Apple Watch Series 12 Review: Is Apple’s New Smartwatch Worth Buying?

The Apple Watch Series 12 is Apple’s latest mainstream attempt at better health tracking, faster AI, and smart organizations to simplify tasks throughout the day. New technology includes the S11 chip, a new Health Sensing System, an improved heart rate monitor, and an overall more advanced watchOS.

In the U.S., the starting price for the Series 12 comes in at $399 with a variety of 42mm and 46mm sizes as well as options for aluminum, titanium, and even ceramic cases. It offers about 24 hours of typical use, with a longevity boost in Low Power Mode that brings it to about 38 hours.

Though with all that in mind, is it really worth buying the Series 12 if you already have the Apple Watch? And what if you don’t have an Apple Watch? Is Series 12 worth buying for your first Apple Watch? There are a few things to consider.

What’s New in Apple Watch Series 12?

Now, the main changes are accounted for with Apple’s new Health Sensing System. They claim Series 12 has the most accurate heart rate tracking systems for wearables. The system incorporates optical and electrical heart sensors along with the S11 chip to collect more information about your health.

A new addition is the Readiness feature. It gives you a score based on how well you did with your activity and sleep, as well as how well you handled stress, etc. There is a new scale to help determine if you should take an easy day or a hard day with your scheduled workouts.

Along with the latest Apple features and services that integrate AI and intelligent curation with apps and tasks used throughout the day, the watch is also compatible with these functions.

Apple Watch Series 12 Features

The Series 12 is a combination of smartwatch, health, wellness, and protection features, with a plethora of functions designed with safety and communication in mind.

1. S11 Chip

The watch features the S11 chip, which is a Dual-Core 64-bit processor with a four-core Neural Engine and 64GB of memory. This chip offers Series 12 users a level of improved capabilities beyond smartwatch functionality.

2. Enhanced features of Health Monitoring

Health monitoring is perhaps the most distinguishing feature of the Apple Watch Series 12. These health monitoring features include heart monitoring, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, blood oxygenation, and sleep monitoring.

The Vitals app consolidates relevant health metrics, and the Heart Rate app and ECG app provide even more detail. Further, the watch is capable of alerting the user to high/low heart rates and irregular rhythms.

3. Readiness Score and Sleep Score

Readiness aggregates multiple health metrics and signals and summarizes the daily assessment into an easy-to-understand score. The accompanying Sleep app is also capable or assessing your sleep and generating a Sleep Score It is also capable of identifying various stages of sleep.

4. Bright Always-On Display

The Series 12 features a broad Always-On OLED display with Retina, with a peak brightness of up to 2,000 nits and a minimum brightness of 1 nit.

This makes the display easy to read outdoors and in dim situations. The 42mm model has a 374 x 446-pixel display, and the 46mm model is 416 x 496 pixels.

5. Battery and Fast Charging

Battery life is something Apple Watch competitors have over the Apple Watch. In normal use, the Series 12 battery lasts about 24 hours and 38 hours in Low Power Mode.

Fast charging the Apple Watch has changed the game for daily usage. Apple claims that 15 minutes of charging gives 12 hours of usage, and 5 minutes charges 10 hours of sleep tracking.

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Applications on the Apple Watch Series 12

The Apple Watch Series 12 has the advantage of Apple’s software and apps made for the watch. Apple’s watchOS offers built-in applications and supports third-party applications.

Health and Fitness Applications

The Apple Watch applications focused on health and fitness are robust.

• Vitals: compiles key health metrics.
• Heart Rate: shows recent and history heart rate.
• ECG: records an electrocardiogram.
• Sleep: tracks and provides sleep information.
• Readiness: provides a daily readiness score.
• Workouts: keeps metrics for various exercises and training.
• Cycle Tracking: maintains advanced cycle and fertility metrics.
• Mindfulness: provides metrics and tracks mindfulness.
• Medications: tracks personal medications and schedule.
• Noise: monitors the level of the surrounding noise.

It has handy features for workouts like training load, heart rate zones, running metrics, various workout types, multisport activities, swimming metrics, cycling metrics, and hiking tools.

Everyday Use

The Apple Watch Series 12 also has convenient features for everyday use outside of the gym.

With Apple Wallet, users have quick access to saved passes, tickets, or boarding passes on their wrists. Other users can use apps like Maps, Messages, Phone, Weather, Calendar, Music, and more, and not have to take out their phones as much.

New Siri is capable of more actions and experiments with a more natural conversational interface. Apple claims Apple Intelligence helps users to accomplish more in apps that they use daily.

Benefits of Apple Watch Series 12

Benefit	What It Offers
Advanced Health Tracking	Heart rate, HRV, sleep, ECG, temperature, and more
Readiness Insights	Simple daily assessment based on health and activity data
Fitness Tracking	Running, cycling, swimming, hiking, and numerous workout types
Smart Features	Siri AI, notifications, calls, messages, and apps
Bright Display	Up to 2,000 nits with Always-On functionality
Fast Charging	Up to 12 hours of normal use from 15 minutes of charging
Safety	Emergency SOS, Fall Detection, and Crash Detection
Connectivity	GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and optional cellular connectivity
Durability	50-meter water resistance and IP6X dust resistance

Reason to Buy

It has top-tier health features and tracking like heart rate, sleep, HRV, temperature, and ECG. It has other daily and weekly insights for readiness. There are features for tracking fitness with over a dozen types of workouts and smart features like notifications, calls, messages, and apps. There’s a very bright display that has functionality to always be on. It can fast charge for up to 12 hours of normal use. There are a ton of safety features, including emergency SOS, fall detection, crash detection, and many other safety features. It ticks all of the boxes when it comes to connectivity with GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, as well as cellular connectivity. There’s dust-resistant IP6X and water resistance up to 50 meters.

Who Should Get This?

If you’re an iPhone user looking for a premium smartwatch for health and fitness features, then this watch is for you.

This watch would be appealing to runners, gym members, cyclists, swimmers, and others for its ease of access to notifications and apps.

This watch is great for people buying their first Apple Watch. The health tracking combined with safety features, apps, and communication options integrated with the Apple ecosystem makes this a versatile device for everyday use.

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People Who Should Skip It?

People who already own an Apple Watch will not feel the need to upgrade. The improvements may not justify the cost to users for whom the health and fitness features of the previous Watch are sufficient.

People whose biggest concern is battery life may look at competitors. While the Apple Watch Series 12 has a 24-hour battery life rating, other smartwatches have multiple days of battery life.

Those who spend a lot of time on outdoor adventures will likely want the Apple Watch Ultra 4, which has an even longer battery life and is designed for sports and adventure.

Is the Series 12 a Watch Worth Buying?

The Series 12 is a great addition to Apple’s Series of smartwatches. This is not a smartwatch geared toward budget buyers, but you get a handy device that can do many things, including serving as a fitness tracker, health and safety companion, and a communication device.

For those who have never owned an Apple Watch before, the Apple Watch Series 12 is worth buying. Recent Apple Watch owners should also consider the Series 12, but should mainly focus on the health tracking features.

Conclusion

Health tracking features seem to be the focus of Apple’s design of the Series 12. With the addition of improved sensors and health features such as Readiness, sleep tracking, improved workout tracking, and fast charging, the Apple Watch Series 12 has many modes and improves at capturing and analyzing health data.

The battery life has been shown to lack improvement, but for the features and improvements the Series 12 has, it offers something for every iPhone user who wants everything from a fitness tracker to a watch that is safe, entertaining, productive, and really health-conscious.

Our verdict: New buyers and owners of older Apple Watch models should consider this series.

FAQs

1. Should I buy the Apple Watch Series 12?

I recommend this model to users looking to upgrade from an older Apple Watch and are looking to take advantage of newer tracking features. Recent model users would look at this to take advantage of the S11 chip.

2. How much does the Apple Watch Series 12 cost?

The first price models of the Apple Watch Series 12 start at around $399 in the U.S. and price increases on size, materials, and cellular connectivity.

3. What is the battery life of the Apple Watch Series 12?

Apple says the battery in the Series 12 lasts about 24 hours per charge cycle on a typical day and as long as 38 hours in Low Power Mode. An 15 minute charge gives you about 12 hours of battery life.

4. Does the Apple Watch Series 12 track sleep?

Yes. The Watch has a built-in sleep tracking app. The Sleep app also delivers a sleep score for your night. The Series 12 even uses the health data you generate in the sleep app to inform you of your readiness for the day.

5. Is the Apple Watch Series 12 good for workouts and fitness?

It definitely is. Apple offers support for most of the activities you can imagine, including running, cycling, swimming, strength training, yoga and HIIT. You can also log workouts that include multiple activities, as well as skiing and snowboarding. It also provides various fitness metrics like training load and running power.

6. Which should I buy, the Series 12 or Apple Watch Ultra 4?

Go for the Series 12 if you want a smartwatch for everyday use. It’s also a better choice if you want a focus on fitness. For serious outdoor use and longer battery life, get the Apple Ultra 4.