Apple introduced two new smartwatch models during its “Surprise and shine” event, making them available for preorder on the same day with a launch date of September 18th.
The Apple Watch Series 12 maintains a starting price of $399 for aluminum models available in space gray, black, light gold, and dark bronze. Premium options include titanium versions in natural or radiant gold at $699, and ceramic variants in night blue or pearl white at $899. The device delivers up to 24 hours of everyday battery life and supports up to 10 hours during outdoor workouts, with a new charging capability that can restore up to 12 hours of battery in 15 minutes. The Ultra 4 begins at $799 and provides up to 50 hours of battery life, available in natural and black titanium as well as a premium Hermès variant.
Both watches feature Apple’s new S11 chip and enhanced Audio Intelligence capabilities, introducing features such as Sound Recognition, Live Rewind, and Siri Recap. Health and fitness tracking received significant upgrades, with new optical and electrical heart rate sensors enabling continuous background monitoring at five-second intervals. A new Health Age feature allows users to compare their personal health metrics against their chronological age, while a Readiness feature generates a daily score based on recent activity, training load, vitals, and sleep patterns. The Readiness feature will be exclusive to the Series 12 and Ultra 4 due to their new sensor configuration.
The heart rate sensor array underwent its first major redesign in some time, transitioning to a 32-petal electrode design from the previous two-petal model. This change aims to provide more accurate readings by increasing electrode density. Optical sensors have also been repositioned closer together to reduce light leakage and improve measurement accuracy.
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