In September 2014, Apple introduced the Apple Watch, although it was not released until the following April. It was the first major new Apple product to be designed, manufactured, unveiled, and sold under the leadership of then-Apple CEO Tim Cook.
At first, Apple wasn’t quite sure what it had with the Apple Watch and had an 18-karat gold Apple Watch that sold for as much as $17,000. But while fine jewelry keeps its value over decades, consumer tech has a life that is measured in a handful of years.
Apple ditched that strategy in 2016 to position its timepiece as a tool to monitor a user’s health and fitness. The Apple Watch has gone on to save countless lives thanks to sensors that measure an Apple Watch wearer’s heart rate and another that detects when someone with an Apple Watch on their wrist has had a serious fall.
The Apple Watch Series 12 has the most accurate step counter on any smartwatch. | Image by Apple
Today, Apple announced the Apple Watch Series 12. Apple’s game plan was to use the timepiece’s sensors to come up with more health- and fitness-based recommendations that device owners can use to improve their lives.
Apple Watch Series 12 monitors your heart rate every 5 seconds
Sure, many smartwatches monitor the user's heart rate. But today, Apple announced that a "scientifically rigorous study on a diverse population of over 1,000 participants" revealed that the Apple Watch delivers the most accurate heart rate metrics among leading wearables. And now, the Apple Watch 12 will monitor your heart rate every 5 seconds all day long.
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The Apple Watch also generates alerts when a user might have hypertension, and since the device can take a one-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), it can detect Atrial Fibrillation (AFib). It can also send alerts related to high and low heart rates and irregular rhythms.
The Readiness app makes sure that your body is ready for the day
Apple is also introducing the new Readiness app, a variant of its Vitals app that will use the Apple Watch sensors to determine if your body is prepared for the day ahead. This feature will directly compete with a similar feature found on the Oura smart ring and WHOOP’s screenless wearable fit tracker band.
The Readiness app will analyze the user’s heart rate, sleep, respiratory rate, blood oxygen, and wrist temperature to deliver a daily recovery score.
The Readiness app makes sure that you are ready to greet the day. | Image by Apple
Introducing Audio Intelligence
Also coming to the wearable is Audio Intelligence with useful features such as:
Sound Recognition, which helps users who are deaf or hard of hearing by alerting them to certain sounds. The Apple Watch Series 12 will listen for sounds like sirens, alarms, doorbells, or a baby crying, and uses on-device intelligence to notify users when these sounds have been detected.
Live Rewind helps users recall what was just said in a conversation. Double press the Digital Crown and you'll see a text snippet of the previous 15 seconds of the conversation. Users can ask Siri about the text or have it saved to the Siri app.
Another new feature that will compete with AI-powered wearables, Siri Recap, will give you a summary of what happened during the day and will include your conversations, even though no audio will be recorded or stored and no transcripts delivered.
Shazam will automatically display the song title of a tune playing near the Apple Watch Series 12, along with the artist’s name, on the Music Recognition widget in the Smart Stack.
The timepiece will be available in two case sizes, 42mm and 46mm. The former is equipped with a 1.77-inch OLED Always-On Retina Display. The 46mm version features a 1.96-inch OLED Always-On Retina Display. The watch is powered by the Apple S11 SiP (System in Package) with improved performance, power efficiency, and on-device processing.
The Apple Watch Series 12 will deliver up to 24 hours of battery life before requiring a charge, and the Apple Watch has been tested to withstand water to a depth of 50 feet. It is designed for shallow-water use and can be worn in swimming pools, in the ocean, while showering or walking in the rain.
Apple Watch 12 starts at $399 in the US. Pre-orders start today with availability starting on September 18.
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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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