COROS PACE 3 - first impressions
author: ralpu
September 20, 2023
Introduction
The PACE model in the COROS portfolio is the embodiment of a GPS watch with an excellent price-performance ratio. It is very popular among customers - especially for its price tag. And it is certainly a unisex model - popular among both men and women. From interaction with customers, it follows that the most common reason for purchasing the PACE model is the desire to break away from simple and cheap fitness bracelets that measure calories burned or the number of steps taken. I hear from customers that they have encountered inaccuracies, unreliability, or they want something more serious and accurate. But they do not want to invest too much in a new watch and will not suffer from premium materials. In short - they look at things very practically. For the last three years, this function in the COROS portfolio has been fulfilled by the PACE 2 model. At the end of August 2023, the COROS brand launched a successor - the new PACE 3 model. And the huge interest from customers took the COROS brand by surprise - the demand is so great that in Slovakia, the planned September launch has had to be postponed until late autumn.
A few weeks ago I received a test PACE 3, which I used intensively in dozens of training sessions, in everyday life, and also compared with the APEX 2 Pro model. I bring observations and impressions from use and also share details that one notices only when using it. I only complete the overall picture with a rich photo gallery.
Removing the biggest limitation
COROS presented the PACE 2 model as a secondary, complementary watch for athletes who specialize in road and track running. That's why the face of this model is Eliud Kipchoge. (Read more about the COROS brand's collaboration with Kipchoge on the blog .) COROS adapted everything to this goal - a weight of only 29 grams (the lightest GPS watch at the time of launch), a separate sports profile for track running with the ability to specify which lane we are running in. However, COROS went even further and deliberately did not add activities such as trail running, hiking or winter sports to the watch. It was always frustrating to explain to customers that sports activities that are so popular in Slovakia are missing from the PACE 2. Many people reported to me how these limitations were frustrating - they performed trail running activities under the run activity, then synced the activity to Strava, where they re-categorised it as trail running, so they could see, for example, monthly statistics for this activity.
I repeatedly gave the brand feedback so that the successor to the PACE 2 model would remove this limitation - imposed by the brand itself. And COROS listened to the feedback - more than I thought. In June 2023, almost three years after its launch, a huge update came to the PACE 2 model, which added GPS navigation to the watch for free. However, the COROS brand nailed it by launching the PACE 3 model, which has no limitations (in terms of the sports activities offered). The PACE 3 is thus a full-fledged GPS watch in which the user can also find trail running, hiking and winter sports - skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding.
Good news for PACE 2 users too - according to available information, the missing activities will be added to the watch for free via a software update in the coming months. In other words - after more than three years, the PACE 2 model will get completely new activities - for free.
What's new
For COROS, the typical three-year product cycle in technology provides enough time for the successor model to gain significantly better parameters. Here is a list of the most important innovations.
A completely new GPS chip that now also supports dual-frequency GPS. (Read more about this new technology in the blog article .) This technological innovation in the last 2-3 years has usually been reserved only for flagships. For example, Apple added it to the Apple Watch Ultra - but those cost more than 800 Euros. Garmin also uses this technology in its top models. COROS - as is customary for this brand - brings this technology to GPS watches with a price tag of under 250 Euros. Which is certainly a first.
The watch display now also supports touch control. More about the display itself below.
Internal memory with a capacity of 4 GB reserved for music. It is possible to transfer legally purchased songs in MP3 format to the watch. However, there is no support for streaming services (e.g. Spotify or Apple Music). With this offer, COROS rather addresses the needs of those who do not want to carry their phone with them during training, but want to listen to music through wireless headphones.
The new sports activities already mentioned above: trail running, hiking and winter sports - skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding.
A new sensor for measuring blood oxygen saturation - SpO 2. The data from this measurement indicates the state of our body.
Now with Wi-Fi support. The watch can be connected to your home Wi-Fi network for even faster syncing of workouts or downloading software updates.
Support for ANT+ wireless communication has been removed. Additional devices such as chest straps, various bicycle sensors, etc. must support the Bluetooth wireless protocol. COROS is taking an uncompromising approach to this issue - it has replaced the archaic and limiting ANT+ protocol on all new models with a more modern Bluetooth, which supports higher data throughput and several simultaneous connections at once.
GPS navigation, which will become even better in a few months. COROS PACE 3 has full-fledged GPS navigation with the usual functions - route navigation, which can be imported into the watch as a GPX file, or you can click on the route on the map directly in the COROS app (Route Planner) or on the web. There is also the option to synchronize the route with the Strava service (Strava Route Sync). The watch will then navigate on the desired route and warn you if you deviate from the route. It is also possible to record a point (GPS coordinates) on the route, and be guided back to the starting point (Back To Start function). However, this entire navigation experience will be improved in a few months, when the watch will also add Turn-By-Turn navigation similar to car navigation. At the moment, this feature is in public beta testing. We have something to look forward to.
First impressions and details
The biggest surprise for me was the display on the watch. Already last year, when the APEX 2 Pro was launched, I noticed that it had a brighter display compared to the Vertix 2. However, I was not prepared for the fact that less than a year later, when the PACE 3 was launched, COROS would use an even better Memory LCD display. I realized this change when I was able to compare the PACE 3 and APEX 2 Pro directly on my hands while wearing both watches at the same time. Although the display resolution on the cheaper PACE 3 is slightly lower than on the APEX 2 Pro (240 x 240 versus 260 x 260 px), the readability and contrast on the PACE 3 are better. Sometimes customers ask why COROS watches don't have an AMOLED display. The answer is simple: the Memory LCD in COROS watches is much more energy efficient and is better readable in direct sunlight. A new feature is the ability to automatically turn on Night Mode, which gently illuminates the display during activity between one hour before sunset and one hour after sunrise, with minimal impact on battery life. For those who prefer a bright display even when using it indoors, for example at work, there is the Gesture Backlight function, which automatically illuminates the display when the watch is pointed at the face. In addition, reviews of the PACE 3 model on YouTube point out that compared to the PACE 2 model, where the backlight shifted the display color to a cool blue and the display contrast decreased slightly, the PACE 3 model has a homogeneous display backlight, which, on the contrary, significantly increases the contrast and the black color becomes even deeper and without a shift to a blue tint. To sum up - COROS has gone all out with the display on the new PACE 3 - it is fantastic and it is a pleasant surprise.
Another pleasant surprise is the nylon strap. At first glance, it is different from the traditional nylon straps used on COROS watches. Compared to the previous nylon straps, the new strap on the PACE 3 is slightly elastic, which allows for even more precise adjustment of tightening and loosening when wearing. It is also more pleasant to the touch compared to the previous generation. As for the new silicone strap, I did not have the opportunity to try it, but reviews on YouTube confirm that this silicone strap is also slightly more elastic than the previous generation. This brings me to the next news.
The optical heart rate sensor is carried over from the APEX 2 and APEX 2 Pro models, which is great news, as this module is comfortable to wear and accurate. You can read more about the accuracy of the optical heart rate sensor in the APEX 2 Pro review on the blog . The biggest challenges to the accuracy of the optical heart rate sensor are sunlight penetration to the module when the watch is not tightened enough, and vibrations and micro-movements of the watch on the wrist during activity. This is where the new PACE 3 shines. The new slightly elastic strap allows for precise tightening (and thus minimizing light penetration to the module). With a watch weighing only 30 grams with a nylon strap, micro-movements of the watch on the wrist are minimized, which has a positive effect on the accuracy of the heart rate measurement. This fact is also confirmed by other reviews on YouTube, which state that lighter watches are more accurate in measuring heart rate.
The weight difference between the PACE 3 and APEX 2 Pro is more than 20 grams, and it is immediately noticeable when wearing them together. The PACE 3 is so light that it is almost unnoticeable on the wrist and resembles a fitness bracelet more than a watch.
COROS also won with the materials used - the bezel around the display is slightly raised above the mineral glass display glass and to the naked eye it is clear that it is a different, more durable material than the one used on the watch body. In the case of both the black and white versions of the PACE 3, the bezel around the display is black. This is a practical choice on the part of COROS, as a possible scratch is certainly less visible on black plastic than on white. For detailers, I would like to remind you that there is a distinctive COROS logo along the edge of the PACE 3 display. In the case of the APEX 2 and APEX 2 Pro, the logo is embossed into the metal bezel around the display and is less noticeable. The display glass in the PACE 3 is made of mineral glass. In the case of the PACE 2, 99% of customers also bought a protective glass screen protector with the watch, which can increase the durability of the watch display by up to 250% and I definitely recommend the protective glass for the PACE 3 , which is available in the ralp e-shop.
I compared the PACE 3 with the APEX 2 Pro - I wore them at the same time during the same training. Both watches recorded the same data, plus or minus. The APEX 2 Pro was a little more conservative in the measured distance and elevation. And although both models apparently use the same GPS chip, the accuracy of the measured results is affected by various factors - e.g. wearing 2 watches at the same time, and a different architecture of the GPS antenna on the watch (PACE 3 is made only of plastic, APEX 2 Pro contains a lot of titanium on the body). I assume that the software and algorithms in PACE 3 will be further tuned and refined by the COROS brand. For an even more detailed comparison of the accuracy of GPS recording and heart rate measurement, I recommend watching a few YouTube videos (the list is below), which highlight the accuracy of the recordings. The tests were performed much more perfectly than in my case and the results were compared with models from other brands, or with a classic chest strap.
During use, I also paid attention to the battery life. In training, I use the GPS mode recommended by the COROS brand itself - All Systems On. That is, the watch connects to the available satellites of the American GPS, Russian GLONASS, European Galileo, Chinese Beidou and Japanese QZSS GPS systems. In this mode, the battery has a declared life of up to 25 hours. From my observations, one hour of activity in the aforementioned GPS mode will drain approximately 4% of the battery. And so 100% / 4% = 25 hours. Which fits with what the COROS brand claims. Of course, there is also a more economical mode available, when the watch connects only to the satellites of the American GPS system and in this mode the battery life is up to 38 hours. In general, I can say that the 25-hour battery life in the recommended GPS All Systems On mode will easily cover the needs of the vast majority of people. Of course, the battery needs to be charged more often than in the case of the APEX 2 Pro, but the PACE 3 costs half as much. As is customary with the COROS brand - the battery life is on par.
COROS PACE 3 Reviews on YouTube
And here are the promised COROS PACE 3 reviews on YouTube from respected reviewers focused on sports GPS watches.
Summary
COROS listened to customer feedback and the new PACE 3 model eliminated all the limitations of its predecessor. Now it is a full-fledged GPS watch with sports activities that an ordinary person needs. Moreover, although this is the entry level GPS watch in the COROS brand offer with a price tag of 249 Euros, it also has full-fledged GPS navigation, which will soon also gain Turn-By-Turn navigation. There is also a dual-frequency GPS module, which has so far been reserved - across all brands in this segment - only for top models. It is no wonder that there is huge interest in the watch and COROS cannot produce it.
I was personally impressed by the perfectly readable display - especially in strong and direct sunlight. Furthermore, the extremely low weight, which puts the watch more into the fitness bracelet segment, not a watch. It is difficult to describe low weight in words, because a person fully realizes the meaning of these words only when wearing it. It is very liberating to use a watch that you basically don't even feel when you are wearing it. I was pleased with the new slightly elastic nylon strap, which, together with the larger width (22mm, previously 20mm), makes wearing the watch during activity and in everyday life very pleasant. All other features and innovations - such as better battery life, touch screen, new sensors, higher quality materials, etc. are just the icing on the cake. As many reviews state - there is currently no GPS watch on the market with such a set of functions and parameters in the price category up to 250 Euros.
What is missing from the watch? Many customers would welcome the possibility of loading a payment card into the watch so that they can pay with the watch in certain situations. In this case, it is not such a trivial matter, the solution of which lies solely on the shoulders of the COROS brand. It requires a global setting of cooperation with banks, payment card issuers, regulatory authorities, etc. COROS has been actively exploring this agenda for several years and we can all hope that this feature will be added to COROS watches in the future.
So who is the PACE 3 for? For people who want to buy their first GPS watch. Furthermore, for people who want to break away from the category of simple fitness bracelets. However, also for sports enthusiasts who look at the whole matter very practically and do not suffer from premium materials and extreme battery life. The COROS PACE 3 can reliably record more or less any sports activity, can navigate the route and offers excellent battery life. And that is enough for the vast majority of people in the sports community. It seems that the COROS PACE 3 model will appeal to a lot of people, since there is currently nothing similar in this price category...
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Photo gallery
A rich photo gallery that will complete the picture of the appearance and size of the watch on men's and women's wrists.
