COROS is teasing an 'all-new Apex' mountain watch; here's what we expect

What you need to know

• COROS will announce an "all-new APEX" mountain watch on October 15, possibly the APEX 3 or APEX 3 Pro.
• The teaser GIF shows subtle details like the button layout, charging port, and strap.
• The APEX 2 series launched in November 2022 with titanium bezels, sapphire glass, downloadable maps, weeks of battery life, and (on the Pro) dual-band GPS.
• COROS also recently launched a brand-new NOMAD watch targeted to hikers, campers, and adventurers.

COROS is teasing a new trail and mountain sports watch, due to arrive next month, and its teaser gives small hints of what to expect from a possible COROS APEX 3 or APEX 3 Pro.

The placeholder web page shows an animated teaser silhouette of the mystery APEX watch. Assuming it's not just a generic image, it suggests COROS will use a different button layout from the APEX 2 and APEX 2 Pro, with a top-right crown and a bottom-left button instead of three right buttons with a centered crown.

The recent COROS NOMAD has a similar button layout, with the bottom-left Action button used for shortcuts like Voice Pins or Maps; we'd guess the hypothetical APEX 3 will have its own custom shortcuts.

The teaser image also shows COROS's familiar three-prong charging port and a silicone strap, even though the APEX 2 series defaulted to a nylon strap.

COROS won't share any more information until October 15 at 9 a.m. EDT. But based on the old APEX specs and the last three years of COROS releases, we can speculate on what the brand has in store for this device.

What we expect from the COROS APEX 3 series

In the nearly three years since the APEX 2 series launched, COROS has sold two new PACE running watches — including its first AMOLED PACE Pro — a premium VERTIX 2S watch, and a brand-new NOMAD adventurers watch that encroaches a bit on the APEX series' territory.

As a given, we can expect the APEX 3 (Pro) to offer a titanium bezel, sapphire glass, dual-band GPS, offline maps with street names and POIs powered by COROS's fast new Ambiq Apollo 510 processor, an altimeter and gyroscope, and at least two weeks of battery life. We'd also expect a price in the $350–500 range.

One of the big questions will be whether COROS follows industry trends and switches the APEX series to AMOLED. If it keeps MIP, the new APEX would match the NOMAD's display with better visibility and contrast. But rival mid-range watches like the Garmin Forerunner 570 and Suunto Race 2 use bright AMOLED displays with better resolution, while still offering good longevity.

Another question is whether COROS will find a way to close the gap on Garmin watches when it comes to mainstream smarts like a mic & speaker for Bluetooth calling, contactless payments, music streaming apps, or a flashlight. But these all feel like longshots.

The biggest question, in my mind, will be how COROS differentiates the APEX series from the NOMAD and VERTIX series.

The NOMAD caters to hikers and fishermen, letting you save voice recordings or photos of trails or fish to an Adventure Journal" of each activity for you to look at or share later. And the VERTIX very specifically targets serious climbers. So, what "mountain sports" will the APEX 3 or APEX 3 Pro focus on?

Whatever COROS has in store with its all-new APEX watch, we're intrigued. While they're a bit outdated at this point, the APEX 2s were among the best running watches of their time, and they have a more premium look for those who don't like the plastic-heavy PACE and NOMAD designs.