Coros Pace 4 Review: A Lightweight AMOLED Sports Watch That Gets the Fundamentals Right

Introduction

The Coros Pace 4 is a new lightweight sports watch that joins the Coros Pace line, sitting between the Pace 3 it replaces and the larger Pace Pro. The headline upgrade over the Pace 3 is a 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen, making the Pace 4 and Pace Pro the two AMOLED options in the Coros range. Coros positions the Pace line firmly at road runners and urban use, where a bright AMOLED panel makes more sense than the memory-in-pixel displays still used on watches like the Nomad, Apex and Vertix lines.

At 229 pounds or 249 dollars, it is one of the more affordable serious sports watches out there, and from November 14th the older Pace 3 drops to 199 pounds or 199 dollars as a cheaper alternative. Coros plans to phase out both the Pace 3 and Pace Pro eventually, so the Pace 4 is the watch set to carry the line forward.

Who This Watch Is For

The Pace line has always been about small, light, comfortable watches, and the Pace 4 continues that. The case weighs under 30 grams on its own, just over that with the nylon band, and about 40 grams with the silicone band. If you have a thin wrist, you barely notice it is there, and it is comfortable enough to wear all day and night, including for sleep tracking.

It also suits runners who want genuinely advanced tracking without paying premium-watch prices. Since the original Pace launched in 2018, the line has built a reputation for reliable, accurate watches at a good price, and the Pace 4 keeps that promise while improving the design.

Main Strengths

The design is a genuine step forward. The 1.2-inch AMOLED screen is bright and clear in almost all conditions, including direct sunlight, and reads better than the memory-in-pixel display on the Pace 3. A third button, the action button also introduced on this year’s Apex and Nomad, works as a shortcut within activities to quickly swap between stat and navigation screens.

Other hardware upgrades include a built-in mic, which you can use to drop voice pins on a route or leave voice notes at the end of a workout through Coros’s new training log feature, transcribed automatically in the app. Sensors cover all the usual bases: barometer, pulse oximeter, an improved heart rate sensor, a dual-band GPS chipset, Bluetooth sensor connectivity (but not ANT+), and a 5 ATM waterproof rating.

GPS and Heart Rate Accuracy

GPS tracking has been excellent. Compared against a wide range of other dual-band watches, including watches from Garmin, Apple and Suunto, distances, lap times and GPS tracks have all lined up very closely, with routes plotted accurately on the actual path run. Coros was among the first brands to offer dual-band tracking, and while early implementations were patchy, the Pace 4 continues the strong form of recent Coros watches.

Heart rate tracking is slightly more of a mixed bag, though still a net positive. Easy runs and even some hard track sessions matched a chest strap very well, but on very sharp interval work the readings could run high throughout. If you plan to use the training analysis long term, pairing a chest strap adds accuracy, but for most runs the optical sensor held up on its own.

Battery Life and Charging

Despite moving to AMOLED, battery life is impressive. Coros claims up to 19 days in watch mode, around 6 days with the always-on display enabled, and 31 hours of multi-band GPS tracking, dropping to 24 hours with the always-on screen during activities. In real use with the always-on display on, the watch lasted between 4 and 5 days per charge while running every day with multi-band GPS and sleep tracking enabled.

In race-to-wake style use it drains roughly 10% per day, slightly more on long runs. That is with daytime heart rate readings set to every 10 minutes; continuous 24/7 heart rate will reduce it a little. The watch charges via a small adapter that clips onto the end of a USB-C cable, with a handy keychain attachment included, though no USB-C cable comes in the box.

Things to Consider Before Buying

There are a few gaps. There are no offline maps here, only breadcrumb navigation; maps remain a Pace Pro feature. Smart features are also minimal: there is no NFC payment or app store, music storage works only for MP3 files dragged across, and there are no on-watch music playback controls for your phone. Watch face customisation is fairly limited too, with no weather-capable faces beyond the quick-access widget.

One recurring annoyance: the dial and buttons are easy to trigger by accident, especially with gloves on, so you may find yourself leaning on the button lock and screen lock, which adds an extra unlock step when you want to end a run. None of these are dealbreakers at this price, but they are worth knowing about.

Buying Advice

Within the Coros range, the choice against the Pace 3 comes down mainly to display preference: the AMOLED panel is clearer in all conditions and battery life is on par or slightly better in GPS mode, so the Pace 4 is worth the extra money. The Pace Pro, dropping to 299 pounds or 299 dollars, adds a bigger screen and offline maps for those who might need them, though both older models are being phased out; Coros has a decent record of updating older watches, so that is not a major concern.

Outside Coros, the Suunto Run is a close competitor at a similar price, though the Coros software experience and training analysis feel easier to use. The Garmin Forerunner 165 offers streaming music and guided workouts but lacks dual-band GPS and has less detailed training analysis, which Coros applies uniformly across its range. Amazfit smartwatches like the Balance and Active, and the Apple Watch SE 3, are alternatives if you lean more toward smartwatch features than pure sports tracking.

Verdict

The Pace 4 is one of the standout sports watch releases of 2025. It packs accurate dual-band GPS, a bright AMOLED display, useful new hardware like the action button and mic, and genuinely strong battery life into a very light, comfortable, affordable package. It will not replace a premium metal watch, and it lacks maps and deep smart features, but as a lightweight watch with advanced tracking for runners of all levels, it is arguably the best value in its class right now, unless offline maps tip you toward the Pace Pro.

Conclusion

For new runners, the approachable price and clean, simple interface make it an easy first serious watch. For experienced runners who prefer a small, light watch on the wrist, it delivers everything needed without compromise on tracking quality. That balance of capability, comfort and price is exactly what makes the Pace 4 easy to recommend.