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Apple announced two new watches at yesterday's event, the Apple Watch Series 12 and the Apple Watch Ultra 4, and while the design hasn't changed much on the outside, what's inside has changed quite a lot. For once, the health features are the kind I'd point one of my customers towards rather than a marathon runner, and that's why I wanted to write this one up properly.
The new Health Sensing System
Both watches get new optical and electrical heart sensors, and the practical result is that your watch now measures your heart rate every five seconds, all day long, rather than sampling every now and then. Heart rate variability, which is the measure doctors use as a signal for stress and recovery, is now taken up to 24 times more often than before, and that's what makes the next feature possible.
Apple has built a new daily Readiness score on top of all that data. Each morning the watch looks at your recent activity, your sleep and your overnight vitals and gives you a score from 0 to 10 along with a plain suggestion: Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready, or Go For It. It keeps updating through the day, and if you've ever wondered whether you're actually run down or just a bit tired, that's the question it's trying to answer for you.
Apple also says the step counting has been completely rebuilt using machine learning and is now the most accurate of any smartwatch. I'll take that with a pinch of salt until I've walked around with one for a week, but I'll happily admit the old pedometer had its moments.
Audio Intelligence, coming later this year
This is the part I really want to highlight, particularly for anyone who is hard of hearing or looks after someone who is, because I think it could quietly make a big difference.
Sound Recognition uses the watch's microphone to alert you to sirens, alarms, doorbells and a baby crying. Live Rewind lets you double-press the Digital Crown to see the last 15 seconds of a conversation as text, for those moments when you missed what someone just said. Siri Recap can summarise a conversation for you afterwards, and Shazam can identify music straight from the Smart Stack.
On privacy, Apple has been unusually specific, which I appreciated. No audio is ever recorded or stored, the processing happens in a sealed-off part of the new S11 chip, the raw audio is deleted straight away, and any text that's produced is end-to-end encrypted so that Apple can't read it. These features arrive as a beta later in the year, and Apple says they won't initially be available in the EU. The UK isn't the EU, so we should be fine, but I'll keep an eye on it.
Series 12: from £369
It comes in two sizes, 42mm and 46mm, and three materials. Aluminium in dark bronze, black, light gold and space grey, now with Ceramic Shield 2 glass that Apple says is 60 per cent tougher than before. Titanium in radiant gold and natural. And ceramic, which is a new option this year, in pearl white and night blue.
Battery is up to 24 hours of everyday use, and a 15-minute charge now gives you 12 hours. I'd argue that second number matters more than the first, because it means you can charge it while you shower and still wear it to bed for sleep tracking.
Ultra 4: £749
The Ultra 4 has the same sensors and the same S11 chip in the rugged titanium case, in natural or black, with up to 50 hours of normal use, 84 hours in Low Power Mode, and 18 hours from a 15-minute charge. There's also a Max Extended Workout mode for up to 45 hours of GPS tracking, which is for ultramarathon runners and, I can confirm, not for me.
Dates and compatibility
Both are available to pre-order now and in stores from Friday 18 September. watchOS 27 arrives on Monday 14 September for Apple Watch Series 9 and later, the SE 3, and Ultra 2 and later, as long as they're paired with an iPhone 11 or newer running iOS 27. It brings Siri AI to your wrist, a new one-handed tap gesture, and perimenopause and menopause support in Cycle Tracking, which is long overdue.
Should you upgrade?
If you're on a Series 8 or older, then yes, especially if the health features are the reason you wear one. Your watch won't get watchOS 27 or any of the new intelligence, and if I'm honest the battery is probably getting tired by now anyway.
If you're on a Series 9, it depends. It gets watchOS 27 and Siri AI, so you're not missing the software, but what it doesn't get is the new heart sensors, Readiness, or any of the Audio Intelligence features. If those matter to you, upgrade. If you mostly check the time and the odd notification, wait.
If you're on a Series 10 or 11, no, just enjoy the software update. And as for the Ultra, I'd only go there if you need the battery or the ruggedness, because for most people the Series 12 does the same job for £380 less.
If you'd like help setting up the health features, sharing them with a family member, or getting a new watch paired and moved across from an old one, book a session. It's one of the things I do most often, and it's usually quicker than people expect.
