New Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4: Everything announced about the ultimate wearable
Apple
New Health Sensing System 0:00
Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 come with a redesigned Health Sensing System that improves the electrode surface for ECG readings, rearranges photodiodes in a ring for better light capture, and uses larger, more efficient green LEDs for heart rate accuracy. Background heart rate is now measured every five seconds, 60 times more often than before, and heart rate variability, a marker of stress and recovery, is sampled every five minutes, 24 times more often. In tests against other wearables using an ECG chest strap as the reference, Apple Watch showed the most accurate heart rate sensing among wearables tested.
Readiness, Vitals, and Health app redesign 3:30
Heart rate data now appears in an updated Heart Rate app and new watch face complications, and HRV is added to the Vitals app, including a new Daytime view alongside the existing Overnight view. A new feature called Readiness gives you a single daily score, drawing on recent activity, vitals, and sleep, telling you whether to recover, pace yourself, or go for it, and the score can update through the day. The Health app on iPhone gets a full redesign built around Apple Intelligence, with a new Insights tab that generates a summary of your most relevant metrics and offers personalized suggestions, such as adding intervals to a morning run.
Health Age and Longevity tracking 5:31
A new Health Age feature compares metrics like VO2 max and sleep, combined with blood work biomarkers, against your actual age to show what habits are shaping your health. A new Longevity tab pulls together sleep, movement, heart health and more into one view, shaded against current clinical guidance, and lets you add lab results manually, sync medical records, or in the US order a Quest panel covering over 50 biomarkers for $119. A guided VO2 max assessment uses the iPhone camera and Siri voice cues to walk you through a stepping test and gives you results you can retake anytime; the redesigned Health app arrives later this year in US English first.
Audio Intelligence features 8:00
Built-in microphones, Apple silicon, and new AI models bring a new set of Apple Intelligence features called Audio Intelligence, which interprets what you hear the way visual intelligence interprets what you see. Sound Recognition alerts you to sirens, alarms, doorbells, or a baby crying even when your phone isn't nearby, which is aimed especially at people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Live Rewind lets you double-press the Digital Crown to transcribe the last 15 seconds of speech, and Siri Recap takes ambient notes of conversations with a generated title, summary, and key points, both viewable in the Siri app; none of this stores raw audio, speakers aren't identified, and everything is end-to-end encrypted, with Live Rewind and Siri Recap arriving in beta later this year in English.
S11 chip and new finishes 11:30
These intelligence features run on the new S11 chip, which includes a power-efficient always-on processor with a Secure Exclave that manages raw audio only for processing, and a faster CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine derived from the A20 Pro, making it Apple's most powerful wearable chip yet. Series 12 comes in Space Gray, Black, Light Gold, and a new Dark Bronze in recycled aluminum with Ceramic Shield 2 glass that is 60 percent tougher than before, plus titanium and ceramic finishes and new Hermès and Nike band options. Series 12 stays at $399, while Ultra 4 stays at $799 with up to two days of battery life normally, 18 hours during full GPS workout tracking, and up to 45 hours in a new Max Extended Workout mode; both are available for pre-order now and ship September 18.
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