Apple has just unveiled the Apple Watch Series 12, the successor to last year’s Apple Watch Series 11.
But what’s really new with the Apple Watch Series 12? Are there enough differences to warrant an upgrade over the Series 11?
To help you decide, we’ve noted the key differences between the Apple Watch Series 12 and Series 11 below. If you’re not sold on either, make sure you visit our round-up of the best smartwatches and best fitness trackers instead.
Specs Comparison Table
Apple Watch Series 12Apple Watch Series 11ChipS11S10Apple IntelligenceYesYesAudio IntelligenceYesNoEmergency SOSYesYesWater Resistance50m50mBatteryUp to 24 hoursUp to 24 hoursUK RRP£369£369
Price and Availability
At the time of writing, the Apple Watch Series 12 is available for pre-order now and will launch officially from September 18th. The wearable has a starting RRP of £369 for its 42mm, aluminium iteration with GPS.
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As it has now been succeeded, the Apple Watch Series 11 is no longer available to buy from Apple’s direct website. It can, however, still be found on third party websites including Amazon and John Lewis. Although its RRP is still officially £369, you can pick up the Series 11 with a decent price drop.
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Apple Watch Series 12 runs on S11 chip
While the Apple Watch Series 11 runs on S10, the Apple Watch Series 12 runs on Apple’s latest S11 processor, which is claimed to be the brand’s “most powerful wearable chip”. In fact, S11 promises to offer the “most accurate step tracking of any smartwatch” and promises to power the new Health Sensing System and the new Audio Intelligence features too.
Image Credit: (Apple) Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
Essentially, Audio Intelligence utilises the Apple Watch Series 12’s built-in microphone to enable sound recognition which detects sirens, doorbells and other alerts that you should be aware of, live rewind which lets you go back by 15 seconds to catch something you may have missed, and Siri recap which actively takes notes for your conversations.
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It sounds pretty futuristic, especially the latter which has the power to document every time you chat to someone throughout your day. Apple does disclaim that you can control when Siri Recap is listening, and the Apple Watch Series 12 doesn’t store recordings on-device either.
Apple Watch Series 12 introduces the new readiness score
Many of the best fitness trackers, from Garmins to Whoop, usually include some kind of readiness estimate which is designed to advise you on whether to push your body or prioritise rest. Finally, the Apple Watch Series 12 has caught up, as it introduces its own readiness score.
Apple’s readiness feature analyses your recent metrics, including activities, vitals and sleep score, and provides you with a score between 0-10 along with an actionable recommendation: Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready or Go For It. Essentially, the higher your score, the more you’re encouraged to push your body.
Apple Watch Series 12 includes the new Health Sensing System
As mentioned earlier, the Apple Watch Series 12 is powered by the S11 chip which ensures the running of the new Health Sensing System.
The Health Sensing System features new optical and electrical heart sensors to provide the “most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable”. In fact, Apple states that a recent study conducted on over 1000 participants concluded that Apple Watch boasts the highest accuracy across devices.
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Otherwise, the system is made up of a bigger electrode surface area for better skin contact for ECGs, redesigned photodiodes for better HR sensing and larger LEDs for more accurate heart rate tracking too.
Apple Watch Series 11. Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
Apple has a redesigned Health app
Although this will come to all Apple Health users, it’s worth noting that the app is going to get a major revamp once the Apple Watch Series 12 launches. The interface, which reminds me of Google Health’s own, will now offer an AI-generated summary of key metrics like your sleep, health health and fitness.
There’s also a new Longevity tab that assesses your data and offers you advice on how you could improve your overall health. Speaking of which, you’ll now also get a health age which is based on your VO2 Max and other metrics – though we have questioned whether you should really trust a smartwatch’s fitness age.
Both promises 24 hours of battery, but the Series 12 offers faster charging
Compared to many of the best Garmin watches and other wearables, Apple has never offered industry-leading battery life, and this year it’s a similar story. Much like the Apple Watch Series 11, the Series 12 promises to offer up to 24 hours of battery although it does now provide up to 10 hours of battery life during an outdoor workout, which is an increase of 25% over the Series 11.
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Where the Series 12 does see a solid upgrade is with its charging. Now a 15 minute top-up will result in up to 12 hours of additional battery, which is a solid 50% more than the Series 11.
Early Verdict
With Audio Intelligence, faster charging and a new and more accurate Health Sensing System, the Apple Watch Series 12 looks set to be a brilliant wearable for iPhone users. While we don’t think there’s enough new features to warrant an upgrade over the Apple Watch Series 11, those coming from an older model will undoubtedly see a difference.
Having said that, we’ll be sure to update this versus with a more conclusive verdict once we review the Apple Watch Series 12.