November
03
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COROS APEX 2 & APEX 2 PRO: GPS WITH UP TO 75 HOURS OF BATTERY
COROS APEX 2 & APEX 2 PRO: GPS WITH UP TO 75 HOURS OF BATTERY. Our GPS WATCHES section brings us today the launch of two new GPS watches, the COROS APEX 2 and APEX 2 Pro, which will probably be the new watches of Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg.
More robust, with improvements in the GPS sensor, in the heart rate sensor, more battery and more memory, they become a great alternative with prices between 479€ and 579€ respectively. The below images are the COROS Apex 2 black and the COROS Apex Pro 2 green.
COROS APEX 2 & APEX 2 PRO REVIEW:
GPS WITH UP TO 75 HOURS OF BATTERY
The APEX Pro model was chosen by Kilian Jornet when he began his stage with COROS, as we informed you here at trailrunningspain.com However, after the launch of the COROS VERTIX 2, this APEX Pro was relegated to the background in terms of power, battery, robustness and competitiveness within the brand itself. Although the COROS team has done a great job incorporating most of the VERTIX 2’s software enhancements into the APEX Pro, hardware limitations forced COROS to develop a new product.
And we already have it here, COROS launches today the new APEX 2 and APEX 2 Pro, two gps watches at a contained price with all the necessary functionalities for mountain runners and fully compatible with its COROS Training Hub platform, or its accessories such as the COROS POD 2 that we recently presented.
COROS APEX 2: DATA SHEET
- Price: 479€.
- Wright( w/nylon strap): 42 G.
- Screen size: 1.2″
- Screen resolution: 240×240
- Screen material: Sapphire crystal
- Bezel: Grade 5 titanium
- Strap: Quick adjustment band (silicone and nylon)
- Storage: 8 GB
- GPS: All satellites (GPS/QZSS+GLONASS+Galileo+BeiDou)
- Sensors: Oximeter, heart rate, electrocardiogram (HRV) sensor, barometric altimeter, accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, thermometer, wear detection sensor
- Water resistance: 5ATM
- Temperature: -30°C to 50°C
- Connections: Bluetooth, WIFI
- Maps: Standard, topographic, and hybrid offline maps
- Music: Internal memory for MP3 and music streaming in future updates
COROS APEX 2 Pro: DATA SHEET
- Price: 579€.
- Weight (with nylon strap): 53 G.
- Screen size: 1.3 inches
- Screen resolution: 260×260
- Screen material: Sapphire crystal
- Bezel: Grade 5 titanium
- Strap: Quick adjustment band (silicone and nylon)
- Storage: 32 GB
- GPS: All satellites (GPS/QZSS+GLONASS+Galileo+BeiDou) + Dual Frequency
- Sensors: Oximeter, heart rate, electrocardiogram (HRV) sensor, barometric altimeter, accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, thermometer, wear detection sensor
- Water resistance: 5ATM
- Temperature: -30°C to 50°C
- Connections: Bluetooth, WIFI
- Maps: Standard, topographic, and hybrid offline maps
- Music: Internal memory for MP3 and music streaming in future updates
As you can see in the specifications, they are two similar watches, but in the case of the APEX 2 Pro, we also get a bigger screen and more resolution, a more robust aesthetic, more memory and dual frequency in the GPS system.
COROS APEX 2 & APEX 2 Pro: WHAT IS NEW?
In the below table you can see the comparison of the main functionalities of the 5 watches from COROS.
COROS APEX 2 & APEX 2 Pro: HIGHLIGHTS
- A new redesigned optical HR sensor that detects if worn offers a higher level of accuracy for aerobic training.
- Heart rate variability monitoring (electrocardiogram sensor // HRV)
- A redesigned GPS antenna for 50% higher performance.
- Design of simple buttons with a large digital dial for operation with gloves.
- Touch screen, Mp3, Music streaming in future firmware updates,
- WiFi, dual mode, Bluetooth 5.0
- Offline global landscape and topographic maps
- A new titanium bezel with 2x more scratch resistance
- Compatibility with all satellite systems to maximize the amount of signal.
- Offline global map navigation with checkpoint support.
- A blood oxygen sensor monitors your status at altitude.
- Night mode turns on the watch face with a dim light that can last all night, and automatically turns off at dawn.
DURABILITY
The union of the sapphire crystal display, along with its new grade 5 titanium alloy bezel will protect the electronics inside the new APEX.
While the sapphire crystal remains virtually scratch-free, a new PVD coating offers twice the scratch resistance on the bezel compared to its predecessor. All this, together with the greater durability of the battery, resistance to temperature and water, makes it a watch, to use for many years.
NEW GPS SYSTEM AND MORE BATTERY
It should be noted that in this new version, the APEX have gone a step forward in quality in their battery almost doubling the numbers of their predecessors.
It includes the dual-frequency GNSS chip set of all systems that improves signal reception by 50%.
We can combine the different systems to get enough battery life for any of our races, training or rides for the amount. Let’s see here the modes and duration
Battery consumption is reduced by 50% when UltraMax mode is active.
COROS MOST ACCURATE HR MONITOR
COROS has bet big with a new heart rate monitor. We already know the COROS Training Hub that gives us all the necessary data to monitor our training and that of our athletes, but all this is not enough.
We need to feed everything with data. The new optical wrist heart rate sensor has 8 LEDs to detect every heartbeat, including SpO2. Using new advanced signal noise cancellation algorithms to make new watches deliver a new level of accuracy
We can also control the quality of sleep, since these two new models track deep, light and REM sleep, all crucial stages of the sleep cycle.
When we wake up, we can check the variability of the heart rate (HRV) that will help us determine how our body is to face daily stress. Finally, if we are training at altitude, we can check our blood oxygen level (SpO2) to control our adaptation.
COROS EFFORT PACE
Previously we have presented the new metric of COROS, the Effort Pace, a metric that seeks to better measure the effort in the race. Along with the creation of COROS EvoLab to obtain personalized information about physical fitness and the COROS Training Hub, which we have already talked about on several occasions, this metric will help us improve the data already given by the Running Power that according to the COROS work team had certain limits that the metric could not overcome.
Within a firmware update to be released alongside the COROS POD 2, the Effort Pace will be available to all COROS users. Metric easier to understand, more actionable and more complete compared to Running Power to measure our effort in the race. COROS will keep wrist-based running power in its current form, but will shift its focus to developing Effort Pace as the metric of the future.
POWER VS PACE
One of the bases of training for any type of runner has always been Heart Rate and Race Pace, however in recent years the concept of Running Power has been taken by many of these runners as a more sensitive and effective metric to align the effort of runners on uneven surfaces (climbs, descents, etc).
Using the Running Power mountain runners for example we can have more information to know how to face the slopes of a route and to be able to plan both training and race strategy. But from the COROS research team, they have identified multiple areas of improvement/concern around Running Power that we detail here.
- Running Power is a concept that comes from cycling, but does not share the same calculations. Cycling power measures the actual force the rider exerts on the pedal, but running power is simply an estimated number based on a handful of data points from the watch’s sensors. As a result, running power is not universal. Each brand has a different algorithm to estimate running power, making it difficult to compare between different platforms.
- Running Power is a difficult metric for most runners to understand. Even for those who understand power, the question “How much faster will I run if I increase the power by 25 watts? “, will differ greatly from one athlete or around another. To introduce advanced career training to a wider audience, the industry needs to lower the technical learning barrier.
- Running Power is not customized. For example, let’s say you’re the best uphill runner on the planet. While you may be able to run at 300 watts uphill for 1 hour, you may also have trouble replicating this same power on flat terrain. Runners have different strengths and weaknesses that make them unique. Running power measures your performance in absolute terms, but is limited by understanding how you perform in different conditions and environments.
Due to these limitations that the COROS team sees in the Running Power, it was decided to create the Effort Pace.
EFFORT PACE
With the launch of the new COROS POD 2, the current Adjusted Pace metric will be renamed Effort Pace. From now on, runners will see on their wrist a rhythm that accurately represents their true effort. Combining our watch with POD 2, the COROS team ensures that the Effort Pace metric is extremely sensitive and accurate. The GSP-based pace has a delay because the distance between the clock and the satellites is more than 10,000 miles.
With POD 2, the watch will communicate directly with the accessory for quick data collection and visualization by obtaining data that reflects effort in near real time The Effort Pace algorithm will be updated using a custom formula for the runner through the COROS EvoLab system and its history determining the performance in different conditions. The algorithm will learn the runner’s strengths and display them through the personalized Effort Pace (update that will be available in the coming months).
The COROS Training Hub will help along with the Effort Pace so that athletes/coaches can analyze and create more specific workouts. As the Effort Pace develops, it can be used as part of the Structured Training Planner feature. Pairing with POD 2 will not change the wrist-based running power of COROS since POD 2 does not contribute to any power calculation.
After the firmware update, the data fields related to the running power on the COROS watch will be replaced by the Effort Pace. If users want to keep data related to running power, they can manually add it back through the COROS app. The compatibility of COROS with the Stryd in-race power meter does not change.
FUTURE
The COROS sports science team will incorporate environmental factors into the Effort Pace algorithm in the future, such as temperature, humidity and altitude, among others.
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