58 thoughts on “the Coros Vertix 2 Review vs Garmin Fenix 6 Pro & Enduro – Everything You Need To Know”

1. I’m going to be keeping my eyes peeled for your comments about GNSS performance both re accuracy and re actual vs. claimed battery drain. Also interested in how the HRV functionality performs. However, I fear that the sheer size of the Vertix 2 will be a deal breaker for us small-wristed folk; the diameter of that beast is literally larger than my wrist is wide! I hope the company will come up with a 2s version at some point that’s closer in size to the original Vertix. And until then, the prospect of getting maps on said original Vertix makes me very happy, because maps were why I was originally going to get a Fenix 6X. In the event, it was a choice between maps and full native Stryd integration and Stryd won out, but I do have a hankering for onboard maps as well. 😁

   1. yes it’s big!
      such watches are sometimes worn in cold climates outside thicker clothing

2. Wow, they caught up on maps, music and widget glances and are ahead with ecg, hrv, multi frequency gps, multiple input support (touch screen and buttons), battery life and marketing (usage of Eluid).

   1. Still behind Garmin on mapping (no routing/navigation), music (no streaming service) and widgets/widget glances (no 3rd party etc). Not even close to being even.

      And they are roughly even (not ahead) on ECG/HRV (ECG not acruelly implemented, HRV has been on Garmin for years) and GPS (dual frequency should be better, but at least so far isn’t).
      And the input interface looks good on paper but it almost universally hated for sports.

      Add to that the problems with the HR sensor and there are some serious problems.

      The only area where this clearly beats the Fenix 6 is battery life.

      1. i take the point
         there are other features where coros leads.
         as i say, my opinion is that the price should be lower. many forget that a titanium+sapphire lens typically adds a considerable premium to the rrp. those sorts of things tend to get overlooked when comparing a tick box list of features.

3. I’ve been trying out a Pace2 (free hand-me-down from wife who didn’t like it (who went from Polar, to Garmin, to Coros, and now to Apple Watch, LOL)… next to my Polar m430 and v800s for the past few weeks. Can’t stand the crown, but feature-wise it “does everything” nearly, in a compact package, it’s too small for my liking, and I’m likely to destroy it long-term if I kept it, (need the sapphire glass) but I’ve been eyeing the Apex Pro or ideally a successor to it, as a possible “next-watch”, depending on if Coros fixed their back-end (actually had one that was not just existent but added good value,) or released an amazing successor product and I can fully commit to Training Peaks for a useful backend.
   I’m literally the target market for this watch, willing to spend the money for a rock solid reliable, tough, fully featured device, and been waiting for something ALMOST exactly like this.

   I lost 100% interest in this, or any future Coros products if it continues, the moment I saw “dropped ANT+”. As a triathlete, and someone that does a lot of indoor training with Zwyft, power meters, Varia radar, hr strap of course, etc recording… if their future direction (indicated by this “pinnacle” product) is indicating no ANT+… then I need no longer consider Coros.

   I already have to deal with/live with Polars “BT-only” limitations, but Polar has far superior usability (5 buttons is the way nature intended sports-watches to work, the crown sucks, after weeks of using it, I like it LESS every time I have to touch it), MUCH better metric accuracy (in particular calorie counts, calculations/tracking, Pace 2 is way overstating both workouts and daily tracking compared to my Polar devices, which I know historically are reasonably on the money (some complain about Polar being “higher than” fitbit, Garmin, etc… yikes, don’t try a Coros!!!)…
   The hardware from a feature/performance perspective is great (other than UI/buttons mentioned above)… I feel like it does everything functionally quite well… but it doesn’t do ANYTHING better than Polar does, except support ANT+ directly… GREAT!!! But no, now they are dropping it… WHAT???? That’s the ONLY way they can steal any share from competitors for a $600-700 price point!!!! That’s like “here’s our Mercedes-class car… except we aren’t putting in the leather, you get velour for your seats and interior, but the price is the same, and we are much less well known, and have little dealer/service support (no back-end, which Coros has pretty much no back-end, a-la Flow or Connect).
   That was the most brain-dead decision I have seen in my nearly 20 years in the sports-watch market. Polar’s obstinate defiance of ANT+ support, is somewhat understandable, given that they were “here first” and so they want things their way, even though it also costs them every day IMO (and even they caved to add compatibility with their HR sensors at least).

   But Polar has an incredible infrastructure already in place to support athletes, and VERY good hardware/polish/usability (far superior to Coros, although not as “bell-and-whistley) even if they aren’t the prettiest or flashiest, and they live/breath “training” which for Coros almost seems an after-though (EvoLabs is a random collection of graphs tossed in meaningless fashion at you on a 5-6″ screen, and if you want training programs, good luck, go find some yourself or (hand-build them in the tiny screen) to figure out how to upload.

   My dismay and one might even say “nasty” attitude at this point, are the result of sheer disappointment. This new watch has lots of cool things, and LOTS that can be improved “down the road” via updates… but without ANT+ capability, not a single bit of what else it can do matters (leaving Sony GPS made me so happy to see too .) It literally can’t do the ONLY significant thing Polar also lacks in past (still very good, v800 for example) or present products, which is support all the sensors needed for cycle training and other “high-sensor-count requiring some ANT+” activities, and that’s the only required feature necessary for me to consider any competitor to Polar (in other words, I’d go Garmin now, before I’d go Coros, and that’s a horrible thing for me to say, LOL).

   Without that, why leave Polar (Or Garmin, Suunto, etc for that matter), which does EVERYTHING else in the training/health ecosystem to a far superior degree. Now my future decision becomes “Polar (stick with my 18 year partner), Garmin, Suunto, or other brand that supports dual-sensor tech for multi-sport/triathlon/indoor training needs”, Coros just went from my #1 “Might be my next premium watch” to not even on the list.

   This makes me sad (but I’ll have a reasonably new Pace 2 to sell, now that I know I don’t need to keep getting used to it any further). Unless they release a model such as an Apex Pro 2 that DOES have ANT+, they’ve just cut a hunk of their market and given it away completely, no one serious about multisports (other than absolutely needing that battery life, and dedicated climbers of course which is the target I guess) is really going to look further at this versus Garmin for sure, and if a Polar or Suunto user, this isn’t going to pull them away either.

   1. Thank you for your considered response!!
      I guess I can’t take issue with any of what you say, perhaps I would only add that Coros are MUCH more likely to move this good package forward more quickly than Polar might.

      1. I’ve not used ant+ for over 5 years now but I’m not a triathlete or cyclist (i just run mostly trails, Ultras and gym).
         If I were to pick up triathlon from scratch, would i still suffer from the lack of ant+ or are new gadgets always supporting Bluetooth?

      2. most new sensors will be dual ant+ and ble…if not all. so it wont be a problem for most people

         there might be some cases where an indoor bike trainer setup would be better with ant+ where the source only has one BLE channel (eg latest wahoo kickr has 3 BLE channels…no probs there, mine only has one ble channel so could be a prob for zwift as zwift needs that channel). even then there will be a simple dongle purchase to solve the problem.
         i think even the latest varia rear radar is BLE, not that this coros watch supports that profile.

         the only major issue i think is if you have dual sided LR (dual source) power meters and my understanding is that only one source will be taken and then needs to be doubled. it gets complicated if such as power meter has a unified channel or not. suunto watches have (had?) this issue. I’ve not tested that, tho i guess i should. personally i reckon a single-sided power meter is perfectly fine and in any case its certainly cheaper!
         plus you should use a bike computer for a bike…i guess that’s a less controversial opinion!! that said, the vertix 2 screen size is as big as some bike computers!!

   2. Zzzzz huh what?. ZzZZzzzz

4. Duel GNSS potentially seems useful but the overall package is not great for the hyper and especially price and not ANT+. There is a lot of potentially here but a long way to go, those who are outdoor will see this as a improvement and i can see sales, those into fitness world and run/bike/swim/tri i can see them giving it a miss until the offering/price improves.

   1. yep.
      hopefully my article echoes what you say

   2. Duel GNSS is the only thing here of note, and only because it’s the first. 4-6 months from now Garmin, Polar, Sunnto (maybe) will be showing off similar, if not superior versions of this.

      Evolution tech of longstanding technology has to stop being sold as a “MUST HAVE!” thing. It’s just the natural evolution of GPS, not a whole different system.

      “There is a lot of potentially here but a long way to go.”

      I’m a current Apex Pro owner and have been for over a year now. I said the same thing about Coros out the gate, but after being with them for this long, it’s not looking like they’re ever going to reach that potential.

      The Vertix 2 is an evolution watch built on a bare-bones ecosystem that has stagnated over the entire lifetime of Coros. Nearly everything offered here is offered on other devices and have been for years already. This is the Apple system where competitors release tech and features years ago, but hype their userbase on these things when they finally make it to their products. Coros also shot itself in the foot by not including Ant+ support. That’s a whole bunch of steps backward for a $700 watch the Garmin equivalent can do and so much more. And yes, I can’t stand I have to argue that Garmin is the better choice.

      The app is possibly the worst of the bunch in terms of Sports watches and doesn’t seem to ever evolve. Coros has a very tiny 3rd party support window and shows interest in broadening that any time soon, and finally a questionable sports algorithm for practically everything they measure. Couple that with the bare minimum metrics being offered for that tracking, the Coros package is slim and is more focused on tuning minor points and spending years introducing newer things.

      New hardware is always nice, but not when it’s built on a firm foundation that brooks little to no future growth, not when there are deeper, well-established companies out there offering everything you are, but more and maybe even better. I don’t see Coros surviving past three years from now, either closing down entirely or being subsumed by a bigger group.

5. What a great watch. I will definitely buy one. Outstanding 👍

6. So.. which feature did you call ground breaking that no one else does?

7. I was pretty excited about this release, since you pegged it as “groundbreaking” with features that even you probably wouldn’t have guessed.

   What of this feature set even begins to qualify? The dual frequency GPS? If I’m not mistaken, this translates merely to slightly better GPS tracks. “Groundbreaking” sounds a lot more exciting than slightly better GPS.

   1. Seems like all he wanted to do was to clickbait, as happens pretty often lately. It’s a shame though, this used to be a pretty interesting blog.

      1. again, I guess you’re not interested in accuracy. lots of people are. we’re all different. embrace it.

         there is zero point in attracting a relatively small number of people to read about peripheral manufacturers like polar, suunto and coros. the VAST majority of traffic is in all matter Garmin.
         yes I know there are adverts in this article (I forgot to remove them). but I will literally make about 30 cents from them. I really am not doing it for that amount of money!

      2. Since it is the first fitness wearable with dual frequency positioning it does pass the basic test for being groundbreaking. It may not be revolutionary, or market-changing, or necessarily of utility to all potential buyers, but Coros did get their offering to the market first.

         Personally I don’t need to know where I am more precisely than the ~9 foot level of accuracy. What I do want is something close to that level of precision in far more circumstances than products are currently able to achieve. That desire alone is not enough to get me to buy a Coros, but they are certainly more interesting than they had been for me.

      3. yep, fair comment
         don’t forget it’s also important for those who rely on gps for speed, which is a fundamental reason to own a sports watch (or HR)
         also interesting is the frequency of reporting of position. if they crank this up to 10hz in the future and if the processor can handle it then this will probably make bike navigation more responsive (at speed) , maybe also running (at speed but lower speeds)

      4. Let’s be real and call it POTENTIAL accuracy. Dual frequency CAN and SHOULD give better accuracy. But results so far show no real-life improvement (actually a slight step back so far).
         Hopefully COROS can improve this (like Garmin did with the Sony chipsetafter the disastrous initial performance) but it sure ain’t there yet.

      5. my testing so far with running (other sports except mountaineering are irrelevant) on the **LATEST FIRMWARE*** show that it has good levels of accuracy. not the best but good. certainly as good as most garmins. certainly superior to all others AT TIMES.
         in my experience at testing just about every GPS sports watch (ever) that’s pretty unheard of for a new chip new to the market.

         but yes i agree with you that there is potential for it to be the best-ever. will it live up to that?…IDK.

   2. yes it translates to multi-frequency gps
      you will find that a significant number of people are interested in accuracy, I guess you’re not one of them 🙂
      there must be over 100,000 stryd users…i assume most are interested in accuracy in some form, there are many more bike power meter owners and looking at dcr’s site the vast majority seem to be interested in accuracy.
      as a runner i’m interested to know how fast i am running…kinda important in my opinion. that’s just me i guess.

      1. Fair enough – you’ve convinced me. And I’m serious here. I have clearly not given gps accuracy a lot of thought. I suppose I felt about it like I do about scales: I don’t care if they are accurate, just consistent. So with GPS, I guess I didn’t care if it thought I was on the left or the right side of the street, as long as it consistently placed me in that same place so that I could compare improvement across runs. But perhaps lack of accuracy could have a big impact on even the consistency across runs – which I care a lot about.

         I’d still hesitate to call it “groundbreaking” but that’s fine. Perhaps “unknown improvement to a key feature.” 😛

         Thanks for your thoughts!

8. I was hoping for something cool but I can’t imagine buying this over a Fenix, seems the only real benefit is battery life, and I don’t mind plugging my watch in once every 10 days or so anyway.

   The fake ECG support, MP3 only music (lol), and lack of NFC payments are killers for me – I actually use my watch to pay pretty frequently. And the price tag vs a Fenix is the final nail in the coffin. This watch is going nowhere until they cut the price.

   1. fair point. I make the same comment about price as you.

      accuracy, build quality, some nice features, battery life, native running power support….i think i covered most of those above. i guess with music it’s just the possibility of future streaming support you’d be buying in on if Spotify support your thing. at least coros are one step closer to that than suunto/polar

9. since this statement is in the future:
   No Garmin Fenix watch currently has this as of Aug.21.
   Is that a hint to an upcoming Garmin watch on that date?

   1. well spotted! I was avoiding making my text redundant and covering myself!!
      I’m assuming such a feature will be in the fenix 7. i dont know
      I’m assuming the fenix 7 will be here before feb 2022. i dont know timescales.

      1. this would be the best time for garmin to leak some fenix 7 details.

      2. a good thought, but they won’t.
         I dont think Garmin are worried about Coros yet.
         they have simple reactions they can do for now like how they slashed the fenix 6x price over the weekend https://the5krunner.com/2021/08/15/garmin-fenix-6x-pro-200-off-lowest-ever-price/

10. Watched the event yesterday, bouth FR245 today, waiting for FR955 to be released.

11. Since there aren’t too many multi-band multi-constellation GNSS chips in the market and Coros has Chinese origins, I would bet that Vertix 2 uses the Airoha AG3335M/MN solution.
    http://www.airoha.com.tw/webe/html/pro/index.aspx?kind=80&num=182&lv=2
    Xiaomi Mi Watch and OnePlus Watch also use this GNSS chip.

    1. ha !
       nice one as always Chris. well found.
       Confirmed as the: Airoha AG3335M model

12. So I’ve decided to buy one. Reasons for ME:

    – I need a new watch. My Grit X does not hold up to my needs. Mainly battery but it also has really poor navigation features (I love everything else about it, though)
    – Hardware is futureproof and super quality. I trust Coros to deliver software faster than any other player. I think it will have everything I ever wanted within a year. My only concern is that they add too much crap (which is the reason I shun away from Garmin)
    – The app is critizized and I’m sure it will be a downgrade from the excellent Polar Flow. However, after transitioning from a 10K fast runner with intervals and specific training programs to a slow ultra trail runner, I don’t analyze my data that much anymore. Besides, I’ve found Polar’s recovery metrics isn’t really applicable to ultra people. I think keeping the app simple and prioritize good integrations with 3rd party sites is a good approach.
    – I like the navigation as it is now. I have no use for turn by turn navigation and I’m really content with just breadcrumb trails. However, a nice simple implementation of dumb map might be something I can grow to like. Anyway, this will change with new software and I’m sure I will have to live with a little bit of crap like turn by turn navigation to be added 😉
    – ANT+ is nothing I use or ever will so I’m just happy to see it go

    So Vertix 2 really ticks all my boxes and I don’t find the price too disheartening either. Like it or not, consumers today pay not only for hardware. We also pay for additional software to be added for years to come (Polar really needs to learn this!)

    1. thank you for the support!

       i dont think you have to use ANY of the vendor’s platforms (garmin/polar/suunto/coros/wahoo)

       i think there is a way to get data into polar flow using syncmytracks or some syncing software like that. ask me and i’ll look again.
       try runalyze, that’s pretty awesome (apparently) in a free kinda way.
       also strava, as you know. but then do the free stravistix/elevate add on for strava.
       golden cheetah is free too…very complex stuff tho. useful if you use the inbuilt running power

       1. I did once send all my Garmin data to Polar using SyncMyTracks. it works fine but Polar will disregard all imported sessions when calculating recovery and other training metrics, though.

          Agree! A vendor-independant site makes it easier if you ever decide to change brand and there are plenty to choose from

       2. yes good point

       3. RunGap if you have an iPhone and there’s at least one recovery-capable device connected to your Polar account. At least, when send my Garmin, COROS, and Suunto workouts to Polar, I get full training load metrics generated properly as if the workout came from the Polar watch.

          PS RunGap isn’t free, but the price is worth it if you are maintaining your data across multiple vendors.

    2. It *does* do turn by turn navigation, just its not ‘automated’ route finding navigation.

       I have an Apex Pro, define my routes in Plotaroute, adding ‘directions’ at junctions etc which get exported as WayPoints. Coros support these, (and call them ‘CheckPoints’).

       As and when you reach the Waypoint, a little alert notification pops up (irrespective of what data screen you’re on) which has the breadcrumb for where you are, along with text that says “Reach XXXX” where XXXX is the label you’ve given the WayPoint. So I just label “R”, “L”, “Fork L”, “Straight”, “Take Path”, “L then R” etc, at places where I think I’ll need instructions.

       It works fantastically – and will be even more useful for me when the Topo maps come to Apex Pro, to get that map context…sometimes especially on a long route that you can’t fully remember from plotting, you’re not *quite* sure what “L” meant…did it mean take the road left, or did it mean hop over the stile into the field on the left?!

       Ran 30k with turn by turn directions on my Coros on Saturday, didn’t scroll to the breadcrumb screen a single time, just relied on the directions. 🙂

       1. Actually, this is exactly how Suunto implements their TbT navigation as far as I know! The only difference here is that Suunto automates the waypoints and directions being added to your GPX route.

          Hence, the lifehack: create a route in Suunto app, export it by copying the link to the phone’s clipboard, paste the GPX link into a browser, and open the route, including TbT directions, in your COROS app. No need for Strava or Kamoot (and I’d say Suunto app is way better for creating routes on the go than either of these choices anyways)

13. Is there a reason you keep comparing Vertix 2 to Fenix 6 Pro when the right device would clearly be Fenix 6X Pro Sapphire or 6X Solar Titanium? Given the new COROS watch comes with 1.4″ 280×280 screen, PVD coated sapphire glass, and titanium bezel and cover, and 26mm QuickFit band?

    Sure, it doesn’t match Garmin’s breadth of features on software side, but it is priced up to $200 cheaper.

    Suunto 9 Peak retails for the same $699 with much smaller screen, way less battery, no dual-frequency all-GNSS GPS, no EKG level HRV, no ANT+, no maps, no music, no strength training/muscle heatmaps, no structured workouts, no WiFi for OTA firmware updates (and potentially more), incomplete running power support, and very light physio with no race predictions.

    1. i thought i was on the whole (ok the title doesn’t say that).
       let me re-read it…brevity sometimes wins over

       1. Well, you are hardly the only person who’s bringing up the price in comparison to Garmin Fenix. I tend to agree $699 is quite a steep ask given COROS inability to have features truly complete, without various bugs and caveats. That being said, a correct point of reference is $899 in Garmin world, form- and materials-wise, and $200 can go a long way to justify the gap between COROS and Garmin devices. Not to mention nobody seems to mind a certain Suunto 9 Peak for the same $699. A terrific device, with its own set of strengths, but without half of not more of the Vertix 2 features.

       2. indeed so.
          Nick, I re-read the review and changed one of the titles to reflect pro sapphire (thank you!). all the other references (15 iirc) i think are correct. they don’t necessarily refer to a comparison to the pro sapphire

          anyone else reading this: Please *DO* point out errors or inconsistencies, there’s a whole lot of words here on this site and it’s REALLY hard for one person to get every single one correct 😉

       3. I guess the best comparator would be
          1. Garmin 6X non-pro sapphire….but that doesn’t exist
          2. Enduro non-solar sapphire…but that doesn’t exist

          I guess you could say that coros has therefore differentiated Vertix 2 rather nicely!

14. Great review, thank you.
    quick question:
    can you use this watch if you don’t have internet access?
    I’m asking because with Garmin, if you don’t have internet, you cannot access the watch using the Connect app. yes, the watch (Garmin) will collect the data but without internet you cannot access it.
    With Coros, can you?
    Thank you.

    1. yes.
       i recorded a workout on the watch
       i turned off the wifi on my phone
       i synced the watch to the phone
       the workout was synced to the phone and i could view the workout details
       however aggregate data wasn’t updated
       ie just the individual workouts can be seen and they are not updated on trend charts and the like

       1. Thank you.

15. Just got my Vertix 2 in yesterday. Been interested in Coros for a while, and wanted to compare against my Enduro. Biggest disappointment with the Vertix 2 is the screen – still has that blue-ish, bad contrast screen we’ve seen in previous generation watches. Was hoping all the 1.4″ screens were ‘good’, but maybe it’s not the screen but how the backlight is implemented.

    Biggest surprise, the GPS accuracy. Most reviews didn’t seem too impressed. I run in pretty easy GPS conditions, and my first run with ‘All on’ satellites but NOT dual frequency, the GPS track was crazy good. No wobble, doesn’t look like a kinda jagged line and it put me right where I was running. Compared versus the Enduro track it was a world of difference. Now does a nice looking GPS track really matter? Hmmm.

    Vertix 2 is also smaller. They say 50.3mm but I’d put it between 49 and 50mm. Lug to lug is 53mm, compared to 56mm for the Enduro. Vertix is noticeably thicker though.

    HRV test is good, I’ve been waiting for someone other than Polar to give me some HRV data. I like the running data more than Garmin, everything is more concisely laid out in the Coros app versus scattered across a lot of screens in Garmin Connect.

    Overall impressed, but the screen compared to the Enduro is a big disappointment. And not sure if I will miss Body Battery, Stress, Sleep Score and trying to manage those things using Breathing exercises – none of which Coros supports.

    1. hey there, ty for the feedback
       you’ve prompted me into testing without dual frequency
       for the hrv stuff try hrv4training….#GoldStandard…all the rest of the competition to that has a lot of smoke and mirrors

       1. Looking forward to see if you find anything different, I was surprised how good the results were. Wish I could attach a screenshot here.

          And thanks for the hrv4training rec!

    2. Is it simply not because the screen is sapphire?
       Waiting for mine to arrive.

       1. Garmin Enduro has POWERGLASS which comprises Corning Gorilla Glass DX. Yes it should appear different

16. Gorilla Glass DX is more clear than sapphire, less reflections for sure. But I’m talking about the color of the display with the backlight on. I’ve seen both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ displays on the sapphire Garmin Fenix 6. Not sure if I can post a link here, but below from Garmin forums shows the difference. The Vertix 2 (mine at least) looks like the screen on the right. My Enduro looks like the screen on the left.

    https://forums.garmin.com/cfs-file/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/431/IMG_5F00_20191026_5F00_133521.jpg

17. Ah, I see. Yeah, the blacker background does looks better. As long as it’s only with backlight, I won’t be too bothered by that, though

18. Thank you for the awesome review/comparison!

    You say: “Whilst the Suunto 9/9Peak hardware package is probably better..” Could you please elaborate, as how is it better, etc?

    Thanks again!

    1. higher quality materials and improved internal components

19. Nice review! How is the lap screen layed out on Vertix? In Garmin 945 you can customize the data shown on lap screen, for instance you can see lap average heart rate and lap speed. Can you do the same thing on the Vertix 2?

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