Coros Pace 4 Update Adds Maps In Big Value Win Versus Garmin

Coros has released a software update that includes a major upgrade for Coros Pace 4 owners, one that will make many glad they chose one over a rival Garmin .

The Coros Pace 4 gets full mapping support as part of the company's September software update, making it one of the most affordable ways to get maps on a fitness watch.

Software update notes suggest you can expect fully-featured maps on the Pace 4, including "street and trail names and POIs," or points of interest.

This is not something I expected to see for the Pace 4 series, for one key reason — these watches do not have much spare memory.

The previous entry-level option for mapping support was the Coros Pace Pro , a watch with 32GB of space. A Pace 4 has just 4GB. While map data isn't massively storage hungry compared to high-resolution audio or video, watch map data is typically downloaded by country or continent, which isn't going to be possible at this scale.

It is something Coros addresses directly, too.

"Pace 4 has 4GB onboard storage. While this is not enough space for large map areas, we feel comfortable releasing this feature since most users only need to download local maps for home areas and places they might travel to."

Before this update, the Coros Pace 4 supported breadcrumb trail routing, but now has full topographic maps with landscape information.

Maps for Pace 4 starts in beta today, but marks a major upgrade for what was already one of the most feature-packed watches at its price.

Coros Versus Garmin

To give some competitor context for this upgrade, a Coros Pace 4 costs $249, while the cheapest Garmin model with on-watch maps that is not an older model is the Garmin Forerunner 970 , at $749.99.

Based on my recent experience with using maps on Coros wearables, some work could still be put into improving the mapping user experience. But you can't argue with the sheer value here.

The September software update brings some other enhancements too.

The experience of using planned routes for cyclists gets an upgrade, and this is available across the range, not just for Pace 4. A new Climb Alerts feature shows an on-screen prompt about incoming climbs as you ride, and there's an elevation view of upcoming terrain so you can see what you are up against.

During the effort you can see how much elevation is left in the current climb — which in some cases may feel like a particularly trying parallel of watching a pan of water come to the boil. Details of climbs will automatically be calculated when riding a planned route.

A handful of recent Coros watches get new smarts too, in the form of new voice commands. These are used during workout activities, where most fitness watch digital assistant style features are typically used outside of workouts.

Here's the list of example added voice commands Coros has provided:

• Start a 10-minute timer

• Open navigation

• End navigation

• Start a nutrition alert for 30 minutes

• Alert me if my heart rate goes above 160

• Lower trainer resistance to 10 per cent

• Set target power to 180 watts

It's clear Coros has put some thought into what sort of commands might actually be useful for someone using a fitness watch here. These new features apple to the Coros Nomad , Pace 4 and Apex 4 series.

Coros has also given its Adventure Journal feature a refresh. This is where your activities and photos are collected into a ready-to-share presentation, along with those all-important workout stats.

This Coros software update is rolling out now. Coros Pace 4 owners in particular are advised to check it out.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com