The COROS Pace 4 is a Great Watch at a Budget Pricepoint with One Big Catch

When it comes to the dedicated GPS sport watch category, there are the three brands who lead in their expertise in the room: Garmin, Suunto, and Polar. And then there’s also pressure coming from other major electronics manufacturers, like Apple and Samsung that drive both the top and bottom of the market.

And then there’s COROS. The manufacturer sits in an interesting place in the market. They offer a lot of the key functionality that you spot in most of the Garmin line-up of watches, but at a significant price offset relative to the equivalent Garmin watch. Let’s take the newly launched COROS Pace 4. It’s $249 USD price point means that the direct comparison Forerunner model is the 165, which is $50 more expensive and has less activities able to be tracked in it (or at the same price point, but you don’t get music storage with it). The Vivoactive 6 is also $50 more, and comes closer on features, but the case is more lifestyle than activity oriented despite the additional features.

But there’s pressure everywhere. The Apple Watch Ultra that I got last year was free with my phone upgrade, and despite the limited activity functionality it is by far the most accurate optical heart rate monitor I’ve ever used. My benchmark sport specific watch is a Fenix 5 that I can’t kill (and trust me, I’ve tried). So does the COROS Pace 4 stand out in any way beyond price point?

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