If you want better value for money
Choose Suunto Race S. It scores 4.8 vs 3.7 for value for money, with a 3.9 overall score.
Coros Apex 2 Review
Bottom Line
Choose the Coros Apex 2 for long battery life, comfort, rugged materials, strong app support, and solid everyday workout tracking. Skip it if you need class-leading GPS, polished navigation, streaming music, contactless payments, or a full smartwatch.
Best for
Best for runners, hikers, backpackers, and outdoor users who want a light, durable watch with long battery life, strong app support, and enough training data without needing full smartwatch extras.
Not for
Not for buyers who prioritize streaming music, contactless payments, call handling, advanced smartwatch features, class-leading navigation, or the most consistently accurate GPS and heart-rate data.
Verdict
The Coros Apex 2 comes across as a comfortable, durable GPS watch with standout battery life, premium-feeling materials, and one of the better companion-app experiences in its class. Its core workout tracking is good enough for many runners and outdoor users, and the app, customization, buttons, and charging speed earn repeated praise. The tradeoff is that several higher-end promises feel unfinished: GPS accuracy is good but not consistently excellent, navigation is useful but limited by small-screen maps and weak guidance, and smartwatch features remain basic. Value depends heavily on price and priorities because reviewers liked the hardware but questioned it against stronger navigation, music, and accuracy rivals.
Current model
Coros Apex 4
View current model
Feature Scorecards
Summary
48 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.011 (23%)
-
Positive 3.5-4.428 (58%)
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Neutral 2.5-3.45 (10%)
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Negative 1.5-2.44 (8%)
Pros
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Comfort was a major strength: reviewers repeatedly called the Apex 2 light, unobtrusive, less cumbersome, and comfortable enough for long wear or sleep.
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Battery life was one of the strongest consensus positives, repeatedly described as impressive, excellent, commendable, and better than some comparable watches.
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Fit was praised for adjustability, small-wrist suitability, glove clearance, and a generally secure comfortable feel.
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Durability was strongly praised, with reviewers reporting no marks after hard knocks, no visible trail damage, and confidence in sapphire construction.
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Build quality was consistently praised, with reviewers calling the watch well-built, robust, solid, and durable.
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Reviewers liked the broad sport coverage, with multiple activity modes and added sport-specific options making the watch versatile.
Cons
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Onboard music was repeatedly limited by MP3-only loading, no streaming, slow or old-school transfers, and competition for storage space.
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Watch faces were criticized for bugs and poor visual design, making this one of the weaker software areas.
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Call handling was a clear smartwatch limitation because the reviewer noted the watch cannot answer calls or texts.
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Contactless payments were a clear missing smartwatch feature in the review evidence.
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Mapping and navigation were the most common tradeoff: maps were useful and sometimes enhanced, but missing routable guidance, small-screen use, weak route planning, and lagging Garmin-like features limited it.
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Smartwatch features were limited compared with true smartwatches, though reviewers still considered the watch a strong multisport or fitness-focused device.
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Smartwatches, this product is above average in Wi-Fi connectivity, resume later function, app ecosystem, near average in battery life, value for money, below average in watch face quality, call handling, mapping and navigation.
Comparison summary
48 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher16 (33%)
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Same as average within 0.3 pts15 (31%)
-
Below average 0.4+ pts lower17 (35%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| watch face quality | 1.8 | 3.8 | -2.0 |
| call handling | 2.0 | 3.3 | -1.3 |
| Wi-Fi connectivity | 4.0 | 2.8 | +1.2 |
| resume later function | 5.0 | 3.9 | +1.1 |
| app ecosystem | 4.5 | 3.6 | +0.9 |
| fit | 4.7 | 3.9 | +0.8 |
| mapping and navigation | 2.9 | 3.4 | -0.6 |
| display quality | 3.6 | 4.3 | -0.7 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better display quality
Choose Suunto Run. It scores 4.6 vs 3.6 for display quality, with a 4.0 overall score.
If you want better watch face quality
Choose Garmin Forerunner 165. It scores 5.0 vs 1.8 for watch face quality, with a 4.3 overall score.
If you want better sleep tracking accuracy
Choose Polar Ignite 2. It scores 4.7 vs 3.8 for sleep tracking accuracy, with a 3.7 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
- Better: phone pairing and background sync The Apple Watch is said to do background phone connection and syncing better.
- Better: value, screen, battery, sensors and features The newer Coros Pace Pro is said to offer even better value for runners.
- Compared: feature overlap and price The Forerunner 255 is raised as a close comparison where the Apex 2 price stack is questioned.
FAQ
Is the Coros Apex 2 battery life good?
Yes. Battery life is one of the clearest strengths, with reviewers repeatedly calling it impressive, excellent, commendable, or strong enough for multi-day use.
How accurate is the GPS?
The GPS evidence is mixed. Some reviews found it great or close to measured routes, while others saw drift, corner cutting, open-water issues, or performance that was good but not class-leading.
Is heart-rate tracking reliable?
It can be good for steady efforts and some workouts, but several reviewers saw lag, spikes, or dropouts during harder or more variable sessions. A chest strap remains the safer choice for high-accuracy heart-rate training.
Are the maps and navigation good?
The maps are useful as a backup and are better than breadcrumb-only navigation, but reviewers criticized small-screen use, weak route guidance, missing routable maps, and limited turn prompts.
Is it comfortable for daily wear?
Yes. Reviewers repeatedly praised the light, compact feel and comfortable fit, including during sleep, though band quality and aesthetics were more divisive.
Does it work well as a smartwatch?
Only in a limited way. Notifications and MP3 storage exist, but reviewers noted no contactless payments, no call or text answering, and no music streaming.
Is the COROS app good?
The companion app is a major positive. Reviewers described it as easy, elegant, informative, visually clear, and useful for settings, training data, and workout analysis.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
YouTube - The Run Testers
- Review score
- 3.3
YouTube - UltraTrailSteven
- Review score
- 4.2
YouTube - DesFit
- Review score
- 3.8
YouTube - DC Rainmaker
- Review score
- 3.2
Article Reviews
advnture.com
- Review score
- 4.3
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