At its usual event in early September, Apple announced the Watch Series 12 with “Audio Intelligence.” This is a feature designed to listen and track key phrases in your conversations. Additionally, the wearable benefits from a redesigned sensor platform to better track your vital signs. In this context, it uses functionality from competitors like Garmin, Oura and Whoop. Not forgetting, for the first time in more than half a decade, the return of a ceramic option.
The main feature is “Audio Intelligence” which Apple says will monitor your conversations while you’re having them. As part of this, “Live Rewind” will allow users to press their digital crown twice to obtain a transcription of the previous 15 seconds of conversation. And, after each conversation, users can ask Siri to prepare a summary of the conversation to serve as a memory aid.
Apple says the feature is entirely optional, will deliberately ignore private or sensitive information, and will not store any audio. The company claims that audio processing takes place in its own secure enclave and, once completed, will be immediately deleted. These features won’t arrive until later in 2026, and you’ll need to own an iPhone 16 or newer, have Apple Intelligence enabled, and not live in the EU (for the usual reasons).
On the less dystopian side of the fence, the system will act as a second pair of ears for people with accessibility needs. If the watch detects any of the following sounds, such as a child crying, a doorbell, a siren, or an alarm, it will alert the wearer. Additionally, on Series 12, Shazam will constantly run in the background, identifying any song playing in your local environment, wherever you go.
Health and fitness remain the Apple Watch’s bread and butter, and the company has boasted about the Series 12’s (and Series 4 Ultra’s) redesigned sensor platform. The new hardware features a larger electrode to improve skin contact during ECGs, as well as larger photodiodes in the PPG (photoplethysmography) sensor. This, combined with a series of larger, more energy-efficient LEDs, is designed to significantly improve the accuracy of heart rate detection. Apple, no stranger to hyperbole, already claims that this is the most precise device in its category.
Interestingly, it is the most energy efficient LEDs that can bring the biggest dividend to users, as they have allowed Apple to increase the frequency of readings. The Series 12 checks its wearer’s heart rate every five seconds, as well as their heart rate variability every five minutes. A new complication will also bring more detailed live heart rate data to the home screen.
It’s clear that Apple is taking steps to ensure its health and fitness offering is muscular enough to fend off rivals. In addition to offering more detailed data in its existing offerings, the Apple Watch will now offer you a readiness score. If you own a Garmin or Oura product, you’ll know that both offer a single measurement combining your activity, sleep and resting heart rate. If you haven’t slept well and your heart is straining, the watch will advise you to take it easy, while if your batteries are fully charged, it will advise you to take it easy. Unlike competing products that often give you a score out of 100, Apple Readiness will give you a score out of 10.
Apple has also improved the Watch Series 12’s charging speed, saying you’ll get up to 12 hours of battery life after placing the wearable on a charger for just 15 minutes. The overall battery life of 24 hours remains in place, but you may find that the watch lasts longer when you exercise outside.
Apple Watch Series 12 is available in 42mm and 46mm cases, coated in aluminum finishes ranging from black, light gold, space gray, and dark bronze. It will also come in a choice of Titanium Gold or Natural Titanium, as well as the return of a ceramic option not seen since the heyday of the Series 5. Apple offered ceramic cases for the second, third, and fifth generation Watches as a premium option offering better scratch and impact resistance. Its return here is the first time Apple has offered a watch with a ceramic case option since 2020. Here, you can get the Series 12 in Pearl White or Midnight Blue, the latter of which seems to have already stolen my heart. If you fancy, you can also get a Hermés edition of the Series 12 in titanium gold or silver. Prices start from $399 and, as the saying goes, if you have to ask how much the Hermés version costs, you can’t afford it.
