Apple unveils the Series 12 with a focus on advanced health sensors and new health features, including an all-new readiness score and enhanced heart-rate tracking, signalling a shift towards more health-centric wearable devices.
Apple has unveiled the Apple Watch Series 12, placing a heavier emphasis on health monitoring than on outward design change. According to Apple’s announcement, the new model centres on an updated Health Sensing System and the S11 chip, which together are meant to improve heart-rate and heart-rate-variability readings and support a new readiness score for daily use. Pre-orders are open now, with in-store availability set for Friday, September 18.
Apple says the watch measures heart rate every five seconds throughout the day, while HRV is sampled up to 24 times more often than before. MacRumors reported that the redesigned sensor array includes larger green LEDs for motion tracking, alongside changes intended to improve ECG contact and light capture. The company also says the watch now provides separate recovery and overall HRV views, which are meant to give users a clearer sense of stress, recovery and general cardiovascular status.
The new readiness feature combines recent activity, training load, sleep and vitals into a single score, with Apple presenting it as a simple guide to whether the user should recover, pace themselves or push harder. The watch also keeps the company’s existing safety and fitness features, including workout tracking, sleep tracking, ECG, sleep apnoea notifications, Fall Detection and Emergency SOS. Apple says battery life remains up to 24 hours in normal use, while outdoor workout endurance rises to 10 hours, and a 15-minute charge can deliver up to 12 hours of use.
The software story is wider than the watch itself. Apple says a redesigned Health app for iPhone will arrive later this year with an Insights tab, a Longevity tab and a Health Age feature, while watchOS 27 adds Siri AI, a new Siri app and Audio Intelligence tools such as Sound Recognition and Live Rewind. Apple says those features are built with privacy controls in mind, do not store raw audio recordings and use hardware-isolated processing. The watch ships in new finishes including dark bronze, black, light gold, space grey aluminium, radiant gold titanium and ceramic options, with pricing starting at $399 in the US.
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