A few weeks ago the friendly folks over at Deepblu reached out to us to test their Cosmiq+ dive computer. They quickly sent over a unit and we were pleasantly surprised.
Unboxing the Cosmiq+
The Cosmiq+ comes in a beautiful and well-designed semi-rigid shockproof protective case with soft foam on the inside. The case is both compact enough to travel and will keep your new computer and accessories safe wherever you decide to take it.
What’s in the case
After opening the protective case by unzipping the sturdy zippers, you are not only greeted by the new Cosmiq+ but also with an extra NATO nylon wrist strap, a magnetic wireless charger cable, a bungee cord, a quick start manual, and two anti-glare screen protectors.
NATO Wrist Straps
Besides the wrist strap already attached to the computer, Deepblu adds a second free wrist strap, in our case, this is the green camouflage strap.
Both straps are made of tough NATO weaved nylon with a stainless steel buckle and 3 stainless steel d-rings. The strap is easily secured around your wrist without having excess material waiving around.
Unlike Suunto watch straps that have an extra attachment to fit your computer over a wet- or drysuit, the NATO strap, at 40cm/16in, is long enough to fit both but also tucks away nicely thanks to the d-rings when just wearing it directly on your wrist.
Changing the straps is really easy too, just undo the buckle and slide it right off.
Wireless charging cable
The Cosmiq+ comes with a 50cm/20in nylon braided USB charging cable. The cable has a magnetic connector that easily snaps on to the bottom of the computer.
We were happy to see that they didn’t include yet another wall charger. You can charge the unit from any standard USB port like the one on your computer/laptop, phone wall charger or power bank.
The anti-glare screen protectors & bungee cord
Provided in the case are two anti-glare screen protectors. These screen-protectors are made of a scratch-resistant plastic, coated with an anti-glare and non reflective finish. We recommend you use them if you are diving in bright conditions as they really reduce glare on the device, something we learnt the hard way. But most importantly they protect your device from scratches!
Also in the case, there is a bungee cord that you can attach to the computer to easily slide it over your wet- or drysuit. The bungee is a little on the thinner side, but we haven’t tested it so really can’t say anything about its strength. We prefer the Nato straps anyway.
The Cosmiq+
Now for the computer itself. Wow, just wow. Not only is it well designed it comes with great features too.
Almost all settings on the Cosmiq+ are changed using the Deepblu app. The app is available for iOS and Android and has a large community behind it.
You connect your dive computer to your smartphone via Bluetooth, edit all the settings before your dive and when surfacing sync everything back to your digital logbook and share it with anybody you like. Now that’s innovation for you and these extra features really make the Cosmiq+ a great piece of scuba hardware.
The Cosmiq+ is designed for scuba divers and freedivers and can be used as a primary or secondary computer up to 100m/330ft. For scuba diving, you can choose between air and Nitrox mode and in Nitrox mode, you can adjust your O2 levels between 21% and 40%
The device supports diving in fresh and high saline waters and the PPO is user adjustable between 1.2bar and 1.6bar.
The Cosmiq+ uses the Deepblu Decompression Algorithm based on the Bühlmann ZHL-16C model and can be adjusted to be conservative, normal or progressive.
Pricewise at USD $399,- the Cosmiq+ competes with most mid-range dive computers, and although you can’t connect a wireless tank sensor or have a digital compass the Cosmiq+ is a better bang for your buck!
The more expensive Suunto D4i Novo, SEAC Guru, and Aqualung i450T may come with a few extra functions, the Cosmiq+ make them look overpriced, especially with the screen quality that compares to the Suunto Eon that is almost twice its price.
The Cosmiq+ is not meant to be worn as a daily wrist watch and is a little larger than for example the Suunto D4i Novo, but in return, you get a great display that performs great below the surface and a very comfortable lightweight dive computer.
A design that goes with any color theme
The Cosmiq+ base unit is available in two colors.
The black version is available in simple black or with lava red accents.
The white version is available with lilac purple, steel grey or ocean blue accents.
Both versions come with a NATO strap in the accent color and a camouflage strap that is also in the accent color. The Cosmiq+ black, however, comes with an extra green military camouflage strap.
The COSMIQ+ is a refresh of the original COSMIQ model. During the design of the new Cosmiq+ 2019 dive computer, Deepblu completely re-engineered and fully reinforced the chassis without significantly increasing its overall size. As a result, the new chassis is equipped with additional fasteners, a redesigned o-ring, and 35% thicker material while maintaining the contours of its signature aesthetics.
You can of course also order other color straps from their website and personalize your computer’s color scheme the way you want.
2.2 inches of pure pleasure
We are really impressed with the display on the Cosmiq+ dive computer.
The Cosmiq+ boasts a 5.6cm/2.2 inch, pixel-less high-contrast EBTN (Enhanced Black Twisted Nematic) negative image LCD display. The screen is very bright with vivid colors and performs well at most angles.
Although the device comes with anti-glare screen protectors that really do reduce glare, at some angles when sunlight hits the display from above there is a little glare. This is probably due to the fact that the screen is flat and reflects light easier. Not a deal breaker though. The screen in our opinion is still one of the best we have seen in it’s price range.
We tested the device in both murky and clear blue water at different depths and it performed great, even with a foggy mask you can still clearly read the high contrast display.
On the surface, the screen is still really well readable and the anti-glare screen protectors really help to reduce the glare.
No more shining your light on to the screen and getting blinded by the reflection during night dives. No more pressing a button on the computer just to light up the display. Just everything you need to know at the flick of your wrist.
The battery
The Cosmiq+ battery is rechargable with the provided magnetic charging cable. No more going to the diveshop to get your battery replaced.
A fully charged Cosmiq+ will give you about 10 to 12 hours of diving depending on your brightness settings.
The device has a standby time of up to a month and goes into standby mode automatically. one of the great functions is you can switch off the computer and save the battery, just don’t forget to turn it on before your dive.
During our dives, we just charged the Cosmiq+ the night before, it takes about 2 hours to fully charge the computer.
According to the manual, the battery of the COSMIQ+ will gradually lose its capacity after 500 charge cycles and operation time may diminish accordingly. A quick calculation tells us that’s at least 6000 hours of diving before you need to charge it more regularly.. we can live with that!
Operating modes
The Cosmiq+ comes with 6 operating modes
- Watch mode
- Scuba mode
- Bottom timer mode
- Freedive mode
- Log mode
- Sync mode
The Cosmiq+ only has two buttons. With only two buttons (mode and adjust) the COSMIQ dive computer is very easy to operate. The left button is used to switch between the modes, and the right button is used to adjust the basic settings.
In freedive mode, you can set alarms for the maximum depth and time. In scuba mode, you can change the O2 percentage and in log mode, you can browse your last 25 dives stored on the unit.
All other settings are changed using the intuitive app. No more remembering weird button combinations! The app also gives you free over the air updates to your computer, this way you always have the latest firmware on the Cosmiq+
Cosmiq+ key features
- A large, high-contrast screen displaying all vital dive information at once.Scuba Mode with proprietary and adjustable decompression algorithm based on
- Bühlmann ZHL-16C to help you safely dive within your limits.
- Bottom Timer Mode with resettable average depth and stage time.
- Freedive Mode designed specifically for freediving (apnea).
- Log Mode to quickly check on up to 25 previous dives.
- Dive Plan function to dynamically plan your dive.
- Audible and visual alarms to warn you of dangerous situations.
- Wireless synchronization with a mobile device to create and share digital dive logs.
- Easily adjustable settings via the user-friendly Deepblu app.
- Supports nitrox diving between 21% and 40%.
- Supports high-altitude diving and diving in highly saline water.
- Free over-the-air (OTA) firmware upgrades.
- Rechargeable Li-ion battery with magnetic USB connector.
- Power-saving mode and brightness settings to extend battery life.
The Divebase verdict
Overall the Cosmiq+ is a great dive computer, we will even go as far as saying it is one of the best in it’s price range. The rechargable battery and the screen are one of our favorite functions.
Syncing your dives with their online dive logbook in the app is a great feature. Using the app to change settings and update the firmware is how we see the future of dive computers. Deepblu is very innovative here.
Will the Cosmiq+ replace my Suunto D6i Novo as my primary dive computer?
The answer is not that simple, I really like the fact that I can check my air consumption from my wrist and although I hardly use the 3D compass function I like the idea that it is there. Traveling with the Suunto D6i Novo renders the wireless air integration useless for me as I hardly bring my gear along, so while traveling this will probably be my new primary computer.
Will it replace my secondary Suunto Zoop?
Definitely.
Disclaimer: Products in this review may have been provided for free in return for the author’s honest review. The review may also contain affiliate links. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are in no way influenced by the developing company and/or it’s affiliates in any way.