Apple Watch Series 12 will listen to your conversations

At its customary early-September event, Apple announced the Watch Series 12 with "Audio Intelligence." It's a feature designed to listen out for and keep track of key phrases in your conversations. In addition, the wearable gets a redesigned sensor platform to better keep track of your vitals. As part of this, it's picking up a feature cribbed from rivals like Garmin, Oura and Whoop. Not to mention, for the first time in more than half a decade, the return of a ceramic option.

The headline feature is "Audio Intelligence" which Apple says will monitor your conversations while you're having them. As part of this, "Live Rewind" will enable users to double tap their Digital Crown to get a transcript of the previous 15 seconds of conversation. And, after each chat, users can ask Siri to prepare an executive summary of the conversation to act as an aide memoire. 

Apple says the feature is entirely opt-in, will deliberately ignore private or sensitive information and does not store any audio. The company says that audio processing takes place in its own secure exclave and, once complete, will be immediately deleted. These features won't arrive until later in 2026, plus you'll need to own an iPhone 16 or newer, have Apple Intelligence enabled and not live in the EU (for the usual reasons).

On the less dystopian side of the fence, the system will act as a second pair of ears for people with accessibility needs. If the watch detects one of several sounds, such as a crying child, doorbell, siren or alarm, it'll alert the wearer. Plus, the Series 12 will have Shazam constantly running in the background, identifying any song playing in your local environment, wherever you go.

Health and fitness remains the Apple Watch's bread and butter, and the company has boasted about the Series 12 (and Ultra Series 4's) redesigned sensor platform. The new hardware has a larger electrode to improve skin contact during ECGs as well as larger photodiodes in the PPG (photoplethysmography) sensor. This, combined with a series of larger, more power-efficient LEDs, is designed to dramatically improve the accuracy of its heart rate sensing. Apple, no stranger to hyperbole, is already claiming it's the most accurate device of its class. 

Interestingly, it's the more power-efficient LEDs which may provide the biggest dividend for users as it's enabled Apple to increase the frequency of readings. The Series 12 checks its wearer's heart rate once every five seconds, and their heart rate variability once every five minutes. A new complication will also enable more detailed live heart rate data on the homescreen, too.

It's clear Apple is making moves to ensure its health and fitness offering is muscular enough to fend off its rivals. As well as offering more detailed data in its existing offerings, the Apple Watch will now offer you a Readiness score. If you've owned a Garmin or Oura product, you'll know both offer a single metric combining your activity, sleep and resting heart rate. If you slept poorly and your heart's feeling the strain, the watch will advise you to take it easy, while if your batteries are fully charged, it'll advice you to go for it. Unlike rival products which often give you a score out of 100, Apple's Readiness will give you a score out of 10. 

Apple has also improved the Watch Series 12's charging speed, claiming you'll get up to 12 hours of life after plopping the wearable on a charger for just 15 minutes. The overall battery life of 24 hours remains in place, but you may find the watch lasts for longer while working out outdoors.

Apple Watch Series 12 is available in in 42mm and 46mm case sizes, clad in aluminum finishes ranging from black, light gold, space gray and dark bronze. It'll also ship in a choice of titanium gold or natural titanium, plus the return of a ceramic option not seen since the halcyon days of the Series 5. Apple offered ceramic cases for the second-, third- and fifth-generation watches as a premium option boasting better hardiness against scrapes and bumps. Its return here is the first time Apple has offered a watch with a ceramic case option since 2020. Here, you can grab the Series 12 in either pearl white or night blue, the latter of which seems to have already stolen my heart. If you're feeling fancy, you can also grab a Hermés edition of the Series 12 in either gold or silver titanium. Prices start from $399 and, as the adage goes, if you have to ask how much the Hermés version is, you can't afford it.