose is the HRV record.

This heart rate variability measurement is manual (for example, useful to do it every morning and have a trend recorded), but it is not a real ECG. This is possibly due to the fact that COROS has neither the possibility nor the desire to go down the path of having to carry out the medical device certification that is necessary for devices of this type.

However, COROS does not offer "raw" HR variability data, but instead provides data on a scale of 0 to 100. This is the scale that COROS uses for the different states of the HRV index:

These measurements are recorded in the app and we can see the trend over time, so it is useful, but it does not allow us to compare the data with respect to other devices that measure HR variability. And I am also not sure that the scale works for everyone, since the HRV data is quite specific to each individual and what may be a high rate for one person may be low for another person.

There are news with respect to the VERTIX 2, and that is that the HR sensor is capable of detecting if we have the watch on our wrist and, if we do not wear it, turn it off. This can be useful for example if we wear the watch on top of a coat, or if we mount it on the handlebar of a bike, or simply have it on the nightstand. In this way the sensor will not be active consuming battery.

Battery life

The increase in battery life in both models is significant. These are the data provided by COROS for both models:

It should be noted that COROS has modified these values before the official release. The manufacturer indicates that they are more optimistic regarding the maximum battery life, and that depending on what type of conditions it may be greater than that announced, but they have preferred to be cautious when setting the maximum battery life.

In fact, COROS initially wanted to advertise 55 hours for the APEX 2 and 90 hours for the APEX 2 Pro, and that's how it appears on the boxes of the first few units. It does not mean that the performance is lower than expected, simply that in some situations it will not reach the marked figure. In any case, enough battery for 99% of users, and if you do not have enough the VERTIX 2 that reaches 140 hours in GPS use.

By the way, the use of UltraMax is still available.

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COROS APEX 2 / APEX 2 Pro opinion

At the moment the only thing I can give you is an initial opinion because the watches have not yet arrived. Beyond the hardware news, there is nothing new in the software section that has been presented with the new watches.

But what COROS has done is update the platform and make VERTIX 2, APEX 2 and APEX 2 Pro on par in terms of performance, and especially in terms of future possibilities.

This is something to keep in mind when we talk about COROS, since it is well known that its best advertising is to bring the maximum amount of features possible to the watches that they have been selling for a long time.

Instead of releasing a new model on the market with those new features, COROS launches those and applies them to devices that are already on the market, it is what they want their identity sign to be: “an user-focused company”. Support and give benefits to its current users, instead of looking for new ones with product renewal. This undoubtedly increases user satisfaction and causes positive feedback, making word of mouth work in your favor.

In Europe, however, it will always be a little more complicated given its fixed price policy. It has its good things and its bad things. The good thing is that you know that it doesn't matter when you buy the watch, because it will always be at the same price. In other words, you don't have to be waiting for it to drop 100 or 200 euros to make it seem like an interesting product (I'm looking at you, Garmin).

But in the same way, the user's perception is that when Garmin lowers the price of its models, they remain below the price of COROS. I understand the COROS policy and it seems positive to me, but if all the manufacturers were on similar lines.

Bottom line, this launch means having a platform on which to work for the future. An update of the base where you can add more features in the future. The COROS APEX and APEX Pro had already been very limited in terms of possibilities (especially the APEX, to which it was no longer possible to add anything else), so this new base will help continue that development in the future.

Do you have any other questions? Well, you know, there you have the comments. Thanks for reading!