Apple introduced the Apple Watch Series 12 on Wednesday, adding ambient audio recording and artificial intelligence summarisation tools, The Verge reported. Powered by an S11 processor, the smartwatch includes Live Rewind, which lets wearers replay the last 15 seconds of detected audio and inspect a text transcript by double-pressing the Digital Crown. Another tool, Siri Recap, uses ambient listening during conversations to generate titles and bulleted key points inside the Siri application.
Both audio intelligence features will launch in beta later this year in English across the Series 12 and the Watch Ultra 4. The watch also adds Sound Recognition to alert deaf or hard of hearing wearers to sirens, alarms, doorbells, and crying infants without requiring a connected iPhone. For music identification, the company integrated Shazam directly into a Smart Stack widget.
Pricing for aluminum models begins at $399, matching the introductory price of previous generations. Titanium versions start at $699, while ceramic finishes cost $899, with preorders opening Wednesday ahead of a September 18 release date. Apple also introduced leasing options through its upgrade program starting at $11.99 per month for 12- or 24-month terms. Case options include space gray, black, light gold, and dark bronze aluminum, radiant gold and natural titanium, and night blue and pearl white ceramic.
New optical and electrical heart sensors record background heart rate readings every five seconds, measuring data 60 times more frequently than earlier models. The device expands Cycle Tracking to include perimenopause and menopause monitoring, alongside a redesigned Health application featuring tabs for Insights and Longevity. Paired with an iPhone camera, the hardware evaluates physical balance, strength, and flexibility, while VO2 max assessments require either AirPods Pro 3 or third-party heart rate sensors.
Chief executive John Ternus oversaw the launch, marking one of the first major product rollouts since succeeding Tim Cook on September 1. Ternus previously directed Apple Watch development while serving as the company's head of hardware engineering.
