The smartwatch market has split into two clear paths: dedicated fitness watches built for athletes, and lifestyle smartwatches designed to stay deeply connected to your phone. The Coros Pace 4 and Apple Watch SE 3, both priced at $249, perfectly represent these opposing philosophies. One prioritizes endurance, battery life, and training data. The other focuses on everyday convenience, health insights, and app-driven functionality.
Here’s how they compare.
Comparison Table
| Feature | Coros Pace 4 | Apple Watch SE 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $249 | $249 (GPS) / $299 (Cellular) |
| Weight | 32g (nylon) / 40g (silicone) | 26.4g (40mm) |
| Display | 1.2″ AMOLED, 390×390 | Retina OLED, Always-On |
| Battery (Daily Use) | 6–19 days | ~18 hours |
| Battery (GPS) | 31–41 hours | ~5–6 hours |
| GPS | Dual-frequency, multi-GNSS | Standard GPS |
| Heart Rate | Optical HR (5-LED) | Optical HR + wrist temperature |
| Advanced Metrics | VO₂ max, lactate threshold, race predictor | Sleep score, cycle tracking, sleep apnea alerts |
| Water Resistance | 50 m | 50 m |
| Smart Features | Basic notifications, music control | Apps, Apple Pay, cellular, calls |
| Training Plans | Built-in marathon plans | Apple Fitness+ (subscription) |
| Voice Features | Training notes, voice pins | Siri, calls, voice memos |
| Music Storage | None | Streaming only |
| Compatibility | iOS & Android | iOS only |
Design and Build Quality
The Coros Pace 4 is built with one goal in mind: disappear on your wrist. At just 32 grams with the nylon band, it’s among the lightest GPS watches available. The plastic construction feels utilitarian rather than premium, but that’s intentional. The 11.8 mm thickness and curved profile make it ideal for long runs and sleep tracking without irritation.
The Apple Watch SE 3 feels more refined and lifestyle-oriented. Its recycled aluminum case, smooth edges, and tight tolerances give it a polished look. While slightly heavier on paper, it still feels light in daily wear. However, its design leans more toward everyday use than athletic minimalism.
Display Technology
Both watches use AMOLED displays, but they behave very differently.
The Pace 4’s screen is bright (up to 1,500 nits), colorful, and sharp, but visibility drops in certain sunlight angles, especially in always-on mode. It excels indoors and at night but can require wrist movement outdoors.
Apple’s Retina OLED remains best-in-class for readability. The always-on display adjusts intelligently to lighting conditions, and text remains legible in bright sun without effort. Apple’s display tuning is still unmatched in the smartwatch space.
Battery Life: The Deciding Factor
Battery life is the clearest dividing line.
The Coros Pace 4 delivers up to 19 days of smartwatch use with raise-to-wake enabled, or 6 days with always-on display. GPS battery life reaches 41 hours in high-accuracy mode and 31 hours with dual-frequency enabled. This makes it suitable for ultramarathons and multi-day adventures without charging.
The Apple Watch SE 3 offers about 18 hours of daily use and roughly 5–6 hours of GPS tracking. That’s enough for daily workouts and even marathons, but it requires nightly charging. For endurance athletes, battery anxiety is unavoidable.
Fitness and Health Tracking
Coros built the Pace 4 for structured training. It includes VO₂ max estimates, lactate threshold tracking, race predictions, running fitness scores, and built-in marathon plans. Dual-frequency GPS provides excellent accuracy in cities and forests. The microphone enables voice notes and “voice pins” during activities, letting athletes record subjective training insights on the fly.
Apple Watch SE 3 focuses on health breadth rather than athletic depth. It adds sleep scoring, wrist temperature tracking for cycle estimates, sleep apnea notifications, and robust workout detection across dozens of activities. Fitness tracking is accurate and consistent, but serious runners often prefer the depth and clarity of dedicated training metrics found on Coros.
Smart Features and Ecosystem
This is where Apple dominates.
The Apple Watch SE 3 supports calls, texts, Siri, Apple Pay, third-party apps, and optional cellular independence. It integrates flawlessly with iOS, iCloud, Apple Music, and Fitness+. Safety features like Crash Detection and Fall Detection further extend its appeal beyond fitness.
The Coros Pace 4 keeps things intentionally simple. You get notifications, basic music controls, and syncing with platforms like Strava and TrainingPeaks. There’s no app store, no contactless payments, and no cellular option. It’s a fitness tool first, not a phone replacement.
What Reddit Users Say
Across running-focused subreddits, Coros users consistently cite battery life as the reason they switch. Many describe Coros watches as “liberating” compared to Apple Watch notification overload. Several runners note they train with Coros and wear an Apple Watch outside workouts.
Apple Watch users praise health tracking and ecosystem convenience but acknowledge battery limitations. Marathon runners report finishing races with low but sufficient battery, reinforcing that Apple Watch works for endurance events—but only just.
The consensus is clear: Coros is for training focus, Apple is for everyday life.
Recommendations
Choose Coros Pace 4 if you:
- Train seriously for running or endurance sports
- Need multi-day battery life and long GPS sessions
- Want dual-frequency GPS accuracy
- Prefer a distraction-free training tool
- Use Android or want platform flexibility
Choose Apple Watch SE 3 if you:
- Use an iPhone and value ecosystem integration
- Want a smartwatch that also tracks fitness
- Care about sleep, cycle, and health monitoring
- Need apps, payments, calls, and safety features
- Don’t mind daily charging
Final Verdict
These watches aren’t true competitors, they’re specialists in different roles.
The Coros Pace 4 is a focused endurance tool built for athletes who care about battery life, GPS accuracy, and training insight above all else. The Apple Watch SE 3 is a versatile smartwatch that delivers solid fitness tracking while excelling at everything around it.
For casual fitness and daily life, the Apple Watch SE 3 is the better fit. For runners logging serious miles, the Coros Pace 4 offers unmatched value at $249.
The best watch isn’t the one with more features, it’s the one that matches how you actually train and live.