The Cupertino company officially unveils Apple Watch Series 12 and Watch Ultra 4, both built around the new S11 chip, described by the company as the most powerful chip ever made for a wearable device, and the new Health Sensing System, which redefines how the two watches monitor the user’s health throughout the day.
The core of the novelty is an optical and electrical heart-rate sensor system with larger and more efficient green LEDs, which according to Apple guarantees the most accurate heart-rate detection ever seen on a wearable device, based on a study conducted on over 1,000 people.
Heart rate is now measured every 5 seconds, while heart-rate variability (HRV) is detected up to 24 times more often than the previous generation.
Alongside these data is the new Readiness score, a 0 to 10 score that analyzes recent physical activity, training load, vital parameters and sleep quality, returning a practical guidance among Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready and Go For It.
The step count has also been redesigned with a machine-learning-based model, which Apple calls the most accurate ever seen on a smartwatch.
Apple Watch Series 12 arrives in 42 mm and 46 mm cases, with a Ceramic Shield 2 front on aluminum models, 60% more resistant than the Ion-X glass of the previous generation.
Available finishes are three: aluminum (Dark Bronze, Black, Light Gold, Space Gray), titanium (Radiant Gold, Natural Titanium) and, for the first time, ceramic (Pearl White, Night Blue).
On the autonomy front, Apple claims up to 24 hours of daily use and up to 10 hours during outdoor workouts, 25% more than the previous model.
Fast charging allows for 12 additional hours of autonomy with only 15 minutes of charge, 50% more than before.
Apple Watch Ultra 4 keeps the titanium case, available in natural and black colors, and pushes to a higher autonomy: up to 50 hours of daily use, which becomes up to 84 hours when Power Saving mode is activated.
In Extended Workout mode the autonomy rises to up to 25 hours with regular GPS, while Max Extended Workout mode extends it to 45 hours with GPS on every second. Also here fast charging plays an important role, with 15 minutes enough for 18 additional hours of autonomy.
Apple emphasizes that Ultra 4’s GPS is the most accurate among sport watches, paired with a 3D-printed case made from 100% recycled titanium and a battery using 100% recycled cobalt, for a total of 45% recycled materials across the entire device.
Both watches share the same software novelties of watchOS 27. Among them stands out the Sound Recognition designed to alert deaf or hard-of-hearing people when an important sound such as a siren, an alarm or a baby’s cry is detected, processed entirely on-device with no audio recording.
Completing the audio picture is Shazam, integrated to instantly recognize the music you’re listening to.
On the privacy front, Apple specifies that audio processing happens inside a dedicated hardware compartment called Secure Exclave, to which neither the operating system, nor the apps, nor the user themselves, nor Apple have access.
Among the other software novelties are a dynamic app grid with Siri-based suggestions, a new single-tap gesture to navigate with one hand, support for perimenopause and menopause in the Cycle Tracking app, and Workout Buddy usable directly on the watch without an iPhone, currently available only in English and Spanish. Also present are sleep apnea notifications, ECG, SOS emergencies and more.
In the Italian market, Apple Watch Series 12 starts at €459, while Watch Ultra 4 starts at €909. These are the same starting prices with which Apple Watch Series 11 and Watch Ultra 3 debuted last year, with no increase.
Pre-orders are open from September 9, with in-store availability set for September 18; watchOS 27 will arrive on September 14 (for Apple Watch Series 9 or later, Apple Watch SE 3 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later).
Finally, remember the debut of the brand’s other announcements: iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, the new AirPods 5 and iPhone Duo, the brand’s first foldable smartphone.
For all the brand’s ecosystem news, you can find our latest articles in the Apple section of GizChina.it.
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