At first look, the headline information right here is that COROS has lastly introduced an AMOLED watch. However, I really don’t assume that’s probably the most attention-grabbing piece right here.
As a substitute, it’s the truth that for the primary time in its historical past, COROS is making an attempt to compete straight price-wise, with their rivals. Usually talking, COROS will undercut its rivals (similar to with the COROS Tempo 1/2/3 & Dura). Or, they’ll fully miss on pricing, and depend on hopes and desires to promote merchandise (such because the APEX Professional 2 collection, which finally needed to regulate pricing downwards).
However the Tempo Professional, priced at $349/399EUR is the closest the corporate has ever come to matching their rivals on options and pricing. The query is, does the corporate pull it off? Whereas merely altering show kind to AMOLED would possibly sound like a simple factor, many firms, together with Suunto & Polar took months (or extra) after launch to finesse the small print. Simply slapping an AMOLED display on an present MIP-based watch leads to a poor expertise, particularly in evening. Plus, it can lead to horrific battery run occasions. COROS is aiming to keep away from that first-timer expertise with the Tempo Professional, so, let’s see how nicely it really works.
COROS despatched over a few media loaners to check out. As normal, this overview shouldn’t be sponsored (nor does any firm get to preview something I overview), and I don’t take any advertiser cash from any firms I overview. As soon as this unit goes again, I’ll exit and purchase my very own for any future testing wants. In the event you discovered this overview helpful, you need to use the hyperlinks on the backside, or contemplate changing into a DCR Supporter, which makes the positioning ad-free, whereas additionally having access to a behind-the-scenes video collection. And, after all, it makes you superior.
What’s New/Totally different:
The COROS Tempo Professional is kinda a Tempo 3, but in addition kinda not. Sure, it’s best to mentally consider it as a Tempo 3, however technologically talking…nah. In any case, it’s received a brand new processor, new coronary heart fee sensor, new GPS chipset, new show, new battery, new button sizing, new GPS antenna, new band design, new…nicely…principally the whole lot. Together with, most notably, a worth practically double that of the Tempo 3. In reality, one may principally argue that is really extra of an Apex 3 than anything. Nonetheless, we’ll proceed pretending it’s a Tempo 3+.
Right here’s the way it differs from the Tempo 3:
– Switched from MIP to AMOLED show (from 240x240px to 416x416px)
– Elevated show dimension from 1.2” to 1.3” (nonetheless mineral glass)
– Elevated case dimension from 42mm to 46mm
– Elevated button sizes and grip considerably
– AMOLED Show brightness is 1,500 nits
– New optical coronary heart fee sensor (versus Tempo 3)
– Added ECG characteristic (Observe: Not FDA/CE licensed, no Afib detection)
– New GPS chipset & antenna design (versus Tempo 3)
– Elevated GPS battery life from 25hrs to 38hrs (‘All Methods’ mode, full chart under)
– Each day smartwatch battery life 20 days (gesture show) or 6 days (always-on show)
– Switched from included cloth band to included silicon band
– Elevated inside storage from 4GB to 32GB
– Elevated processor velocity
– Added full colour maps (particulars down under)
– Elevated weight barely from 39g (silicone) to 49.1g (silicone), or 30g to 37.1g (if nylon/cloth)
– Maintains 5ATM (50m) water resistance ranking
– Maintains temp vary of -4*F to 122*f (-20*c to 50*c)
– Value will increase from $229 to $349 (although clearly, a giant characteristic bounce)
Right here’s the battery life chart:
In relation to mapping, COROS has carried out the identical model of maps as discovered on their APEX & Vertix collection watches, which I element down under. Briefly, that’s background maps, however not routable maps (you may have routes/programs and turn-by-turn instructions, however can not re-route mid-course). Nonetheless, as you’ll see, it really works completely tremendous normally. Extra importantly although, is COROS has confirmed that coming in Q1 2025, the corporate will add avenue/path names to the maps. That’s much more notable since Polar simply introduced final week, that they are going to be including POI (factors of curiosity) knowledge to their maps in Q1 2025. Now, if these two firms simply blended their efforts, we’d have the whole lot!
Within the Field:
The COROS Tempo Professional may be very comparable box-wise to different COROS merchandise, besides there are two notable variations. You’ve received the watch, a charging keyring adapter, and a few paper stuff.
Notably first, the watch now comes with a silicone band as an alternative of a light-weight cloth band. There are professionals and cons to this. On one hand, I actually appreciated the earlier cloth band. However, the material band meant that after your exercise/bathe, the material was nonetheless moist, and would depart a wetspot on something you rested your wrist on (pants, shirt, sofa, crotch, and so forth…), for about 30 minutes post-shower/pool. The silicon band is clearly dry the moment a towel is utilized to it.
The second distinction is the shortage of charging cable, and as an alternative, a charging keyring adapter. COROS has performed round with such an adapter prior to now, and third events have made one for different firms together with Garmin and Apple. Basically, you are taking your individual USB-C cable and stick it ultimately of the keyring adapter, and increase, you’ve received a charging cable. COROS says in case you can’t discover a USB cable of your individual, what rock are you residing underneath, they’ll fortunately ship you one.
The one draw back to this adapter, is COROS barely modified it (and the charging port) from all their earlier watches. It’s neither ahead nor backwards suitable. Particularly, the brand new charging port is deeper than the earlier one. And likewise, the charging adapter has a barely girthier connector, so it gained’t match older watches.
COROS says the explanation they did this was they discovered the present connector was susceptible to connection points long-term, because it wasn’t deep sufficient (Satirically, they famous the identical factor occurs on a competitor cable/port. That’s ironic, as a result of the super-snarky me would reply, ‘Effectively sure, in case you didn’t blindly copy Garmin’s connector within the first place, this wouldn’t have occurred’…however I gained’t say that…). In any case, the excellent news is I confirmed that in case you are in a pinch at a faraway race with out the brand new cable, you may safely take/steal an older cable from another person, seize a butter knife from the resort kitchen, and take away only a tiny little bit of the additional rubber on the aspect of the cable, and it’ll match simply tremendous down into the deeper port on the Tempo Professional. You’re welcome.
Sorry, the place have been we? Oh, proper, stickers:
With that, let’s discuss fundamentals.
The Fundamentals:
For this part, I’m going to concentrate on facets like each day utilization, watch fundamentals, and the whole lot non-sport. So stuff similar to exercise monitoring, sleep monitoring (and evening usability), HRV monitoring, buttons, the brand new AMOLED show and so forth…
First up, let’s get the buttons out of the way in which. The unit comply with different COROS watches, by having a Digital Crown and a secondary deviated button (however doesn’t have a 3rd button akin to the Vertix collection):
I’ve lengthy stated, whether or not it’s COROS or Apple, I don’t discover the Digital Crown all that superior on a watch (or a motorbike laptop). However I acknowledge some individuals prefer it, it’s simply not my factor. I’ll admit it really works nicely for maps (zooming in/out), however for the whole lot else I’d slightly simply have buttons.
In any case, shifting alongside to the massive ticket merchandise – the brand new AMOLED show. The COROS Tempo Professional sports activities a 1,500 nit show, which is lots sufficient for each night-time visibility, in addition to sunny seashore visibility (given I now life in the midst of the Mediterranean Sea, I can validate this works completely tremendous on the brightest of days).
Like all AMOLED shows, you’ve principally received two methods the show will be configured. The default is named ‘Gesture Primarily based’, which suggests the show turns off whenever you’re not taking a look at, after which immediately turns again on whenever you increase your wrist. Nonetheless, my choice is ‘At all times-on’ mode, which clearly takes a battery life hit (down to six days in smartwatch mode), however means the show is in a dimmed state usually, however goes to full brightness whenever you increase your wrist. Thus, whilst I kind this, you may see the time simply tremendous within the dimmed state:
After which once I rotate my wrist, it goes to full brightness:
As famous, COROS claims 6 days in always-on mode. My testing has had 1-3hrs a day of GPS exercises, and thus, I’m discovering it a lot nearer to 4 days. That is my customary method of validating this throughout all watches. Most different firms that declare this 6 days (e.g. the Garmin Fenix 8), do handle to hit the 6 days with my 1-3hrs of GPS time per day. That stated, I’m in all probability an outlier in how a lot GPS time I’m doing each day in comparison with most individuals. I’ll cowl GPS battery burn down under.
Now, at evening, the watch mechanically activates a sleep mode (based mostly in your configured sleep occasions), which drastically reduces the backlight to a non-annoying degree. It doesn’t blind you or mild up your pillow/sheets. It’s simply barely seen. It’s excellent. Although, as of this writing I can’t get again to sleep mode if I unlock the watch. COROS says a repair is coming tomorrow or the subsequent day, which ought to resolve that.
Nonetheless, my singular grievance is that COROS doesn’t have a flashlight mode, thus, you may’t leverage the ultra-bright show as a flashlight like you may on Apple/Polar/Suunto/Garmin/and so forth… COROS says that’s on the bucket checklist, however there’s no particular timeline for it.
Okay, let’s get into among the basic knowledge bits. First up, is the watch face. You possibly can select from a pair totally different watch faces, however I feel the default one is definitely fairly stable:
From there you may scroll down into the widgets, the place you’ll discover some each day stats first, summarizing your energy, steps, exercise time, and blueish blocks:
You possibly can faucet into this to see extra particulars concerning the earlier 7 days, similar to these:
After that you simply’ve received a bunch of coaching load and efficiency stats. This consists of your working health rating (and race predictor occasions), in addition to depth developments, and restoration occasions.
I’d repeat my normal grievance right here with COROS’s show of Coaching Load, which is that your coaching load resets each Monday morning, offering completely zero helpful details about your precise coaching load. Different firms present a 7-day trending worth, which helps you to really work out coaching load. Certainly one of these day’s they’ll change this:
After that you simply’ve received coronary heart fee and stress, and you may scroll over the timeline to see each your coronary heart fee values all through the day, in addition to stress values. In fact, anytime you’re understanding it’ll present you extremely pressured, no matter how gratifying that point is (different firms zero out the stress values throughout exercises).
Then we get into numerous sleep metrics, together with HRV and sleep knowledge. Begin with sleep knowledge first, you may see your nightly stats mechanically, and all of those fall-asleep/wake-up occasions have been spot-on for me.
That stated, I don’t do any form of knowledge evaluation on sleep levels/phases, as a result of even probably the most high-end comparative knowledge gadgets is barely about 80-85% correct (and we’d by no means choose HR sensors based mostly on that). Given COROS doesn’t actually do a lot else with the sleep part/stage knowledge, we don’t really want to fret about it.
Then there’s the HRV (Coronary heart Charge Variability) knowledge. HRV is a reasonably helpful metric to roughly see the way you’re recovering in addition to dealing with total each day stress (or sleep). The stated, as with all firms, needless to say HRV is closely influenced by different components too – together with alcohol, medication (good or in any other case), sleep, jetlag, stress, longer/tougher exercises, and so forth… Level being HRV is helpful, however *you* must know/establish *why* it elevated or decreased. In the event you drank 2 glasses of wine proper earlier than mattress, then it’s doubtless going to lower your HRV (in a adverse method)
Nonetheless, the numbers I see right here have been per different firms knowledge. Right here’s knowledge from final evening, for funsies:
COROS Tempo Professional: 63ms
Oura Ring V4: 67ms
Whoop 4: 62ms
In fact, all of this knowledge is coming from the up to date optical coronary heart fee sensor, which we noticed launched within the COROS Vertix 2S this previous spring, right here’s the again of the Tempo Professional:
I’ll dive into accuracy throughout sport later on this overview. Additionally be aware that COROS has an ECG mode, however that mode gained’t establish Afib circumstances, neither is it licensed by the FDA or CE (EU). As such, don’t use it as a medical system, however slightly, only a enjoyable solution to watch an ECG plot go up and down in realtime.
Lastly, after that we’ve received some basic metrics round elevation, dawn/sundown, barometric strain, climate, and textual content messages.
In relation to textual content messages, you may view primary textual content particulars, however there’s a lot room for enchancment right here. For instance, emojis don’t come by. Whereas different facets like photographs in texts are restricted by Apple (within the case of an iPhone), COROS may add photographs in texts on Android. Right here’s a textual content message comparability between a Forerunner 265 and COROS Tempo Professional (Des’s emoji’s merely vanish altogether, leaving an empty message).
In some methods, for the endurance sports activities watch firms (not on Apple Watch or WearOS), I discover textual content messages some of the uniquely correct methods of appearing as a barometer for the general smarts of a watch. On this case, COROS may do nicely to spend a while including emoji assist to benefit from that show.
Oh, and one last item is music assist. Whilst you can load music onto the system’s 32GB of inside storage, and play that again by way of headphones, greater than doubtless you gained’t. The one music supported is MP3 information that you simply personal. There’s no assist for any streaming providers (or podcasts), and realistically talking, streaming providers (e.g Spotify or YouTube Music) simply aren’t going to occur for COROS.
This citadel gates closed years in the past, and are barely even accessible for the largest of smartwatch firms delivery thousands and thousands upon thousands and thousands of items a yr. That stated, I really feel like COROS may try to bridge the hole a bit on issues like podcasts, that are completely inside their management/realm of risk.
With that, let’s discuss what you really purchased this watch: Sports activities.
Sports activities Options:
The COROS Tempo Professional has just about all of the sports activities profiles you’re doubtless to make use of, with COROS solely financial savings a handful of sports activities profiles for his or her higher-end watches, similar to numerous climbing (like mountain climbing) modes of their APEX & Vertix collection. With the sizing being fairly affordable at 46mm, it’ll work for each small wrists (like my spouse’s above), or my bigger wrists.
To being, you’ll faucet the higher proper button to see the lists of sport profiles, after which choose a profile of your selection. You too can choose structured exercises and Coaching Plan particulars from this menu, in addition to Health Assessments.
When you’ve chosen a sport profile, it’ll begin locking your coronary heart fee and discovering GPS (if outdoor). Moreover, in case you’ve received sensors paired, similar to a coronary heart fee sensor or biking sensor/energy meter, it’ll go and connect with these. Likewise, you may allow numerous pacing options and alerts (relying on the game).
You too can choose a course apart from navigate, however I cowl that down under within the ‘Mapping & Navigation’ part.
In relation to knowledge web page/discipline configuration, that’ll all occur inside the COROS smartphone app, which helps you to configure knowledge pages/fields as you see match, together with some ages which can be graphs, like elevation:
When you’re able to go, you’ll faucet the button to begin, and it’ll begin displaying the info you’ve configured and recording the exercise. Right here’s a number of knowledge pages from my path run at this time. Observe that at current it’s extremely tough to take photographs of the COROS Tempo Professional display with out getting traces on the picture. These traces don’t seem in real-life, simply in cameras. Most different manufactures really spend time to make sure the display refresh charges don’t battle with widespread digicam shutter speeds, however COROS seemingly hasn’t performed that work but (as no different AMOLED system is as unimaginable to {photograph} because the COROS Tempo Professional).
(The traces are exceptionally tough in brighter circumstances, similar to these throughout daytime sunny circumstances. It’s simpler to {photograph} indoors or in very low mild circumstances.)
When you’re performed together with your exercise, you’ll see a abstract of it on the watch, with loads of stats to scroll by:
Likewise, you may see all of those particulars within the COROS app as nicely:
And naturally, you may sync this knowledge immediately to third social gathering apps like Strava, TrainingPeaks, and others, when you’ve set them up contained in the app. In that very same app (and on the watch), you’ll additionally see stats round coaching load, Coaching Standing, Restoration, Operating Health, Biking Health, and extra:
And you may have a look at your trended load and coaching standing as nicely over numerous timeframes.
For facets like Operating Health, that’s going to rely closely on you having some fairly exhausting interval exercises in there. Whereas I’ve had a whole lot of interval exercises currently, none of them have been pain-inducing (I’ve been accompanying my spouse on her exercises), thus, I don’t actually have a brilliant stable knowledge set for it to guesstimate on. That stated, for biking, I’ve had a number of extra fairly exhausting exercises, and it appears to be fairly far under my precise biking FTP. It predicts me at 259w, when in actuality different platforms are placing me within the 290w vary proper now (which feels about proper).
Likewise, the coaching load values it’s offering on latest exercises appear double that of different platforms (together with Suunto, Garmin, and Polar.) For instance, my path run at this time on COROS was 433 (TRIMP), whereas Garmin was 227, Suunto was 208 (EPOC), Polar was 241 (TRIMP). The guts fee between these 4 gadgets was just about an identical (particularly given two of them have been related to the identical sensor/strap).
General, COROS does a very good job at recording your exercise knowledge and exhibiting you the info from it. Nonetheless, I’d like to see COROS step-up their concentrate on the coaching load items. Points like exhibiting 7-day trending load, and understanding why the coaching load values are a lot larger than their rivals, regardless of utilizing the identical theoretical formulation, are all areas to work on.
Mapping & Navigation:
Outdoors of the AMOELD show, the addition of mapping is the largest characteristic on the Tempo Professional. In fact, given the worth level (very practically that of the APEX collection), it kinda is sensible for it to be included.
The very first thing to know about mapping is the final mapping panorama when it comes to map ranges. Merely put: Simply because a watch has mapping, doesn’t imply all maps are created equal. I’ve beforehand included this little chart/checklist in different evaluations, which many individuals have stated is tremendous useful to understanding the variations:
Breadcrumb path solely: That is whenever you don’t have a background map, however simply comply with somewhat path on a clean display – that is what the COROS Tempo 3 has, in addition to Garmin Forerunner 265.
Non-routable Maps (Tempo Professional): That is when you might have a map displayed behind your route, which reveals terrain/trails/lakes/water/mountains/and so forth… Nonetheless, this isn’t routable, so it doesn’t really *know* in case you’re on the ‘Deer Lake Path’ – it simply is aware of you’re on the breadcrumb monitor. In the event you stray too removed from the path, it’ll offer you an off-course warning, but it surely can not neatly re-route you again. It simply tells you by way of compass methods to discover the path once more. That is what the Suunto Vertical & Race are, Polar Grit X2 Professional & Vantage M3/V3, in addition to all COROS APEX Professional/Vertix collection, and COROS Tempo Professional are.
Routable Maps: That is the ‘highest’ degree, and is when the watch can really route on the paths by itself, if wanted. It is aware of you’re on Deer Lake Path, and the subsequent path developing is Huge Bear Path. And it is aware of in case you miss that flip, whether or not or not it is advisable turn-around, or can catch-up in a while. That is what a lot of the higher-end Garmin gadgets are (any gadgets with mapping, just like the Fenix/Epix collection, or higher-end Forerunners).
Now, simply because the COROS items don’t have routable maps, doesn’t imply they aren’t helpful. Removed from it. I solely use routable maps on a mountaineering system maybe as soon as per yr (admittedly, once I do use it, it tends to be tremendous necessary – like escaping an incoming storm within the excessive Alps). Nonetheless, I don’t see it as a mission-critical characteristic for my utilization. Observe that for biking, I do see it as extra crucial, given the huge variations in street biking versus mountaineering on trails (distances traveled, speeds, variability, and so forth.…).
So, let’s have a look at at this time’s path run as a easy instance of how issues work. First up is creating the route. You are able to do that in Strava, Koomoot, the COROS app itself, or any GPX file you wish to import. In my case, I created the route in Strava, after which it synced to the COROS app. You possibly can see it, together with different routes, right here within the app:
From there you’ll must manually choose it, and sync it to the watch. Once more, I’m going to be nitpicky there: There’s simply no cause for that. Once I create a route on Strava/Komoot/and so forth, and it’s starred/favorited, it ought to immediately sync/push all the way in which to the watch. They’ve received 32GB of storage on there, sufficient for hundreds of routes. Garmin, Polar, Wahoo, and so forth… all function this manner – on the spot sync.
As soon as synced, you’ll have it in your watch to execute. To take action, first choose the game profile you wish to use (similar to working or biking), then inside that, choose navigation and select your route (in my case, Sunday Lighthouse):
You possibly can see particulars concerning the route, together with the gap and elevation profile. You too can toggle on/off turn-by-turn prompts (on by default), in addition to off-course alerts (referred to as deviate alerts).
Then, when you’re out on the route navigating you’ll see your course overlaid on the underlying maps, and an arrow with the path you need to be touring. As you method every flip, you’ll get a briefly showing arrow on which path to go (I don’t perceive why this arrow doesn’t simply keep current like each different firm):
(On a two-hour path run, that is the only body that’s usable with out black traces. It’d be higher if I went out at sundown, however truthfully, COROS ought to have spent the time to make sure outside daytime photographs of their watch are usable. Each different firm does.)
In the event you go off-course, you’ll get a ‘Deviation’ alert after about 50m. This allows you to know that it is advisable re-think your life (and path) decisions and alter issues. The COROS watch gained’t re-route in any capability, so it’s as much as you to make things better and get your self again on the road.
Nonetheless, having the off-course alerts and underlying map make it far simpler to route out on trails and repair errors. You possibly can simply see on the path map the ‘improper’ trails, so yo know you’re on the ‘proper’ path. Talking of seeing issues, you’ll additionally see the place you might be elevation-wise in your course.
Now, speaking about these maps COROS has, there’s topographic particulars, however no different factors of curiosity or labels on them (once more, COROS says that path/street labels are coming in Q1 2025). So at the very least as of now, you may’t see the street/path/lake/mountain/and so forth names as you’d on Garmin’s maps. Generally, that’s not an enormous deal, to be sincere. More often than not I’m in numerous international international locations, and these names are hardly ever tremendous useful to me (since I can’t pronounce them in any case and barely matter to the precise route navigation). However once more, in case you have been speaking street biking or biking on the whole, these are way more necessary.
You possibly can obtain maps by selecting them inside the app utilizing the Map Supervisor. All of the maps are free, globally. One of many issues I like most about COROS’s maps although is the truth that I can really obtain them over Bluetooth. Each different firm requires downloading map tiles by way of WiFi, because of the bigger dimension of the map tiles (Bluetooth isn’t good for giant knowledge, simply small bits). In COROS’s case, they’ve sub-divided up the world right into a gazillion map tiles, so that you simply choose the tiles you want, and select to obtain by way of WiFi or Bluetooth:
Once more, about 90% of the time I notice I don’t have the best tile once I get to my vacation spot nation, and so the power to shortly achieve this by way of Bluetooth from my telephone is a large ass-saver in comparison with making an attempt to get them by way of WiFi (as watches can’t leverage resort networks because of the sign-in immediate).
As with the coaching load bits, COROS has the majority of these items proper. But, there’s nonetheless good room for enchancment, particularly across the route/course workflow, and I’d like to see a ClimbPro like characteristic that mechanically reveals every upcoming climb, similar to they’ve on their Dura biking laptop (and their rivals have too, together with Suunto & Garmin for mountaineering/working).
Accuracy (GPS & Coronary heart Charge):
First, we’ll begin on the center experience aspect with one thing simple – a 45min indoor biking coach experience. That is usually the simplest factor for optical coronary heart fee sensors to deal with, since you might have minimal hand motion, and no street vibrations to cope with. As you may see, issues are nearly an identical right here versus the chest strap, only a slight little bit of delay on the recoveries for a number of seconds, considerably widespread with optical HR sensors, however principally good.
Subsequent, let’s kick it up with some exterior working, this time a virtually 2-hour lengthy path run. This had loads of ups and downs (each depth and elevation), to judge. Thus in impact, numerous little intervals when it comes to depth. That is in comparison with each a chest strap, the Whoop 4 optical HR sensor on an arm band, and the Polar Vantage M3’s optical HR sensor:
As you may see above, fairly darn comparable throughout the board. And if I zoom into a kind of impromptu intervals, all of them pattern pretty shut collectively:
Okay, so let’s step up – right here’s an interval exercise from a number of days in the past. This one consists of 2-min, 1-min, and 30-sec intervals. As you may see, it’s very very shut:
About the one quibble I’d have is the restoration on some intervals is a bit delayed, however once more, not sufficient that I’d be involved with it:
In the meantime, a special day for some longer 12-minute intervals, it’s principally spot on, no complaints:
Lastly, some of the tough issues is outside biking, so, let’s check out that on this practically 3 hour route up within the mountains:
Yup, the battle bus was actual there. Just about continuously unusable knowledge throughout the board from the COROS Tempo Professional:
Positively one of many worst optical HR performances I’ve seen this yr in outside biking.
So, looking on the GPS aspect of issues, we’ll begin off simple like with the center fee bits – on this looping interval run. This specific run didn’t have a lot in the way in which of dense bushes or buildings. It was slightly simple:
Nonetheless, it was notable to take a look at the cornering, and total it did fairly nicely right here. It appeared to have tighter tracks every loop than among the different items – I ran in the very same spot every time on this part (a comparatively skinny sidewalk part):
Likewise, a number of days earlier on a comparatively comparable route with a lot overlap, excellent:
Subsequent, taking a look at GPS, beginning off with that path run, once more, issues at a excessive degree look principally an identical to the Garmin Forerunner 265, Suunto Race S, and Polar Vantage M3. All of those have been in multiband mode:
If we zoom down a bit into the bushes, we are able to see that at a medium zoom degree, once more, issues look fairly comparable:
Nonetheless, once I zoom all the way in which down, for no matter cause, the COROS Tempo Professional is simply barely offset from the remaining. Not a lot, maybe 2-4 meters at most. However it’s persistently offset just about your complete run (you may click on the hyperlink to see/transfer across the full map).
Growing complexity, we’ll head up into the mountains on a street experience. This route has loads of very difficult switchbacks in opposition to mountain cliff faces, which have been down each going up in addition to doing down at velocity.
Zooming in on a neater tree part first, wanting fairly good:
After which one other busy switchback part alongside cliff edges, and likewise, very stable:
In reality, it’s maintaining completely with devoted biking GPS computer systems with out situation:
Lastly, we’ve received an openwater swim. On this case the COROS Tempo Professional on one wrist, and the Garmin Forerunner 265 on the opposite wrist. At a excessive degree, this appears to be like to be an enormous enchancment over…nicely…each different COROS watch thus far, which have all failed my openwater swim checks badly, so this can be a large enchancment:
If we zoom in, we see somewhat little bit of nook reducing. Not drastically so, but it surely’s there. Nonetheless, for COROS, this can be a large leap ahead, and the primary time I’ve ever seen a usable swim monitor from the corporate:
General, I’m fairly proud of each coronary heart fee and GPS efficiency right here. The one drawback right here is outside biking, which many watches can battle with, although the Tempo Professional undoubtedly struggles greater than most. However in any other case, it seems stable.
Oh – and as for battery life, whereas, that’s a bit trickier. I used to be seeing some vastly dangerous battery life performances on a latest bike experience (~10%/hour), and introduced it to the eye of COROS. In doing a little dives into my logs, they discovered a uncommon bug that may principally trigger the GPS chipset to go loopy. They’ve launched a repair for that, which is able to barely cut back GPS accuracy in sure eventualities, within the meantime. That repair will go-live at this time for all customers. Once I don’t run into that GPS situation, in dual-frequency GPS, I’m getting roughly 5%/hour battery burn. Although, that path run above signifies a slight offset, which can be because of the decrease accuracy mode required to sidestep the GPS battery burn situation. COROS says they they’ve an actual repair within the coming days which is able to get the GPS accuracy again to the unique modes, with out the battery burn.
Wrap-Up:
Finally, I feel COROS has constructed a really stable watch right here, arguably one in all their finest watches I’d say. The display is good and works nicely, and the GPS & coronary heart fee might be the perfect we’ve seen on a COROS watch (irrespective of the worth level). Talking of that worth, whereas it’s certainly larger than the unique COROS Tempo 3, it’s inline with the above watches Suunto Race S ($349), Polar Vantage M3 ($399), and Garmin Forerunner 265 ($449). These watches all have barely totally different options, some extra, some much less. For instance, the Garmin Forerunner 265 lacks maps however has different sports activities options in addition to streaming music platforms and contactless funds. However if you’d like maps, it’s the improper selection. I’ll dive into all that stuff in my subsequent publish/video, as I’ve been utilizing them side-by-side to check.
In any occasion, the Tempo Professional is undoubtedly going to kick off the AMOLED transition for COROS. Whereas they stated they’ll at all times maintain MIP based mostly fashions round, I think like Garmin that’ll principally solely find yourself being small fraction of their items. Finally, in all probability only a single product line. With battery life on AMOLED items beginning to rival that of MIP-based items (particularly in GPS modes), there’s merely much less and fewer cause to have a MIP based mostly show. Much more in order firms nuance that backlight to keep away from it being distracting (an are that COROS does nicely for it’s first try, however leaves somewhat little bit of polish to complete up on).
Finally, this watch is correct there within the combine and extremely aggressive, and also you gained’t go improper with it.
With that, thanks for studying!
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