Just a super quick post to note that I’ve published a full unboxing of the COROS VERTIX 2, but more notably a complete user interface tour. In the video I walk through all the pieces of the watch from a feature standpoint, piece by piece and at a slower (but far more detailed) pace than I could within my full review video (‘11 New Things to Know’). Because of course, in my user interface videos I throw time (caution) to the wind and just keep digging till I’m done digging.
If you open up the full video above there’s chapters in it (along the bottom in the YouTube player), or here’s the timestamps for various pieces (with clickable links!):
0:00 Unboxing the Box
3:30 Weight Comparison
5:49 Widgets Explainer
8:23 Toolbox Features
9:47 Music Features
11:40 Insta360 Camera Control
12:47 ECG HRV Feature
13:54 Sport Modes
14:23 Mapping
20:14 Workout History
22:15 Bluetooth Sensor Pairing
23:20 Extra Settings and Options
Now that’ll keep ya busy for a while. But, here’s one totally random tidbit from COROS that I thought deserved about 18 seconds somewhere in a post: They’re planning a desktop platform.
While reading through the COROS Facebook User Group, I stumbled upon the below tidbit. Essentially, people were having trouble with the COROS site and pre-orders yesterday for a short bit if coming from a smartphone. One person remarked it was ironic that you couldn’t access the site from a smartphone, while COROS’s watch can only be accessed from a smartphone. In any case, COROS responded back:
I’ll note that I’ve always been pretty impressed with COROS’s engagement in this Facebook group. Certainly, engagement by companies in various social media platforms is nothing new, but COROS does seem to outline many of their future plans here (usually just smaller tidbits, but still).
As far as a desktop platform, my guess here is this is more in reference to a web platform accessible from desktop (à la Garmin Connect or Polar Flow websites), rather than desktop software. Or at least, I’d hope so. In fact, we’ve seen little tidbits of that from time to time from COROS, such as their web portal for at least seeing your activity list (nothing is clickable below for more details, it’s just a simple list). Same goes for seeing all your products too, as well as the ability to import data into it too.
In any case, I thought the snippet above was worth a brief mention somewhere.
With that, back to editing the backlog of videos and posts from the past three weeks of shooting! Coming up next we’ve got both an Openwater Swim Extravaganza/Shootout, and a Bike Computer Climbing Shootout. And plenty more…
Thanks for reading (and watching)!
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Hey Ray, thanks again for your work. As I already asked in terms of the Garmin Enduro how does the Vertix behave concerning the calculation of the current running pace during a run on a road/ path with trees alongside. Garmin has ever since the lauch of the Fenix Watches the problem, that current pace suddenly drops down 30 sec and more once entering an area with trees alongside. Suunto 9 Baro does a perfect job in this matter maybe due to its addional fused speed etc. What can yo honestly tell here about the vertix 2? Thx a lot in advance.
I didn’t see pacing as an issue for me, including on paths with trees. But then again, I don’t tend to see the issue you describe on Garmin watches either. :-/
I’d appreciate a test of this as I think it is an excellent question. I’d love to see more reviews evaluating current pace during various activities. I have a Grit X and instant pace isn’t really usable due to fluctuation. I’ve assumed all watches with the Sony GNSS chip have the same issue but perhaps Suunto does a better job by utilizing the Fuse speed? And then what about non Sony Vertix 2?
This is a very interesting question to me too! I have the same problems with pacing here in my hilly area and it would be great if Coros could make a remarkable difference. What I think: If Coros could make power from the wrist nearly as accurate as a Stryde sensor, why not for pace? So: New chipset, dual frequency GPS-mode and reliable power algorithms MUST bring pacing to a new standard, isn’t it?
Wow, they really hard at work at Coros.
If they also work on custom watch face support and some form of watch payment platform say via partnership with Paypal or Masterpass, they could take serious market share away from Garmin.
Great review as usual. One thing I always want in a watch is to know the screens available when running races. My Fenix will show just exact pace, or pace plus distance etc. When I upgrade, I need a watch that will also do that, so I would appreciate it if you always added that to your reviews.
Thanks. I try and include the data fields in most of my reviews, though these days the available list of data fields is massive. Pace/distance/etc are on virtually every watch. Where we tend to see differences is things like cycling metrics such as normalized power, TSS, IF, etc…
Why Vertix 2 not present on FCCID ?
I don’t believe it has to be present until they start shipping.
Is it me or does the screen seem pretty dim?
It is a little bit dim, but it’s a little bit due to the fact that much of the video focuses on the menu system, and as a result is in the portions of the watch that are white text on black background. Whereas normal sport sections are black text on white background.
I think it is because of the sapphire glass! I have a F6S with sapphire and a F6X with gorilla glass. The difference between the sharpness and readability of the screens is huge. The higher scratch resistance of the sapphire must be bought by much less eye-friendly conditions of this material.
Garmin watches have the ability to adjust the backlight. Even on an old Fenix3 the sapphire is no issue since the backlight can be adjusted if necessary. Sure it affects the battery life, but having the option doesn’t affect the battery. But sapphire is Coros’ go to reason for it being difficult, rather than the limitation forced by their lockdown.
Thanks for the review, zooming in and out of the maps seems to be a bit slow on your video (at least it’s not instant from what i can see, there is a short lag between the button press and the result).
Can you confirm ?
Thanks; Pascal
Correct, it’s a little bit laggy in real-life across all geographies I’ve tried. That said, it’s roughly on-par with the lag you’d see in a Garmin Fenix or such.
I generally didn’t find the zooming/panning much of a problem in real-life, since you tend to rarely do that unless either actively lost or trying to go off-route. The main issue I discussed in my main review was the extra rotational bits, where it would take 6-8 seconds if running and raising your wrist, before the map would stabilize to your actual heading (and would rotate in circles till then). COROS says they’re working to fix that.
Hey Ray, thanks for this! Do you know if there are any plans for the widgets to make their way to the PACE 2?