Apple has just announced the Apple Watch Series 12 alongside the Apple Watch Ultra 4. and it’s the biggest health upgrade the Apple Watch has had in years.
The headline feature is a new Health Sensing System (which is also included in the Ultra 4). Apple says it delivers the most accurate heart rate sensing of any wearable on the market.
That’s a big claim, but Apple says it’s backed by a study of over 1000 people, comparing the new sensors against rival wearables.
New optical and electrical heart sensors sit at the heart of it (pun intended). Bigger, more efficient green LEDs now measure your heart rate every five seconds, all day long.
HRV (heart rate variability), a key stress and recovery marker, is now measured up to 24 times more often than before.
There’s a new readiness score too (finally!) It looks at your recent activity, training load, vitals and sleep, then gives you a single number out of 10.
Alongside that score comes a plain-English recommendation: Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready, or Go For It. I like this a lot.
The score updates through the day, not just each morning. So if you smash a workout or your sleep tracking picks up something odd, it’ll shift to reflect that.
Apple’s built the algorithm using data from its own Heart and Movement Study, working with exercise scientists and physicians.
Battery life gets a boost during workouts specifically. You’re looking at up to 10 hours during an outdoor workout, a 25-percent improvement.
Everyday battery life stays at 24 hours, which is still behind most Android smartwatch rivals. Charging is faster, though, 15 minutes on the charger now gets you 12 hours of extra juice.
Step tracking has also been reworked with new machine learning models, which Apple reckons makes this the most accurate step counter of any smartwatch.
Later this year, a redesigned Health app arrives on iPhone. It’ll include a new Longevity tab, with a Health Age feature that shows how your metrics stack up against your actual age.
That’s paired with movement evaluations – at-home assessments of flexibility, strength and balance, done using your iPhone camera and Apple Watch. No footage is stored.
Then there’s Audio Intelligence, arguably the most interesting new AI feature. It uses the watch’s microphone and the new S11 chip to help you keep track of conversations.
Live Rewind lets you double-press the Digital Crown to see the last 15 seconds of a conversation as text, in case you missed something. Siri Recap goes further, generating a summary and key points after a chat.
As someone constantly forgetting the names of people I just met, I really like this feature. Apple insists no audio is ever recorded or stored, and processing happens in a hardware-isolated part of the chip that deletes everything instantly. There’s also an audible chime and visual indicator whenever it’s active, so people around you know it’s on.
Design-wise, the Series 12 comes in a fresh set of finishes: dark bronze (very trendy), black, light gold and space grey aluminium, plus radiant gold and natural titanium.
There’s also a new ceramic option in pearl white and night blue.
Aluminium models now get Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple says is 60-percent tougher than the glass on the outgoing model.
The Apple Watch Series 12 is available to pre-order now. It lands in stores on Friday, September 18.
Prices start at $399 in the US and £399 in the UK.
watchOS 27, which brings the readiness score and other software features, rolls out on Monday, September 14.
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