Apple Watch Series 12 release date, price, specs, and must-know features
Apple Watch Series 12. | Image by Apple
What's changed vs the Apple Watch Series 11:
- New Health Sensing System with heart rate measured every five seconds, all day long
- HRV is now measured up to 24 times more often then before
- Audio Intelligence: Sound Recognition, Live Rewind, Siri Recap, and Shazam features
- S11 processor
- 25% more battery life during workouts (up to 10 hours workout battery life)
- Fast charging with up to 12 hours of battery life in 15 minutes
- watchOS 27 and Siri AI
- Dark bronze, black, light gold, space gray aluminum finishes
- Radiant gold, natural titanium finish options
- The Apple Watch Series 12 was announced on September 9, 2026, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro Max, Pro, and the iPhone Duo. It hit the shelves on September 18, 2026.
Expected price:
- The Series 12 didn't get a price hike and starts at $399 just like its predecessor.
Apple Watch Series 12 release date
The Series 12 was unveiled on September 9, 2026, during an Apple event in Apple Park. The smartwatch was announced together with the iPhone 18 Pro models and the first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo. Open sales began on September 18, 2026.
| Device family | Announcement | Market release |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Watch Series 8 | September 7, 2022 | September 16, 2022 |
| Apple Watch Series 9 | September 12, 2023 | September 22, 2023 |
| Apple Watch Series 10 | September 9, 2024 | September 20, 2024 |
| Apple Watch Series 11 | September 9, 2025 | September 19, 2025 |
| Apple Watch Series 12 | September 9, 2026 | September 18, 2026 |
Apple Watch Series 12 price
The Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $399, just like its predecessor, so luckily, there's no price hike here.
| Apple Watch model | 41mm (or 42mm) GPS only | 45mm (or 46mm) GPS only | 41mm (or 42mm)GPS + Cellular | 45mm (or 46mm) GPS + Cellular |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Watch Series 8 | $399 | $429 | $499 | $529 |
| Apple Watch Series 9 | $399 | $429 | $499 | $529 |
| Apple Watch Series 10 | $399 | $429 | $499 | $529 |
| Apple Watch Series 12 | $399 | $429 | $499 | $529 |
Apple Watch Series 12 design
The Apple Watch Series 12 features the same design as its predecessor. We have the recognizable Apple Watch square case, with a Digital Crown on the right and a speaker on the left side. You can choose between a 42 mm case and a 46 mm one.
The aluminum models now come with Ceramic Shield 2 for protection, which, according to Apple, offers 60% more toughness than the Ion-X glass that was used on the previous aluminum models.
The smartwatch is available in three materials, with each material having its own set of colors for you to choose from:
- Aluminum: Dark Bronze, Black, Light Gold, Space Gray
- Titanium: Radiant Gold, Natural
- Ceramic: Pearl White, Night Blue (new this generation)
We're also getting a refreshed band lineup. There are new Sport Band colors: olive, burgundy, wildflower blue and pale succulent. Sport Loops add chambray blue, magenta, and new plaid patterns in burgundy and light umber.
The Milanese Loop is now available in radiant gold and dark bronze. The Modern Buckle comes in a new woven material and is available with gold hardware for the first time.
Apple Watch Series 12 display
The Series 12 features the same Always-on Retina display that its predecessor came with. The display sports up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness with a minimum of 1-nit for dark environments.
The display sizes remain 1.77 inches for the 42 mm version and 1.96 mm for the 46 mm version.
There's a new watch face complication for heart rate, so you can see your current heart rate with just a glance. A new Steps complication tracks your step count in real time directly from the watch face.
Apple Watch Series 12 battery
Apple doesn't officially disclose battery sizes of its products in mAh. The Apple Watch Series 12 is rated up to 24 hours of battery life during normal usage, which is the same battery life that the Series 11 offered.
However, workout battery life has gotten upgraded and is now up to 10 hours, which is a 25% improvement in comparison to the predecessor.
As for charging, you can get up to 12 hours of battery life for 15 minutes of charging, which is 50% more than the Series 11.
Apple Watch Series 12 features and software
Readiness on the Apple Watch Series 12. | Image by Apple
Health Sensing System
The Apple Watch Series 12 brings a new Health Sensing System with a redesigned optical and electrical heart sensors. According to Apple, a study with over 1,000 participants was conducted to compare heart rate accuracy across wearables, and the Series 12 came out on top.
On the Series 12, heart rate is measured every five seconds throughout the day, giving you a clearer real-time picture.
Meanwhile, HRV (Heart rate variability) is now measured up to 24 times more often than before. It is now displayed in a new section of the Heart Rate app.
The Series 12 tracks two HRV variants: Recovery HRV for daily stress and recovery signals, and Overall HRV for broader cardiovascular health trends. Higher variability generally indicates better recovery; lower variability is a marker of stress.
Readiness
The Readiness score shows one of four recommendations: Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready, or Go For It. The score updates throughout the day as new data comes in, and tapping into it shows which factors are responsible for the displayed number.
Audio Intelligence
- Sound Recognition: Alerts users who are deaf or hard of hearing to important sounds – sirens, alarms, doorbells, a baby crying – even when iPhone isn't nearby. Processing happens on-device.
- Live Rewind: A double press of the Digital Crown shows the last 15 seconds of a nearby conversation as a text snippet. Useful for catching something you missed or didn't fully hear.
- Siri Recap: When turned on, automatically generates a title and key points from conversations after they happen, stored in the Siri app. Designed to exclude sensitive information like financial details or government IDs. Not a transcript – a brief summary.
- Shazam: Detects music playing nearby and shows the song and artist in the Smart Stack.
Redesigned Health app
A redesigned Health app for iPhone is coming later this year. The redesign includes a new Longevity tab with Health Age, which is a feature that shows how your metrics compare to your actual age.
There's also a new Insights tab that surfaces timely health data throughout the day in the Health app.
The app will also support movement evaluations using vision-based AI models on iPhone paired with heart rate data from Apple Watch, measuring flexibility, strength, and balance. Lab testing for over 50 biomarkers will be available for $119 through the Health app at around 2,000 Quest Diagnostics locations in the US.
Apple Watch Series 12 hardware and specs
Apple Watch Series 12's specs:
- CPU: S11
- Battery: up to 24 hours everyday use, up to 10 hours outdoor workout
- Sizes: 42mm and 46mm
- Materials: Aluminum, Titanium, Ceramic
- Connectivity: GPS-only or GPS + Cellular
- Storage: 64GB
The Series 12 is powered by Apple's S11 chip. The S11 includes Secure Exclave, a hardware-isolated compartment dedicated to processing Audio Intelligence audio privately and immediately discarding it in order to protect your privacy.
Popular stories
Latest News
