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Coros Apex vs Garmin Vivoactive 3

Coros Apex

112 reviews

View Product Details

Garmin Vivoactive 3

Garmin Vivoactive 3

186 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

#7 most mentioned

Reddit · r/garmin

#24 most mentioned

Reddit · r/smartwatch

Great battery life

Stylish design

Data-rich companion app

Breadcrumb trail navigation feature

Advanced fitness metrics like VO2 max

Great battery life

Attractive and durable design

Accurate heart rate monitoring

Versatile and customizable for tracking fitness and daily activities

Not a touch screen

No contactless payments

No ability to store songs locally

Not as user-friendly as some other smartwatches

Display could be better

Some users have reported issues with water sensitivity

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 Vivoactive 3 is a highly recommended wearable device that strikes a balance between fitness tracker and smartwatch functionality. It has a durable and attractive design, accurate heart rate monitoring, and good battery life. However, some users have reported issues with the display, user-friendliness, and water sensitivity. It is a good option for those who want a versatile and customizable device for tracking their fitness and daily activities.

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

VivoActive 3 Review - Activities (EP3) Running, Cycling, Strength, Gym and more!

The V boxer 3 was actually shockingly accurate, but I did find it interesting that the Phoenix 5 X and vivoactive 3 calculated calories a little bit d...

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

Can not track basic data

You have to compromise your security by fully entering your credit card number, only to get a response saying the issuer isn't participating. The issuer of the credit card I tried is one of the largest in the US. If they're not participating, it's a good bet that not many are at all. I am unhappy that I had to share my full payment information in an app, in order to find this out

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

Running watches for the recreational runner - are they needed?

Mostly I like having a pedometer...just taking more steps in a day has been good for my health

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

Running watch - Game Changer?

I wasn't sure how much I would personally benefit from one, so I didn't want to invest a lot but wanted a strong feature set. I went with the Garmin Vivoactive 3, and you can buy them for $130 but sometimes get them on sale for as low as $100-110. It's a great value for that price, and I would recommend it if you are unsure and want to try one and see if it is for you.

Positive

reddit.com/r/running

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

Had enough of the Fitbit issues. Time to try Garmin.

I haven’t found a simpler and efficient (and clean) watch face thats good on battery life as this one.

Positive

reddit.com/r/Garmin

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

youtube

Garmin Vivoactive 3 Smart Watch Review - 2020 - YouTube

So what exactly does the Garmin VivoActive 3 have to offer and is it a good option compared to all of the other smartwatches out there? Well let's tak...

Positive

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

It's like wearing a can of worms, or a beehive.

Meanwhile, on the cell phone, the Connect app keeps asking me for permissions to show me texts, phone, email information on my watch. I DON'T WANT TO! I already denied the permissions, and hours later it will ask me again to enable the permissions. I don't want this watch to show me texts, emails, etc. that's why I carry my cell phone

Software Updates

So I've recently update the firmware of my Coros Apex and updated the app. After that the watch was unpaired from my phone and I can't pair it. I've tried everything. I've reset all network connection and cache on my phone, restarted my phone and watch, reset my watch, but still nothing

Negative

reddit.com/r/Coros

+8 Days Battery Life, Good Resting and Running HR

- If you turn the gesture on, sometimes it activates the backlight randomly even tough you don't gesture. I think it needs an software update to fix it.

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.

I also had a Vivoactive 3 but the altimeter went flakey. Seems like a design flaw as I read other reviews with the same problem.

Positive

reddit.com/r/triathlon

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

Simple, basic, no frills

I do not like wearing a chest strap so I choose to use a watch with a heart rate monitor. I started with a vivosmart and now I’m using this device to broadcast my heart rate to the edge computer. To be quite honest I only used the vivosmart monitor for that one and only purpose. I used an Apple Watch 3rd gen as my regular watch

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