Coros Vertix 2S Early Review: A Rugged GPS Watch Refines Tracking, But Not the Heart Rate Story

Introduction

The Coros Vertix 2S is the new top-end sports watch in Coros’ range, arriving as a small but meaningful update to the Vertix 2. It keeps the same price as its predecessor at £599 / $699, and the headline changes focus on two areas: a new optical heart rate sensor and a redesigned antenna layout for more accurate dual-band GPS tracking.

Early testing suggests the GPS story is a genuine step forward, while heart rate results are far less convincing. Battery life, a Coros pillar, remains excellent overall, though the official figures have dropped slightly compared to the Vertix 2.

Design and Build

Do not let the S in the name fool you: this is not a smaller Vertix. It is still a big, chunky watch, and the case is actually slightly thicker than the Vertix 2 at 50mm, weighing 61g. On the wrist it sits in the same ballpark as Garmin’s Fenix and Epix ranges, so it will not suit anyone who prefers something compact.

Materials are where it earns its keep. You get a titanium bezel and case back, plastic in between, a sapphire glass screen, and a 1.4-inch memory-in-pixel touchscreen with Coros’ usual three-button layout, the middle button doubling as a digital dial. The waterproof rating is 10 ATM, and there is a compass and altimeter on board. Three colours are available: grey, blue and black.

One genuinely welcome touch is that both a silicone and a nylon strap ship in the box, both 26mm and easy to swap thanks to quick-release pins. The nylon band is easier to adjust on the move and a good option for anyone who suffers from silicone strap irritation.

GPS Accuracy: The Real Upgrade

Dual-band GPS has been improved here, and it addresses one of the Vertix 2’s weakest points. The Vertix 2 was among the first dual-band watches on the market, but Garmin, Suunto, Polar and even the Apple Watch Ultra have since moved ahead of it on tracking accuracy.

In testing against watches like the Garmin Epix Pro and Apple Watch Ultra 2, the Vertix 2S proved very much comparable, holding its line well even near taller buildings where signal can be blocked. It now appears Coros has figured out dual-band tracking, similar to what it achieved with the Pace 3. It is not flawless, with occasional off-road or wrong-side-of-the-road wobbles in towns, but as a GPS tracking watch this is a meaningful improvement.

Heart Rate: The Disappointment

The new optical heart rate sensor is the weakest part of the story. Despite the updated hardware, testing consistently showed readings running high against a Polar H10 chest strap, sometimes by a meaningful margin even on easy runs, with occasional spikes and failures to track drops in effort.

Part of this may be the inherent challenge of optical sensors on large watches worn on thinner wrists, where the watch moves around more. But the trade-off is hard to ignore: the new sensor demands more power, which is why battery life has dropped, without a corresponding gain in accuracy. If heart rate matters to your training, a chest strap remains the sensible pairing.

Battery Life

Coros claims up to 46 days in watch mode, or 36 days with sleep tracking enabled, plus up to 118 hours of standard GPS tracking and 43 hours of dual-band GPS. Those numbers have come down from the Vertix 2, largely because of the new heart rate sensor, but they still beat rivals like the Fenix 7, Enduro 2, Polar Grit X2 Pro and Suunto Vertical on paper.

Real-world early testing backed this up: around eight hours of running over eight days left the watch at 80%, with an average overnight drop of about 1% with sleep and stress tracking on. Runs were remarkably efficient, with a one-hour dual-band run consuming around 2-3%, and a two-hour standard GPS run just 1%. A month of training on a single charge looks realistic.

Navigation and Maps

The watch handles navigation well. Maps can be pulled into any activity via a hotkey, even when you are not following a route, with a breadcrumb trail showing where you have been. Turn-by-turn navigation works by creating and uploading a course, and the process of getting maps onto the watch is relatively stress-free.

The maps themselves are functional but not as detailed or colourful as Garmin’s, and it is oddly not possible to add maps as a default data screen in an activity. As a navigation tool for runners and hikers, though, it does the job.

App, Training Tools and Software

Setup and syncing are easy and reliable, with the app transferring runs without fuss. Coros’ EvoLab training tools are comprehensive, though some of the insights feel over-complicated, with multiple readouts that overlap and can be confusing to interpret. They are not quite as extensive or as simple to understand as Garmin Connect, but there is a lot there if you want it.

Offline music is supported, though there is no Spotify support, and getting tracks onto the watch is a real chore. External sensors connect via Bluetooth, but not ANT+.

Should You Upgrade?

At £599, the Vertix 2S sits against watches like the Suunto Vertical and the Garmin Fenix 7X, while the Epix Pro costs considerably more. The value argument is real: titanium, sapphire glass and long battery life typically cost more elsewhere, and the watch is lighter than the equivalent Garmin.

If you want the best feature set, though, a Fenix, particularly a titanium Fenix 7 model found on sale, is arguably a better buy, with more polished music, maps and training tools. And if GPS precision is not your priority, a deal on the older Vertix 2 may be the smarter play, since Coros has a good record of supporting older watches.

As an upgrade from the Vertix 2, the case is for GPS-focused buyers. For everyone else, the design is so similar and the heart rate story so unchanged that it is not an obvious instant upgrade.

Conclusion

The Coros Vertix 2S is a well-built, long-lasting rugged sports watch that fixes the Vertix 2’s biggest weakness: GPS accuracy. Dual-band tracking now rivals the best from Garmin and Apple, battery life remains outstanding despite the dip, and the premium materials add genuine value at the price. The new heart rate sensor, however, has not delivered the accuracy improvement that justified the battery trade-off, and feature-wise Garmin still has the edge. If precise GPS tracking is what you want in a tough, light-for-its-class watch, this is a very good option at its price.