Coros Pace 4: the new ultra-light sports watch challenges Garmin

Garmin’s major rival in the sports watch market has unveiled its new ultra-light model for athletes who run, cycle and swim. It substantially improves on the Pace 3, puts the Pace Pro’s future in doubt, and introduces an AMOLED display, a microphone and a more understated new design.

Coros quietly revealed it on Eliud Kipchoge’s wrist. In New York, as the marathon runner collected the final race number needed to complete his set of the world’s six most prestigious marathons, the new Pace 4 lit up with its AMOLED screen. Coros’s latest release of 2025 comes from the Pace range - and it is no ordinary model. This is the watch behind the brand’s success, helping it gain ground on Garmin in the entry-level, ultra-light sports watch segment that the dominant American brand has failed to defend.

Sports watch: Coros replaces the Pace 3 with the Pace 4

The Coros Pace 4 succeeds the Pace 3, which launched in August 2023. Its price rises only slightly, to €269 rather than €249, yet it brings numerous upgrades while retaining the sports watch’s core purpose: delivering accurate metrics in an ultra-light case with excellent battery life. Looking at the specification of the new Pace 4, the Pace 3’s figures now almost seem modest. With the addition of an AMOLED display, the watch has caught up and no longer has any reason to envy the Pace Pro. In fact, the latter may disappear, as it no longer has enough arguments to remain on the market.

The new Coros Pace 4 has more to offer than its screen and battery life. The brand is pursuing its aim of adding a microphone to all of its new GPS sports watches. We will return to this feature later in the article, as it introduces a new function likely to appeal to athletes who follow training plans on their watch and like to keep notes on every workout. However, it is already worth pointing out that the new Pace 4 will not gain maps, a cellular version for making calls, or a torch - a feature now found on an increasing number of Garmin models.

The Pace 4 sports watch also will not add everyday functions or equipment. One minor disappointment is that Coros still does not appear ready to launch a contactless payment service, unlike Garmin with Garmin Pay and the NFC chip in its watches. It is a shame, as this small feature means you can leave your phone or bank card behind while still being able to pay during an outing.

Coros Pace 4 design and display

The Coros Pace 4 has dimensions close to those of the Pace 3: a 43.4 x 43.4 mm case, 11.8 mm thick, compared with 11.7 mm for the Pace 3, and a weight of 32 g with the nylon strap, rising to 40 g with the silicone strap. Its display measures 1.2 inches. The design changes echo those seen on the Coros Pace Pro, with the screen blended more seamlessly into the bezel. The construction remains plastic, with a two-tone finish between the bezel and the sports watch’s side section, which also houses the buttons. Speaking of buttons, a new pusher has appeared on the left side of the watch. We will cover this in the Coros Pace 4 software section.

The Pace 4 therefore moves to an AMOLED screen, replacing Coros’s transflective panel that helped keep both the watch’s price and power consumption down. First introduced on the Coros Pace Pro, the AMOLED display provides a broader colour range, stronger contrast - with genuinely black blacks because no LED is illuminated - and better legibility. Coros says the Pace 4’s display resolution is 164% higher than the Pace 3’s. More specifically, it offers 390 x 390 pixels and a maximum brightness of 1500 nits - matching the Pace Pro. Coros remains conservative with the Pace range’s protective glass, continuing to use mineral glass as it prioritises price and low weight, as it did with the Pace 3.

Coros Pace 4 battery and battery life

Coros surprised many people when it launched the Pace Pro: contrary to popular assumptions, adopting AMOLED did not cause battery consumption to soar. Or, more accurately, Coros handled the new display very effectively by improving the sports watch’s efficiency. The result was excellent - until the Pace 4 arrived. This model is even more enduring than the Pace Pro, offering 41 hours of GPS use with all sensors enabled, versus 31 hours for the Pace Pro and 25 hours for the Pace 3. Battery life in dual-frequency GPS mode is rated at 31 hours, compared with 15 hours on the Pace 3. In daily-use mode, without GPS activity, it reaches 19 days, up from 15 days on the Pace 3.

Pace 4 battery life drops when Always-on mode is enabled, as this keeps the display continuously lit. Users can choose to activate Always-on while the watch is recording an activity only, or at all times, including outside activities. The impact is 10 hours, reducing battery life to 31 hours in GPS mode with all sensors enabled. With dual-frequency GPS, the Pace 4 lasts 24 hours in Always-on mode, matching the battery life of a Pace Pro. The data cannot be compared with the Pace 3, as it has no AMOLED screen and therefore no Always-on mode: its display remains lit at all times, although brightness increases only when you raise the watch towards you or press a button.

To promote the Pace 4, Coros highlights these comparisons: 16 additional hours over the Pace 3 in all-systems GPS mode, and 4 more days in everyday use. Compared with the Pace Pro, it offers 3 extra hours in all-systems GPS mode. Coros told Presse-citron that the Pace 4’s greater endurance compared with the Pace Pro comes from a combination of battery capacity and its smaller display, at 1.2 inches rather than 1.3 inches.

The Coros Pace 4 action button and microphone

The other new additions to the Coros Pace 4 are a new action button on the sports watch case and the integration of a microphone. Starting with the button, it essentially adds another control to make navigation around the sports watch quicker. Until now, the Coros interface allowed users to scroll through menus and data horizontally. With the third button, it will now be possible to scroll from left to right to move between menus or access media controls, navigation, or the watch’s overall settings.

Coros spent time discussing the microphone during a briefing with Presse-citron. The brand does not intend it to be used for calls, but rather to make post-workout note-taking easier. It believes comments about how a session felt are essential for recalling sensations and training periods, but most of us do not want to spend time writing a few lines at the end of a workout. The microphone is therefore designed to record us and transcribe our impressions, adding them as text and an audio file that can be found in the app within the history of our sessions.

Coros Pace 4 price and release date

Two years after the Pace 3, the new Pace 4 is on sale for €269, an increase of €20. It is available to buy in France from 10 November, and will arrive in shops at the beginning of December, including Decathlon, for example. At launch, only black and white versions are available, and solely with the silicone strap. This is a real shame, as it is less comfortable and heavier than the nylon option. Coros says it had difficulties receiving the nylon straps in time for the Pace 4 launch. Nevertheless, we would recommend them for their lower weight, comfort and quick adjustment to fit your wrist perfectly.

Another important detail is that Coros will reduce the price of the Pace 3 and Pace Pro from 14 November. The Pace 3 will be €20 cheaper at €229, while the Pace Pro will lose €50, falling to €349. Brand representatives told Presse-citron that both older models will remain on sale while stocks last, suggesting that the Pace Pro will also be retired. That would be understandable: although it has mapping and an electrical heart-rate sensor unavailable on the Pace 4, it no longer stands out enough. Heavier and more expensive, it now competes with the trail-focused range, which offers greater battery life and a tougher case.

It remains to be seen what Coros has in store for 2026 after this new Pace 4.