apex pro first unboxing initial comparison with garmin fenix 6

Yesterday, the COROS team released the COROS APEX Pro outdoor sports watch. The APEX series is designed specifically for long-distance trail runners, featuring a lightweight and durable watch body, long-lasting battery life, and precise outdoor data. Now, the strongest in this series—the APEX Pro—has arrived.

The APEX series is an outdoor sports watch designed specifically for trail racing, featuring a lightweight and durable watch body, long-lasting battery life, and precise outdoor data. The APEX Pro is the strongest in this series, adding a blood oxygen sensor to adapt to high-altitude sports, using a reinforced knob system for better tactile feedback. Additionally, it has a 15% increase in battery life and an enhanced GPS antenna with 25% improved efficiency.

The APEX Pro features a sapphire crystal mirror, a 1.2-inch reflective memory color screen, and a body made of titanium alloy and aluminum alloy. It is waterproof up to 100 meters and weighs 58 grams.

In terms of satellite positioning, the APEX Pro uses a GPS+GLONASS positioning system and is equipped with an enhanced GPS antenna, improving signal by 25%.

The APEX Pro uses a new high-strength digital knob, which, combined with the return button, allows for all watch operations. Hardware-wise, it is equipped with a heart rate and blood oxygen 2-in-1 sensor, a nine-axis motion sensor, and barometric and temperature sensors. It can accurately record activities with a battery life of 40 hours, an ultra-long GPS mode of 100 hours, and 30 days of daily use.

There is also a surprise in the watch strap: the APEX Pro uses a new highly breathable strap, which is also compatible with the APEX.

In terms of user experience, the COROS team has also brought touch upgrades, enhancing navigation and map operations, data chart viewing, and switching of sports data pages. The combination of knob, button, and touch will bring a better experience.

In terms of software, the APEX Pro has a functional plan for the next six months, adding more sports, fitness, combined training programs, and training plans, as well as more comprehensive physical analysis.

Currently, COROS has established a product line including PACE, APEX, APEX Pro, and VERETIX, providing targeted choices for marathon users, light trail users, long-distance trail users, and extreme mountain users.

I also got this watch at the first opportunity and tested it against the Garmin Fenix 6 during cycling and treadmill sessions. Here are some brief comparisons.

In the cycling distance comparison, both recorded 8.68 kilometers in the same amount of time, with completely consistent measurements.

In terms of tracking, both performed equally well outdoors, with overall tracks almost completely overlapping. Both also recorded the turning tracks at the roundabout in detail.

In the treadmill test comparison, looking at the heart rate comparison chart for two sessions, the first time I went on the treadmill right after anaerobic training, so my heart rate was relatively high. While walking slowly, the Fenix 6 quickly increased from a heart rate of over 80 to around 150, whereas the APEX Pro's initial heart rate of over 130 was more accurate. Additionally, in real-time observation, the Fenix 6 consistently showed about 2 bpm more than the APEX Pro, with more spikes. I will further compare using a traditional heart rate strap.

In terms of running cadence and other running data, the differences between the two were also minimal. I will gather more data through subsequent road running and trail running, including but not limited to battery life, heart rate monitoring, and ultra-long battery mode comparisons. Stay tuned for more updates.