Apple Watch Series 12 launched; India price starts at Rs. 56,900 with S11 Chip, new Health Sensing System
Apple has launched its latest smartwatch, the Apple Watch Series 12, with a new Health Sensing System, the S11 chip, more frequent heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) measurements, a new readiness score, Audio Intelligence, and Siri AI features powered by watchOS 27. The smartwatch is available in 42mm and 46mm sizes with aluminum, titanium, and ceramic case options.
Apple Watch Series 12
The Apple Watch Series 12 features a redesigned optical heart sensor with larger, power-efficient green LEDs, paired with a new electrical heart sensor. The Health Sensing System measures heart rate every five seconds. According to Apple, a study involving more than 1,000 participants found that the Apple Watch delivered the highest heart-rate sensing accuracy among the wearables tested.
HRV measurements are now captured up to 24 times more frequently. The system provides Recovery HRV for monitoring daily stress and recovery, while overall HRV delivers broader health insights. Overnight Recovery HRV is measured against a user's personal baseline, while a new daytime vitals view allows users to switch between daytime and overnight measurements.
The new readiness score combines recent activity, training load, vital measurements, and sleep score to generate a score from 0 to 10. It provides recommendations such as Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready, and Go For It. The score updates throughout the day and also shows the factors that influence the result.
Other updates include redesigned machine learning for more accurate indoor walking and running step detection, a new Steps complication, a real-time heart-rate complication for watch faces, and improved Exercise and Move Activity tracking. Apple says the new model offers its most accurate step tracking to date.
Battery life is rated for up to 24 hours of everyday use and up to 10 hours during an outdoor workout, representing a 25% improvement over the previous generation. A 15-minute charge can provide up to 12 hours of additional battery life, which is 50% more than before.
The redesigned Health app introduces features such as Insights, Longevity, Health Age, and movement evaluations. In the U.S., Apple will later introduce testing for more than 50 biomarkers through Quest Diagnostics for $119.
Design and Bands
The Apple Watch Series 12 is offered in 42mm and 46mm sizes with aluminum, titanium, and ceramic case options.
- Aluminum: Dark Bronze, Black, Light Gold, Space Gray
- Titanium: Radiant Gold, Natural Titanium
- Ceramic: Pearl White, Night Blue
The aluminum variants feature Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple claims is 60% tougher than the previous Ion-X glass. The ceramic models are offered with Sand or Navy Sport Bands.
Band options include Sport Band, Sport Loop, Nike Sport Band, Nike Sport Loop, Milanese Loop, and Modern Buckle, with additional colors and finishes available across the lineup.
Health Features
Audio Intelligence combines the built-in microphone and S11 chip with Apple Intelligence models running on iPhone and Private Cloud Compute. The feature set includes several new capabilities.
- Sound Recognition: Detects sounds such as sirens, alarms, doorbells, and a baby crying.
- Live Rewind: Displays the previous 15 seconds of a conversation as text after the Digital Crown is pressed twice.
- Siri Recap: Provides a high-level summary of conversations along with key points.
- Music Recognition: Identifies nearby songs using Shazam.
Apple says raw audio cannot be accessed by the operating system, apps, users, or Apple itself. Audio is processed by Secure Enclave inside a hardware-isolated environment and is immediately deleted afterward. Users can enable or disable the features and control where and when Siri Recap takes notes.
Siri Recap does not generate a complete transcript and excludes financial information and government-assigned identifiers. Siri Recap and Live Rewind will initially be offered as beta features later this year.
Siri and watchOS 27
Apple Watch Series 12 supports Siri AI powered by Apple Intelligence, along with a dedicated Siri app, a Siri Modular watch face, and a Dynamic app grid featuring five Siri-suggested applications.
The Smart Stack has also been enhanced with gestures for opening widgets, scrolling through content, and selecting items. It can provide contextual suggestions such as Parked Car and Birthday Message.
watchOS 27 introduces Cycle Tracking support for perimenopause and menopause. Workout Buddy can also operate without an iPhone nearby and now supports Spanish and English.
Apple Watch Hermès Series 12
The Apple Watch Hermès Series 12 is available in Radiant Gold titanium for the first time, alongside an exclusive Silver titanium option.
The Radiant Gold variant comes with a Noir satin Clou de Selle band featuring a matching gold-finish clasp and saddle stud. The Rocabar Club band adds contrasting colors and an elongated H 3D-knit pattern.
Environment
Apple Watch Series 12 contains 40% recycled material overall.
- Recycled Materials: The aluminum cases use 100% recycled aluminum, while the 3D-printed titanium cases use 100% recycled titanium.
- Renewable Energy: Apple uses renewable electricity throughout its manufacturing supply chain and has invested in enough renewable energy to match the electricity customers use to charge Apple Watch devices.
- Packaging: The packaging is made entirely from fiber-based materials and can be recycled at home.
Pricing and Availability
Apple Watch Series 12 is available to pre-order in India, the U.S., and more than 50 other countries and regions. It will be available in stores starting Friday, September 18.
Apple Watch Series 12 Prices are -
- 42mm Aluminum Case - Rs. 56,900
- 42mm Titanium Case - Rs. 68,900
- 46mm Aluminum Case - Rs. 62,900
- 46mm Titanium Case - Rs. 74,900
- Aluminum Case - Starts at Rs. 56,900
- Titanium Case - Starts at Rs. 99,900
- Ceramic / Titanium Milanese Loop - Rs. 1,24,900
The bands are available to order online and through the Apple Store app, with store availability beginning September 18.
watchOS 27 will be available from September 14 for Apple Watch Series 9 and later, Apple Watch SE 3, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later. It requires an iPhone 11 or later, or an iPhone SE (2nd generation) or later, running iOS 27 or later.
Siri AI beta support will launch in English on September 14, followed by French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish in October. Other supported languages include Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. Availability may vary depending on region and language.
