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Apple has a new flagship smartwatch. The tech giant announced the Apple Watch Series 12 during its Sept. 9 “Surprise and Shine” iPhone event, along with the new Apple Watch Ultra 4, AirPods 5, iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, and the first-ever foldable iPhone Duo.
In a press release, Apple’s Vice President of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing Kaiann Drance called the Series 12 “the most advanced health and fitness companion we’ve ever created.” You might not know that at a glance because it looks the same as last year’s Series 11. To find out what’s actually new about the Series 12, you have to peek inside its case.
Apple Watch Series 12 (GPS, 42mm)
$399at Amazon
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm)
$279at Amazon
$399Save $120
Here’s a full breakdown of the main differences between the Apple Watch Series 12 and Series 11, including one notable upgrade that Apple didn’t mention in its keynote presentation. (Spoiler: it has something to do with memory.)
Apple Watch Series 12 vs. Series 11: Pricing
The Series 12 has the same $399 base price as the Series 11 (pictured here).Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable
Now available for preorder, the Series 12 starts at $399 with a 42mm aluminum case — the same price as the base Series 11. However, the 46mm Series 12 starts at $449, which is a $20 bump from the previous generation. There’s now a $50 difference separating the two sizes, no matter the case material.
The 42mm and 46mm titanium variants of the Series 12 start at $699 and $749, respectively, just like their Series 11 counterparts.
The Series 12 comes in a third “new” ceramic variant that starts at $899 for the 42mm size and $949 for the 46mm model. (The Series 11 wasn’t available with a ceramic case, but the much older Series 2, 3, and 5 all came in that scratch-resistant material.)
Apple Watch Series 12 vs. Series 11: Design
The Series 12 has the same external design as the Series 11 — and the Series 10, for that matter. Apple hasn’t changed the look of its flagship wearable since that 2024 release, when it got a thinner, lighter case and a more rounded display. (The rumor mill says a proper redesign is coming next year.) Additionally, it’s still IP6X dust-resistant and water-resistant for up to 50 meters.
That said, the aluminum Series 12 variants got one small tweak. Their Ceramic Shield 2 glass is more durable than the Ion-X glass on their Series 11 counterparts. Apple said it’s “60 percent tougher,” to be exact.
Apple Watch Series 12 vs. Series 11: Display
This is a picture of the Apple Watch Series 11, but it’s also kind of a picture of the Series 12. They’re virtually identical.Credit: Apple
Both Apple Watches have the same always-on, wide-angle OLED display with up to 2,000 nits of brightness. That’s very, very bright.
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Apple Watch Series 12 vs. Series 11: Colors
The Apple Watch Series 12 comes in eight different case material/color combinations.Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable
The Series 12’s case comes in the following case colors:
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Aluminum: Dark bronze, light gold, black, space gray
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Titanium: Radiant gold and natural
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Ceramic: Pearl white and night blue
The Series 11’s case came in fewer colorways:
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Aluminum: Rose gold, silver, space gray, and jet black
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Titanium: Natural, gold, and slate
Apple introduced a bunch of new band colors and materials for the Series 12 that would also fit the Series 11, if you want to freshen up one you already own. You can buy them separately starting at $49.
Apple Watch Series 12 vs. Series 11: Specs
The Series 12’s S11 chip has more muscle than the Series 11’s S10 chip.Credit: Apple
The Series 11 ran on the S10 chip, while the Series 12 is powered by the newer S11 chip — “Apple’s most powerful wearable chip,” the company said. It enables several new features that I’ll elaborate on shortly.
Notably, MacRumors reports that the Series 12 has twice as much memory as the Series 11 (4GB versus 2GB). Apple didn’t mention that during its iPhone event this week, but the company’s Xcode 27 developer tool reportedly shows evidence of it, the tech site said. If true, the Series 12’s mostly unchanged prices are quite the feat: RAM costs have skyrocketed in the past year. (That’s the reason why Apple raised its MacBook and iPad prices this summer, and probably its logic behind recent iPhoneprice hikes, too.)
The Series 12 maintains the same storage capacity as the Series 11: 64GB.
Apple Watch Series 12 vs. Series 11: Cellular connectivity
Like the Series 11, the Series 12 is available with 5G cellular connectivity. It’s still a $100 upgrade on the aluminum variants and a standard feature on the titanium (and now ceramic) versions.
Apple Watch Series 12 vs. Series 11: Battery life
The Series 12 and 11 are both rated for up to 24 hours of battery life per charge, which you can extend to 38 hours by putting them in Low Power Mode. However, the Series 12’s charging speed got a boost. A quick 15-minute power-up provides up to 12 hours of normal usage, up from eight hours in the Series 11.
Apple Watch Series 12 vs. Series 11: Sensors
The Series 12’s Health Sensing System is only available on one other Apple Watch, that being the new Ultra 4.Credit: Apple
Here’s where things start to get more interesting. The Series 12 has a new Health Sensing System with upgraded optical and electrical sensors that measure the user’s heart rate continuously and more accurately. You can see the glowing green lights of the optical sensor on the underside of its case.
Apple said this system measures heart rate every five seconds all day long. It also captures heart rate variability (HRV) data, a stress and recovery metric, up to 24 times more often.
Apple Watch Series 12 vs. Series 11: Features
Should you skip leg day or power through? Your Series 12 can tell you.Credit: Apple
The Series 12 and 11 both run on watchOS and share the same core health, wellness, and safety features, including Sleep Score, Hypertension and Sleep Apnea Notifications, Cycle Tracking, Fall and Crash Detection, Emergency SOS, and the AI-powered Workout Buddy. They’ll also both support Apple Intelligence and Siri AI, which arrives with the release of watchOS 27 on Sept. 14.
However, the Series 12 brings a few exclusive new features to the table courtesy of its upgraded chip and sensors:
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Readiness, a feature that tells the user how prepared they are (or not) for future fitness activities based on their recent workouts, vitals, and sleep patterns
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Audio Intelligence tools that use its built-in microphone, including Sound Recognition alerts, Live Rewind conversation transcriptions, and Siri Recap conversation summaries
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More accurate step tracking powered by a revamped pedometer model, including a Steps complication (finally!)
Do these small hardware tweaks and new features make the Series 12 worth the upgrade? Stay tuned for Mashable’s full review to find out — we just got our hands on a review unit for testing. In the meantime, you can revisit our take on the Series 11.
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Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what’s actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons.
