Companies like Samsung with the Watch 6 Classic and Apple with the Watch Series 9 have dominated the U.S. smartwatch scene. However, in the past five years, a lesser-known Chinese company has made significant inroads into fitness-focused, running-oriented smartwatches. Coros started on Kickstarter in 2016, making smart cycling helmets.
After several successful campaigns, Coros launched the Pace in 2018. The Pace 3 is Coros’ latest and best watch yet, and despite being priced lower than similarly featured running watches from the likes of Garmin and Polar, the Pace 3 is more than capable of standing out in a crowded field.
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Corus pes 3
The Coros Pace 3 is a smartwatch that focuses specifically on outdoor fitness and running. From the reflective MIP LCD to the dual-band GNSS satellite antenna, you won’t find this many features in any other watch at this price. And it looks really good, too.
- Reflective screen, pixel memory
- Long battery life
- Dual-band GPS
- Non USB-C Charger
- No third-party apps
- Cumbersome user interface
Price and availability
The Coros Pace 3 is available at a handful of retailers, including Best Buy and Amazon, and through the Coros website. However, the price may vary depending on which band you choose. With the silicone band, you can get this device for $230. If you want to buy the nylon band, depending on the color you choose, the price could go up to $250.
If you prefer a silicone band, Coros offers the basic black and white. You can also get more color options for the nylon band, including an Eilud Kipchoge addition that features a vibrant zigzag design. Of course, third-party options are available if you don’t like what Coros has to offer.
What’s good about Coros Pace 3?
The first thing that got me excited about buying the Pace 3 was its display. Most smartwatch displays today rely on OLED technology due to its low power consumption compared to traditional LCDs (the great contrast doesn’t hurt either). The Pace 3 uses a transflective LCD, which is the same as a traditional LCD, only instead of having a power-hungry LED backlight, it has a reflective back that uses ambient light to illuminate the color liquid crystal array (there’s a backlight if you need it, which means this is technically a transflective LCD).
Additionally, the watch uses what is called memory-in-pixel technology. Each pixel on the display has its own memory that stores its display state. This means that the pixels on the watch face remain on without any power input, so the only time the watch uses power to display them is when something changes.
OLED displays are great but they can’t outperform sunlight, making them difficult to view in direct sunlight.
Why am I saying this? OLED displays are great but they don’t shine through the sun, making them hard to see in direct sunlight. On the other hand, RLCD displays are more vibrant when in direct sunlight, which is where you’re likely to be when you’re running outside the gym. And what about the MIP technology? That means you can go three weeks between charges, or 36 hours if you’re using GPS nonstop. Those are pretty good numbers, considering the Pace 3 only has a 236mAh battery.
Speaking of GPS, the Pace 3 has a dual-band GPS antenna, which means it has more accurate satellite tracking than many phones, especially in areas with trees or buildings. In addition to GPS (operated by the US government), the Pace 3 can also take advantage of the global navigation satellite systems GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (European Union), Beidou (China), and QZSS (Japan).
Based on this hardware profile, the Coros Pace 3 is the first fitness wearable that focuses on outdoor movement-based exercise, and the onboard software does an excellent job of giving you access to that data. Rotating the bezel lets you scroll through the information it records, such as steps, heart rate, calories burned, and floors climbed. It also gives you ambient data, such as barometric altimetry, temperature, and time until sunset.
While you can see your stats right on the watch face, the details are stored on your phone via the app. As a data geek, I love details. And since the Pace 3 is a running watch, this is where it really excels, tracking metrics like pace and running cadence, all the things you want to track if you’re trying to improve your time or distance, and metrics that traditional smartwatches tend to ignore.
I especially liked the ability to input my own workout into individual exercises and target muscle groups. It takes some patience to put a workout together, but once you do, you can track how long you spend on each exercise, your average heart rate, and calories burned (for both the total workout and each exercise in your workout).
What’s bad about Coros Pace 3?
There’s a lot to like about the Coros Pace 3, but there are still a few things wrong with it, most of which have to do with its desire to be as independent from my phone as possible. For example, I like to listen to Spotify while I exercise, and I want a watch that lets me skip the occasional song without fiddling with my phone.
Not only can I no I can control Spotify from the Pace 3, but it doesn’t support any third-party apps. Interestingly, the Pace 3 does have a music playback control feature, but you have to upload music to the watch (it has 2GB of storage), and it only supports MP3 files. I should be clear here: while this isn’t ideal for me, I can see how it would be great for a runner who wants to listen to something while running but doesn’t want to be weighed down by their phone while running a 10K.
You can get your music onto the Pace 3 the same way you charge it: through a proprietary non-standard port. Fortunately, Coros had the good sense to use the same charger with the Pace 2 and the Apex and Vertix line of watches, so there’s at least some cross-compatibility within the Coros lineup.
I mentioned that I liked the ability to input my workouts using the Coros app and track them using the watch, but there was a steep learning curve when setting up my first workout. It’s not intuitive to figure out all the options or how they will appear when working out. For example, I have 30 seconds of planks followed by 30 seconds of burpees in my workout. Inputting exercises isn’t a huge issue, but it’s not obvious upon first use that the Pace 3 will move from one timer to the next immediately without incorporating a rest period.
Because you have to edit your workouts from your phone, fixing them on the go is next to impossible. However, once you take the time to set up a workout (about 15 minutes, depending on your workout) and get rid of all the hassle associated with it, it’s a pretty great feature.
And because you have to modify your workouts from your phone, fixing them on the go is impossible.
The app has a lot of great features (I love the activity tracking), but it makes some weird choices from a UI perspective. The most frustrating thing for me was the inability to swipe left or right between the four main tabs. Tapping the icon isn’t tedious, but it feels like I’m He should Being able to scroll, and it’s annoying when I can’t.
I also had a hard time figuring out how to set up tracks. First, you have to draw the track in the Explore tab. Then, once you save it, you have to go to the watch settings in another tab, add the track, and then sync it to the watch. This seems like a lot of work for a basic feature on the watch.
Should you buy it?
I know I just finished complaining about some of the Coros Pace 3’s features, but I love this watch. However, it’s not for everyone. If you’re looking for third-party app support or NFC functionality, you’ll need to look elsewhere because this is a device that’s primarily focused on fitness and activity. Likewise, if you’re easily frustrated by technology, the Pace 3 may have more features than you need or want.
On the other hand, if you’re a runner or just a serious athlete, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better GPS watch that’s specifically designed for your needs. The combination of dual-band GPS, an outdoor-friendly reflective display, and a price tag of just $229 makes the Pace 3 hard to pass up.
Corus pes 3
The Coros Pace 3 isn’t the perfect watch for every situation (no NFC, no app support), but if you’re trying to get in shape and running is part of your plan, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a smartwatch that serves you as well as the Pace 3.
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