Español When COROS presented the VERTIX 2 A few months ago, one of their main novelties was the inclusion of maps for route navigation. But they surprised us all when they announced that those maps would also be available for two of their models that had been on the market for quite some time: the COROS VERTIX and the COROS APEX Pro.
The VERTIX 2 offered navigation with two types of maps, topographic and geographic. Initially only topographic maps were going to be available on the VERTIX 1 and APEX Pro due to hardware issues (basically, that the watch would be able to move the heavier maps). However the new surprise is that COROS will finally also offer the geographic maps on the older models.
When will it be available? Right now COROS has opened a beta program in which the first 1,000 people to sign up will have the chance to try it out early. The beta launch date was November 11, but it looks like it will be delayed a few more days.
If you don't want to be a "guinea pig", the official release date will be November 22, if all goes well in the tests starting today.
Both COROS APEX Pro and COROS VERTIX 1 allow to add the maps because when they launched these models to the market COROS added a 4GB internal memory. That is, it was not foreseen, but they left the door open for a future upgrade of this type.
It should be noted that the space is much smaller than that offered by the VERTIX 2 (which is 16GB), so we will have to be more careful when adding maps. For the moment COROS has different regions for downloading.
However COROS says that they are working on making smaller portions of the maps to avoid space problems. For example currently we could not download the topographic and geographic map of Europe, simply because it does not fit on the watch.
The transfer time indicated is not the file download time (this depends on your Internet connection), but the transfer time to the clock.
As you can see there are detailed instructions to do the installation, but basically it all boils down to connecting the watch to the computer and accessing the internal memory to copy the "Map" folder of the downloaded file to the root of the watch.
As for the navigation itself, you must remember that they are not routable maps like the ones you can have on a cyclocomputer. It is a layer that is placed below the route points that you are going to follow, so there are no warnings such as "exit the traffic circle at the third exit" nor will it offer a change of route if for whatever reason we leave the initial plan.
That is, your route is superimposed over the image of the map you have chosen, and on it 1TP10After seeing the path and if you reach a fork, it is clear which way to go. As for the available maps, these are their differences:
Topographic map
Includes elevation lines to identify slopes, altitudes and when we go up and down. Includes the shape of the terrain, mountains, valleys and plains through line contours. Very useful for mountain environments
Geographic map
Provides information on streets, rivers, roads, etc. Perfect for urban environments or for moving on roads and trails.
Compatibility with Galileo satellites
This new firmware version will also include support for Galileo satellites.
Something that COROS PACE 2 will also receive in its next firmware version (but not the maps, of course).
Summary
The fact that COROS cares to add features of this level to watches that have been on the market for years is commendable.
As COROS says, other manufacturers spend resources and money on getting new customers, while they think that offering good service to existing customers at levels never seen before is a way to reach the same destination. Something I totally agree with.
It is clear that when both models came to market COROS already had something in mind, otherwise the 4GB of memory would not have been added. But for several months now COROS has been devoting resources to make these older models capable of moving the maps.
COROS offers confidence to its buyers by assuring that they will continue to support new functions for their watches as long as the hardware of the devices allows it. Something that other brands cannot boast about.
And with that... thanks for reading!
Hi, Eduardo.
Any word on the Vertix 2 review?
Jorge, at the moment I am still waiting for a test unit, nothing has been sent to me yet.
Very good for Coros. The policy of updating old models is impressive, even more so with such important changes. No planned obsolescence... For this reason my next watch will be a COROS.
It is that if we compare it with what other manufacturers do it leaves them in evidence. Garmin has barely updated the 645. Polar launches the Vantage M2 with minimal changes that they could perfectly well put in the original M... I prefer not to continue.
But indeed, with this policy Coros is going to get many customers.
I have always been a polar customer and I say: the cyclocomputer they have on the market (and I use) is more than outdated, it does not seem that they are going to release new ones because they are focusing on the watch market, concentrating their efforts... On what? In devices that are still anchored in 1.2 inch screens, 4 data fields per screen, watches that look bad because they don't offer a clear background.
It is true that it is not the subject (I apologize) but it is amazing the complete immobility of some while others as choirs are putting all the meat on the grill, a chapeau for choirs!
It is clear that there are different tastes and colors. I have had watches from the three supposedly big brands. Since I have the Apex pro there is no color. For everything in general. This is my opinion. I imagine that many will disagree depending on the brand they are using, but if you have not used a coros you can not compare. Best regards