Suunto Race 3S vs COROS Apex 4 – screen or battery

This comparison decides between two top-end, non-Garmin options, both in the ‘middle’ wrist size bracket

COROS Apex 4 includes more in its price than Suunto Race 3S: a full training platform, spoken turn directions, offline music today and 24 days between charges. Race 3S answers with Climb Guidance, a third-party app store, a sharper AMOLED screen and, for a fee, a conversational AI coach. The two cost almost the same in the UK, at £435 and £429, but Suunto discounts while Coros rarely does.

This comparison uses the 46mm Apex 4. It covers what each watch does and what it’s like to own a watch from each company. Hardware figures are on the Race 3S specifications and Apex 4 specifications pages, and the Race 3S launch report includes price and availability.

What each watch does

Navigation and maps

Race 3S shows contour lines and place names, and Climb Guidance shows the next climb or descent as the route unfolds. A trail runner can see that a descent follows the current climb and pace the effort to suit. Suunto has also announced Race Planner, which builds a pacing plan from the route, the weather and a goal time. It arrives in a later update.

Apex 4 maps carry street and trail names and give turn-by-turn directions on a loaded route. Its speaker reads those directions aloud, and Suunto lists no speaker for Race 3S. COROS added Hill Alerts and Pace Strategy to its watches in spring 2026, so it already has climb and pacing tools. Apex 4 maps aren’t routable on the watch, so you have to build a route on a phone or third-party service first.

Training and coaching

COROS puts its whole training platform on every watch at no extra cost. EvoLab estimates recovery, fatigue, training load, VO2 max, threshold zones and race times, and the watch adds Effort Pace, Virtual Pacer and training plans. The web-based Training Hub adds calendar planning and structured workouts. I treat EvoLab’s outputs with some scepticism, as the Apex 4 buyer’s guide explains, and COROS publishes little science behind them.

Race 3S covers training load, recovery and zones by heart rate, pace and power. It adds ZoneSense, which reads intensity from heart rate variability through a chest strap, and EnergySense for live effort tracking.

The two brands have taken opposite routes on AI. Suunto AI Coach is a conversational coach inside the Suunto app that builds workouts, plans and routes, and it is a paid service after three free months. COROS has opened its activity data to outside assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT since May 2026.

Apps and sport profiles

Suunto has an app store, but COROS does not. SuuntoPlus carries more than 40 community-built sport apps, including ones for Garmin Varia radar, FTMS treadmills and climb pacing. Athletes with an unusual sensor or sport are more likely to find support on Suunto.

Race 3S has more than 100 sport modes. Apex 4 has fewer profiles but includes a full climbing set with outdoor, indoor, multi-pitch mountain, and bouldering modes, reflecting its mountaineering focus. Both handle triathlon and multisport.

Audio, music and payments

Apex 4 has a speaker and microphone. It offers spoken turn alerts, calls answered through a nearby phone, and Voice Pins, transcribed voice notes tagged to a location. Suunto’s launch material lists none of these for Race 3S.

Apex 4 plays offline music to Bluetooth headphones today. Race 3S gets offline music in a software update after launch. Apex 4 has no NFC, and Race 3S gets NFC after launch.

The companies behind the watches

A watch comes with a company, and these differences apply to every model each brand sells. The brand comparison sets them out in full.

COROS has the clearest repair deal of any brand, and it keeps old watches current for longer than Suunto or Garmin. A buyer who keeps a watch for five years gets more new features from COROS.

Suunto’s advantages are its app store and its openness. Both brands give a 2-year warranty and charge nothing for maps.

Battery

In the most accurate mode, they’re close. Race 3S records 45 hours with dual-band reception, and Apex 4 records 41 hours in its dual-frequency Max mode. Race 3S drops to 40 hours with its always-on display enabled.

Apex 4 pulls ahead everywhere else. Its Endurance mode reaches 65 hours, and it lasts 24 days between charges in daily use, compared with 12 for Race 3S. An athlete who charges once a fortnight will prefer COROS. One who can charge weekly loses nothing in a race.

Hardware in brief

Both watches have a sapphire lens and a titanium bezel. The screens differ most. The Race 3S has a 2,000-nit AMOLED panel with more than three times the pixel count, while the Apex 4 has a memory-in-pixel screen that stays on with almost no battery cost but looks coarser and duller, especially on maps.

Race 3S is 8g lighter and 2.3mm thinner. Its strap fits wrists from 125 to 175mm, and Apex 4 fits 140 to 215mm, with a 42mm Apex 4 for smaller wrists.

Apex 4 GNSS accuracy is among the best, alongside the newest Garmin watches. Suunto’s 2026 hardware tested well in Run 2, and Race 3S accuracy is pending testing. Garmin buyers should read Race 3S vs Forerunner 570 and 970.

Which to buy

Choose Race 3S if

• You want Climb Guidance and, later, Race Planner for trail racing.
• You want third-party sport apps or support for an unusual sensor.
• You want a conversational coach inside the watch’s own app.
• You want a bright, sharp AMOLED screen for maps, or you have a smaller wrist.

Suunto Race 3S

Titanium bezel, sapphire glass, 1.32" AMOLED (2,000 nits), 45h dual-band GPS.

from$599

from£435

Choose Apex 4 if

• You want the full training platform without paying extra.
• You want spoken directions and offline music today.
• You keep a watch for years and want it to keep gaining features.
• You climb and want dedicated climbing profiles.

Coros Apex 4

Mountain GPS watch

$479

£429

+other retailers

My Choice

We all have different needs, which may decide what you buy. For me, looking at these two watches more generally, I’d go with the newer Suunto for its superior screen, better app, and the flexibility of its third-party app store.

Quick answers

Is Suunto Race 3S better than COROS Apex 4?
Race 3S has Climb Guidance, a third-party app store and a sharper AMOLED screen. Apex 4 includes its full training platform at no extra cost, speaks turn directions, plays offline music today, and lasts 24 days in daily use, compared with 12 days.

Which has better battery life, Suunto Race 3S or COROS Apex 4?
Race 3S lasts slightly longer in the most accurate GPS mode, at 45 hours against 41. The Apex 4 lasts longer in every other mode, with up to 65 hours of GPS and 24 days of daily use, compared with 12 days for the Race 3S.

Do Suunto Race 3S and COROS Apex 4 both have offline maps?
Yes. Both download free global maps with no subscription. Race 3S adds contour lines and Climb Guidance. Apex 4 adds spoken turn-by-turn directions through its speaker.

Does COROS or Suunto support older watches for longer?
COROS does. It releases roughly quarterly updates that reach watches several years old. Suunto’s July 2026 feature update went only to its newest models.

Which is cheaper?
Apex 4 costs £429 or $479 for the 46mm. Race 3S costs £435 or $599. The gap is £6 in the UK and $120 in the United States.

Last Updated on 15 October 2026 by tfk the5krunner

tfk the5krunner

tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. ID