Apple has updated its wrist computers again, introducing the Apple Watch Ultra 4 for people who climb mountains and the Apple Watch Series 12 for people whose greatest daily expedition is locating where they parked.
Both watches are powered by the new S11 chip and feature Apple’s Health Sensing System, comprising new optical and electrical heart sensors. Heart rate is measured every five seconds throughout the day, while heart rate variability can be checked up to 24 times more frequently. Apparently, your wrist now knows you are stressed before you have even opened your email.
The new Readiness feature analyzes recent activity, training load, vital signs, and sleep to produce a daily score from zero to 10. It then recommends that you Recover, Pace Yourself, get Ready, or Go For It. Finally, a tiny screen authorized to tell you that doing nothing today is medically adjacent to productivity.
The Ultra 4 remains the adventurer of the family, bringing highly accurate onboard GPS and up to 50 hours of everyday battery life—or 84 hours in Low Power Mode. Extended Workout mode tracks GPS and heart rate for 25 hours, while Max Extended Workout mode stretches outdoor tracking to 45 hours. A 15-minute charge provides another 18 hours. It comes in Natural or Black Titanium, looking sufficiently rugged to survive both a 100-mile race and an accidental meeting with a doorframe.
The Series 12 comes in 42 mm and 46 mm sizes, with aluminum, titanium, and ceramic cases. Aluminum models gain Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple says is 60 percent tougher than the previous Ion-X glass. Battery life remains at up to 24 hours, although outdoor workout tracking rises to 10 hours. Fifteen minutes of charging adds up to 12 hours of use.
Both watches will also introduce Audio Intelligence later this year. Live Rewind can display the previous 15 seconds of a conversation as a text snippet, Siri Recap creates high-level summaries of discussions, Sound Recognition listens for important sounds such as alarms and doorbells, and Shazam identifies nearby music. Apple says the features neither create nor store audio recordings, while Live Rewind announces itself with a chime so nobody mistakes your wrist for a covert surveillance operation.
The Apple Watch Series 12 starts at US$399, while the Apple Watch Ultra 4 starts at US$799. Both are available to pre-order now and will reach stores on September 18, 2026.
Images: Apple.
