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Coros, maker of some excellent running watches that rival Garmins in features and accuracy, announced a set of updates that include voice alerts, in-app training plans, and the ability to (finally!) change the number of reps in a strength workout directly from your watch. Here are the highlights:
Libraries of training plans and workouts in the app
Coros offers pre-built training plans for a variety of goals, like running your first marathon or beating 25 minutes in a 5K race. But until recently, you couldn't browse and select these from the app.
Now, you can go into Profile on the Coros app, and select Training Plan Library or Workout Library to see all your options. There are separate tabs for the official offerings from Coros, and for “My Workouts” to show just the ones you've created or saved for yourself.
Correcting reps directly from the watch
When you're doing a strength workout, a Coros watch can attempt to count reps, but it doesn't always get things right. With the new update, you can now edit the rep count on your watch immediately after the set.
The strength training feature also adds animations for each exercise, but I found that to enable this, I had to go to the Profile tab in the app and tap “Download now” to get the animation files onto my device. The watch helpfully told me how to do this, but it couldn't download the files during a workout, so I had to end the workout, download the files, and restart.
What do you think so far?
Voice alerts while you're running
Previously, a Coros watch could beep to let you know when a turn was coming up on a route you're following, but unlike a Garmin, it wouldn't actually speak to you to say “turn left.” Now, voice alerts are available for pace, distance, and upcoming turns, as well as nutrition alerts (reminding you to eat during a run), if you've enabled those.
Voice alerts, like exercise animations, also require a file download. Go to Profile, your device, and File Downloads to make sure they've been added before your run.
The update also adds more workout modes, including yoga and pilates; an AI chatbot for help; alerts when you're running a route backwards (and the ability to run it backwards on purpose); and more, including redesigned controls that are intended to be more touchscreen-friendly on touchscreen watches like the Pace Pro.
