The Apple Watch Series 12 doesn’t look dramatically different from the Apple Watch Series 11, and that’s very much the point. Apple has kept the familiar 42mm and 46mm case sizes and the overall design, but has packed the new model with a much more ambitious health-sensing system, a new S11 chip, better charging, tougher glass, and a handful of new intelligence features. So, is this a proper generational upgrade or Apple polishing an already very good smartwatch? Let’s break it down.
The easiest way to read this table is that Series 12 isn’t really about a faster smartwatch. The S11 chip is newer, but the bigger change happens under the hood, where Apple has rebuilt how it collects health data.
Key recap of the Apple Watch Series 12 #AppleM5 pic.twitter.com/OXlDS6ADXh
The Series 11’s third-generation optical heart sensor primarily relied on periodic sampling, whereas the Series 12’s new Health Sensing System can take heart-rate readings every five seconds throughout the day. That gives Apple a much richer stream of data to work with, particularly for HRV, recovery, and its new Readiness feature.
The other easy wins are battery-related. Both watches retain up to 24 hours of everyday battery life, but Series 12 stretches outdoor workout battery life from eight to 10 hours, while a 15-minute charge now provides up to 12 hours of normal use, compared with eight hours on Series 11.
The biggest upgrade is Apple’s new approach to health and fitness tracking. Because the Series 12 is collecting heart-rate and HRV data far more frequently, it can do more than simply tell users what their heart rate was at a particular moment. It can start looking at patterns across the day and night. That feeds directly into the new Readiness Score, which gives users a simple 0-to-10 indication of whether the body is ready to be pushed or could use some recovery time. The Vitals experience also expands beyond an overnight snapshot, while HRV is split into shorter-term Recovery HRV and longer-term Overall HRV measurements.
Redesigned Health app
Coming later this year. #Apple pic.twitter.com/ROnkMVXVcK
The Series 12 also gets a redesigned Health experience, including a forthcoming Health Age feature, while Apple is adding support for perimenopause and menopause insights to Cycle Tracking. The watch can also use the iPhone camera for physical assessments covering things such as flexibility, strength, and balance, with analysis performed using on-device AI.
Audio Intelligence is the biggest upgrade for Watch.
Powered by S11
Exclusive buffer sound processing and Audio Intelligence. #Apple pic.twitter.com/wdER770qMz
Then there is the S11 chip. Beyond powering the new health features, it enables Apple Intelligence and Siri AI on the watch, along with Audio Intelligence features such as Live Rewind and Siri Recap arriving later this year. Apple’s new machine-learning-based pedometer also promises more accurate step tracking, with a dedicated real-time steps complication.
Ceramic is back for the Apple Watch Series 12. pic.twitter.com/PaA2hzrOja
And Apple has finally brought back ceramic. Series 12 offers Pearl White and Night Blue ceramic cases, marking the material’s return to the Apple Watch lineup for the first time since the Series 5. Aluminum models also get Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple says is 60 percent tougher than the Ion-X glass used on previous aluminum models.
That makes the Apple Watch Series 12 particularly interesting for health-conscious users, runners, and fitness enthusiasts who want more useful recovery data rather than more sensors for their own sake. It is also the more compelling option for anyone who wants Apple’s latest AI features or simply beats their watch up regularly and would appreciate tougher glass.
For most Series 11 owners, probably not immediately. The Series 12 is undoubtedly the more capable Apple Watch, but the design, everyday battery rating, and $399 starting price remain familiar. The upgrade makes much more sense for people who care deeply about continuous health tracking, HRV, Readiness Score, longer GPS workouts, faster charging, or Apple Intelligence features.
Everyone else can probably let the Series 11 keep ticking for another year. For someone coming from an older Apple Watch, however, the Series 12 looks like a much easier recommendation: this is less a flashy redesign and more Apple quietly turning the Watch from a passive tracker into a much more serious health and fitness companion.
The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.
We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
Google first showed off the improved tracking earlier this month alongside the Fitbit Edge. It is now coming to Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, and Google claims the added context behind the system makes workout detection nearly twice as accurate while cutting missed activities by more than half. Fitbit Edge will support it too.