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Coros Apex vs Garmin Forerunner 45

Coros Apex

112 reviews

View Product Details

Garmin Forerunner 45

Garmin Forerunner 45

111 reviews

View Product Details

Best Bang for the Buck

OutdoorGearLab · Best GPS Watch of 2022

#17 most mentioned

Reddit · r/trailrunning

Best Overall Sports Watch

Switchback Travel · Best Sports Watches of 2022

#15 most mentioned

Reddit · r/garmin

Wirecutter · The 4 Best GPS Running Watches 2021

Great battery life

Stylish design

Data-rich companion app

Breadcrumb trail navigation feature

Advanced fitness metrics like VO2 max

Great for tracking workouts and all-day activity

Accurately records heart rate, step counts, and calories burned

Built-in calendar shows events and planned workouts

Power saving settings to extend battery life

Gamifies progress to make fitness fun

Not a touch screen

No contactless payments

No ability to store songs locally

Not accurate for tracking sleep if you do a lot of weight training activity

Does not have a built-in altimeter

Cannot edit workouts without internet access

Verdict

The Coros Apex is a multisport GPS watch with excellent battery life and a data-rich companion app that offers a wealth of insights about your performance biking, running, swimming, and more. It offers similar functionality to the Garmin Forerunner 735XT, with better battery life and a more stylish design, making it our Editors’ Choice. Pros: - Excellent battery life - Stylish design - Data-rich companion app - Breadcrumb trail navigation feature - Comparably priced to Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music - Offers advanced fitness metrics like VO2 max - Smart features like contactless payments and the ability to store songs locally Cons: - No touch screen

Verdict

The Garmin Forerunner 45 is a great choice for runners who want to track their workouts and all-day activity. It accurately records heart rate, step counts, and calories burned. It also has a built-in calendar that shows events and planned workouts. However, it does not have a built-in altimeter or the ability to edit workouts without internet access. Additionally, it may not be accurate for tracking sleep if you do a lot of weight training activity.

Reviews by Topic

Our analysis shows how reviewers feel about different topics. Please note these are not full reviews.

Activity Tracking

Coros Apex Review

When setting up the Apex, the app asks you to select your training level (light, moderate, or hard), and set your daily calorie and exercise goals. I’m an average runner at best, so I selected the light training level, and went with the default recommendations of 153 calories and 39 minutes of exercise. If you find your exercise goals too easy, you can change them in the app. When you meet your daily goal, the Apex vibrates and shows a congratulatory message on its screen

Positive

youtube

Garmin Forerunner 45 GPS Running Sportswatch // New Style, New Features!

It comes with some of the most commonly used sport profiles like running outdoors running indoors. On a treadmill, cycling walking a generic cardio pr...

Positive

Connectivity

Multi-sport with A Focus On Runners

For those thinking that perhaps the Coros has a hardware issue, I should note that I had Bluetooth issues on the Pace 2 in many of the similar ways. And for those thinking it’s my phone, I had the same issue with my iPhone 11 and the Pace 2 as well. This is either the Bluetooth stack on their devices, or a poor handling of the Bluetooth API interactions on iOS. As I finally finished my customization (new watch face, workout screen modifications [data fields]), I was able to finally start putting the Apex Pro through it’s paces

youtube

Garmin Forerunner 45 Fitness Sportswatch // In-Depth Review & Tutorial

And then next is your stress level, which takes about thirty Seconds to register and then, if we dive in, we can see your stress level over the last f...

Positive

Fit

Great GPS watch w/ lackluster iPhone app

I actually give Fitbit the win on both mobile and website interfaces. I find the dark theme and low contrast text on the mobile app hard to read. I don't like that some screens/views require rotating the phone. And, it's just hard to see some of the data I want to see, like HR during specific parts of a workout

> If you are primarily looking for a running watch, we recommend that you focus your search on that. If you’re a runner who’s interested in having the Apple ecosystem on your wrist, the Apple Watch will serve you fine, but there are some caveats.

Positive

reddit.com/r/running

Price

Are fitness bands becoming redundant?

I'm in love with my Coros Apex. Got it for $300 on sale. I seriously do not think there is a better deal for a watch. To get a comparable Garmin I'd have to spend $650

Positive

reddit.com/r/running

Nice looking, adequate features

I had (actually still have) a Samsung Gear Sport that is almost 3 years old and I've loved it. Buying the Forerunner 45 has made me realize why. The reasons I chose the 45 were 1. The price - I didn't want to spend $300+ again, mostly just on principle

Battery Life

Battery life is the only selling point

I almost forgot I had it on at times. The battery life is the selling point of this watch (and frankly, all Coros products). A bit better than what I get on my Fenix 6X. The trade-off in software and lack of data ultimately had me stick with Garmin though

I tracked my route on my watch, which worked great but ate the battery. I hadn't adjusted any of the power-saving settings. I will next time, but I wonder if it will affect accuracy. It just gave basic distance speed, etc

Negative

reddit.com/r/Ultralight

Durability

Upgrading from Fitbit to Garmin

I have had a 245 for 2 years and it’s pretty dope. I really can’t see myself upgrading to a different running watch (though having Garmin Pay would be nice).

Positive

reddit.com/r/running

Accurate tracker for bike rides

But with the forerunner 45, it's made for this and lasts a long time. I have not used it for daily tracking or sleeping as that was not my intent. So far super happy with my purchase. Only reason it's 4 stars is due to my limited use so far

Notifications

What smartwatch are you using with your pixel?

I only use the text & call notifications because everything else was just overwhelming/obnoxious. That's also because my Pixel was updated & the "new & improves bubbles" turned my notifications to shit.

Positive

reddit.com/r/GooglePixel

Finally a Smaller Forerunner!

It was extremely frustrating downloading the firmware update when the watch wouldn't stay connected to my phone. But once I got the firmware updated, the watch has stayed connected without issue (iPhone Xs). It's the original firmware that's the problem, not the watch! The one thing that does really bug me (and that Garmin will likely fix in future updates) is that even when I turn notifications off, I still get ALL notifications sent to my phone! The 45s has a choice of all notifications, calls and texts, calls or off. Further, notifications have to be cleared individually

Design

Great GPS watch w/ lackluster iPhone app

And, it's just hard to see some of the data I want to see, like HR during specific parts of a workout. The iPhone app interface is why I gave it a 4 star instead of 5 star and I'd probably only deduct half a start if that were possible.

Garmin is top of the heap and I won’t switch for the foreseeable future…they also look good for everyday wear. You’ll never catch me with one of those god-awful looking Apple Watches on my wrist.

Positive

reddit.com/r/running

Comfort

Moved from Garmin, no regrets.

No complaints. It is comfortable to ware all day and night. It is very light and does not feel thick in the wrist. The Band: The band is also very light and comfortable

What's your running budget?

Don't bother with fancy socks or anything like that. I wear free race t shirts. I recently indulged in a garmin forerunner 45 watch so nothing top end, before that I just used to record runs on strava on my phone. Don't bother with strava premium or any subscription apps or anything like that

Negative

reddit.com/r/AdvancedRunning

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