big Coros Feature Update

3 new features come to all Coros watches except APEX 42/46mm, Kiprun 500, and PACE 1. This is a fairly significant update covering both running and wellness, so there’s something here for everyone. Specifically, we see a running FORM test, re-jigged HRV information via Daily Stress and a Wellness spot check.

Coros Running Form Test

The more recent Coros watches get a new bump to their running capabilities. Well, if you have a Coros POD 2 they do. Got a PACE ONE?…time to upgrade to a newer watch methinks.

Wrist, foot, and torso sensors can give unique running gait metrics, but they can all estimate or accurately measure standard metrics like Ground Contact Time and Cadence. Coros prefers waist-based measurement to assess running form. I would prefer to see a more practical assessment from the foot. Indeed the original Stryd pod was a belt-based device but the company moved to what it also considered a superior location – the foot.

I like the Coros approach to the execution of the feature in that they get you to specifically perform a 10-minute test rather than making the interpretations for your runs. I guess considering multiple runs of well over 10 minutes is probably more statistically significant but it also will introduce many more extraneous factors. A 10-minute run when you know you have to perform at your best is a good way to see what you can do when you put your mind, and legs, to it.

After the test, the assessment report breaks down your metrics into 3 broad categories Skill, Strength, and Balance. There are several nicely intuitive slider displays for the various metrics as well as the overall ‘triangle’ chart that clearly shows your strengths, at least according to how Coros sees it.

Thoughts: This is a nice feature, well presented. I often doubt that many of the smaller (and larger!) companies base their interpretations on science and thorough research of their own data sets. We have the reassurance that Coros has a reasonably large number of users and they do have a small, full-time dedicated team to this sort of thing.

Coros Daily Stress

Next up is the 24×7 daily stress. It’s Coros’ take on Garmin’s Body Battery and this is an extension of the existing overnight HRV feature.

During the day your ‘stress’ level is frequently updated and then averages are also given to spot longer-term trends over the weeks and months.

First up let me say that I use a similar feature on my Apple Watch via the Training Today app. Basically, I like to look at a 24×7 moving average of HRV! Some of your friends may instead love Garmin’s body battery. I just have to point out though that these features are largely NOT based on science. There are simply WAY too many factors in the daytime to make this data relevant over days/weeks/months. The only scientifically grounded HRV recovery metrics that you should worry about are nightly averages or waking spot readings…the rest is gumph for this category of HRV readings.

Despite knowing that, I still have this intuition that I’m getting something from seeing my stress levels fall during the day as I get ready to train later on. A pretty graph can’t hurt!

Talking of batteries. Using this feature WILL significantly impact your watch’s battery life. Expect the newer watches to take a hit of about 30% and the earlier Coros watch to almost a 50% hit. This is one of those features that you REALLY have to want to justify the battery life degradation.

Take Out: daily average HRV figures trended over time are meaningless; waking or nightly average figures DO have important meaning to athletes when considered against your baseline. You will probably use and like the frequently updated graph even though it decimates your previously outstanding battery life.

Coros Wellness Check

Hey, why not?

A quick 1-minute check of your important wellness assessments can’t hurt or, as Coros says:

Wellness Check is a one-step test to measure multiple health-related indicators including resting heart rate, heart rate variability, breathing rate, and more. Use the Wellness Check feature every morning to see how these data points change over time, or use it on-demand when you need to gain further health insights.

Coros envisage that you will use this feature on-demand perhaps when you feel different or are in a different environment be that a plane, up a mountain, during illness or after a very hard training session.

Live Date:

The live date for the new features is 1st February. Enjoy.

Take Out

Nice.

As always, Coros doesn’t disappoint when it comes to adding new features. While these probably don’t classify as having ‘headline feature’ status, they are also far from trivial.

I’m still not super comfortable with the overall look, feel and depth of what Coros offers on both the app and watches. However, you do get a consistent experience and Coros has added more than enough here to reignite anyone’s flagging interest in their wearable.

The Running Form feature nicely complements the existing Running (performance) Test and is perhaps the meatier of the three. It’s hard to say how meaningful and useful the Test data is without some pretty exhaustive testing against Garmin/Stryd but based on one test it seems indicative enough to be useful.

Like me, some of you will love the daily stress chart and it might even be worth Coros’s while to get the 24 hour stress chart displayed on a watch face rather than via a widget.