If you have never owned an Apple Watch, today’s lineup comes down to two choices: Apple Watch Series 12 from $399 or Apple Watch Ultra 4 from $799. Both use the new S11 chip and the same Health Sensing System, so the health features that Apple spent most of its keynote on do not depend…
Apple Watch Ultra 4
Apple's Recycled Materials by the Numbers: iPhone 18 Pro, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 Compared
Apple attached recycled-content figures to all three of the metal products it announced today. The iPhone 18 Pro and Apple Watch Series 12 are each 40 percent recycled material overall, while the Apple Watch Ultra 4 leads the lineup at 45 percent. All three ship in 100 percent fiber-based packaging. The overall percentages hide different…
Apple's New Health Features: Which Need an Apple Watch, Which Need an iPhone, and Which Need Both
Apple spread its new health features across three places today: the Health Sensing System in Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, watchOS 27 for existing watches, and a redesigned Health app arriving with iOS 27 on September 14. Some features need only an iPhone, some need only a new watch, and the most talked-about…
Apple's Monthly Prices Compared: iPhone 18 Pro, Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 on 24-Month Plans
Apple attached a monthly figure to each of the four devices it priced today. The iPhone 18 Pro is $49.95 a month and the iPhone 18 Pro Max is $54.12 a month, both over 24 months, while Apple Watch Series 12 is listed at $11.99 a month and Apple Watch Ultra 4 at $24.99 a…
September 18 Is Apple's Biggest Launch Day: iPhone 18 Pro, AirPods 5, Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 All Arrive
Every hardware product Apple announced today, apart from the iPhone Duo, goes on sale on the same day. The iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, AirPods 5, Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 all reach stores on Friday, September 18, nine days after the “Surprise and shine” keynote. Five products on…
Apple Watch Ultra 4 Max Extended Workout Mode: 45 Hours With One-Second GPS for Ultramarathons
Apple Watch Ultra 4 adds a Max Extended Workout mode that Apple rates for up to 45 hours of tracking while keeping GPS sampling at one-second intervals. Apple says the mode is aimed at 100-mile races, and it is the longest workout figure the company has published for any Apple Watch. It sits above the…
Apple Watch Ultra 4 GPS and Satellite: What Apple Says About Accuracy and the Two Free Years
Apple says Apple Watch Ultra 4 has the most accurate on-device GPS in a sports watch, and that satellite communications continue on the new model with two years of service included. Both claims come from Apple’s press release for the $799 watch, which is in stores on Friday, September 18. Satellite arrived on Apple Watch…
Apple Watch Ultra 4 Release Date and Pre-Orders: Order Today, In Stores September 18, $24.99 a Month
Apple Watch Ultra 4 is available to pre-order today, September 9, and arrives in stores on Friday, September 18. It costs $799, or $24.99 a month over 24 months through Apple’s upgrade lease. That is a faster turnaround than iPhone 18 Pro, which does not open for pre-order until Saturday, September 12, even though both…
Apple Watch Ultra 4 Bands and the Hermès Edition: New Trail, Alpine and Ocean Colors Explained
Apple Watch Ultra 4 launches with three new colors for each of its three bands, nine in total, plus a new Apple Watch Hermès Ultra 4 with a Grand H titanium band. The watch starts at $799, and Apple has not published band prices or the Hermès price. The three band names are familiar from…
Apple Watch Ultra 4 vs Series 12: $799 or $399? Which Apple Watch Should You Buy
Apple announced two new watches today: Apple Watch Series 12 from $399 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 from $799. Both run the S11 chip, both get the new Health Sensing System and Readiness score, and both reach stores on Friday, September 18. That shared core makes the choice simpler than it was a year ago.…
Apple Watch Ultra 4 vs Ultra 3: What Changed and Is It Worth Upgrading?
Apple Watch Ultra 4 costs $799, exactly what Apple Watch Ultra 3 cost when it launched in September 2025. For the same money you get an S11 chip in place of the S10, up to 50 hours of battery instead of 42, a new Health Sensing System and a 45-hour Max Extended Workout mode. Ultra…
Apple Watch Audio Intelligence: Live Rewind, Siri Recap, Sound Recognition and the Secure Exclave
Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 add a set of on-watch audio features Apple calls Audio Intelligence: Live Rewind, which shows the previous 15 seconds of a conversation as text, Siri Recap conversation summaries, Sound Recognition alerts and Shazam music detection. All of it runs on the new S11 chip. Keynote coverage…
Apple Says Series 12 Has the Most Accurate Heart Rate Sensing in a Wearable: What the 1,000-Person Study Claims
Apple says the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 have the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable, and it is pointing to a study of more than 1,000 participants run in July and August 2026 to back the claim. The study compared Apple Watch against what Apple calls leading competitors.…
Apple Watch Series 12 Step Tracking: The New Steps Complication and Apple's Accuracy Claim
Apple Watch Series 12 adds a Steps complication to the watch face, and Apple is claiming the watch now has the most accurate step tracking of any smartwatch. Both the complication and the accuracy claim also apply to the Apple Watch Ultra 4, announced the same day. Step counts have long been available in the…
The Full Apple Fall Bundle: What iPhone 18 Pro, AirPods 5 and Apple Watch Series 12 Cost Together
Buying the three headline products from today’s Apple event at their US starting prices costs $1,727: $1,199 for the iPhone 18 Pro, $129 for AirPods 5 and $399 for Apple Watch Series 12. Choosing the top option in each category, the iPhone 18 Pro Max at $1,299, AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case at $149…
What You Can Pre-Order From Apple Right Now: AirPods 5, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 (iPhone 18 Pro Waits Until Saturday)
Three of the four hardware products Apple announced today can be ordered right now. AirPods 5 from $129, Apple Watch Series 12 from $399 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 from $799 all opened for pre-order on September 9, while the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max do not go on sale until Saturday,…
Apple Watch Ultra 4 Battery Life Explained: 50 Hours, 84 in Low Power, 45 Hours of GPS in Max Extended Mode
Apple Watch Ultra 4 is rated for up to 50 hours of battery life in normal use, up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode, up to 25 hours in Extended Workout mode and up to 45 hours in a new Max Extended Workout mode. Those are Apple’s own figures from today’s press release for…
Apple Watch Ultra 4 Is Official: $799, 50-Hour Battery, S11 Chip and a 100-Mile Race Mode
Apple announced Apple Watch Ultra 4 today at its Surprise and shine event, and the headline numbers are a $799 starting price, up to 50 hours of battery life, a new S11 chip and a Max Extended Workout mode that runs for up to 45 hours. Pre-orders are open now, and the watch arrives in…
Apple Watch Readiness Score Explained: What the 0 to 10 Rating Means and How to Use It
Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 add a Readiness score, a single daily number from 0 to 10 that Apple builds from recent activity, training load, vitals and sleep. Each score comes with one of four recommendations: Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready or Go For It. Keynote coverage described a new Readiness app,…
Apple Watch Series 12 Health Sensing System Explained: Heart Rate Every 5 Seconds, HRV Every 5 Minutes
Apple Watch Series 12 introduces what Apple calls the Health Sensing System: new optical and electrical heart sensors that measure heart rate every 5 seconds all day and heart rate variability every 5 minutes, which Apple says is 24 times more often than before. The same system is in the Apple Watch Ultra 4, and…
Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4: What Apple Announced and What It Has Not Said Yet
Apple announced the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 at its September 9 event, but unlike the iPhone 18 Pro at $1,199 and AirPods 5 at $129, neither watch left the keynote with a price or a release date. Apple has not published a press release for either model. What follows is…