Apple now sells exactly three watches, and what you do with your day picks between them faster than any spec sheet will. Swimmers, day hikers and desk workers can stop at the $399 Apple Watch Series 12; only long-distance runners, divers and people who go off grid can point at an Apple number that justifies the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 4.
The lineup narrowed on September 9. Series 11 and Ultra 3 are no longer sold, the $249 Apple Watch SE 3 stayed, and only Series 12 and Ultra 4 carry the S11 chip and the new Health Sensing System.
The three watches Apple sells
| Model | Price | Chip | Battery, normal / Low Power | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Watch SE 3 | From $249 | S10 | 18 h / 32 h | 50 m |
| Apple Watch Series 12 | From $399 | S11 | 24 h / 38 h | 50 m |
| Apple Watch Ultra 4 | From $799 | S11 | 50 h / 84 h | 100 m |
Those are starting prices only. Apple has not published a per-configuration price list, so titanium, ceramic, cellular and Hermes figures are absent from its own pages.
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Swimmers: 50 metres, 100 metres and the depth gauge
All three watches are rated to 50 metres under ISO 22810:2010 and Apple calls them swimproof, so pool lengths are covered at $249. Series 12 adds a depth gauge to 6 metres and a water temperature sensor.
Ultra 4 is the only one rated to 100 metres, the only one certified to EN13319 for recreational scuba to 40 metres with a depth gauge accurate to within a metre, and the only one Apple lists for high-speed water sports. If your swimming happens in a pool or a lake, that certification is $400 you do not need to spend.
Hikers and long-distance runners: where Ultra 4 earns $799
- GPS: Ultra 4 uses precision dual-frequency GPS and Apple calls it the most accurate on-device GPS in a sports watch. Series 12 and SE 3 use precision L1 GPS.
- Satellite: Emergency SOS, Messages and Find My via satellite are Ultra 4 only, with two years included. Series 12 has no satellite connection.
- Battery: Ultra 4 runs 50 hours normally, 84 in Low Power Mode and 18 hours of outdoor workout. Series 12 gives 24 hours and 10 hours of outdoor workout.
- Screen and build: 3000 nits against 2000, an always-on altimeter on both, and MIL-STD 810H testing plus an on-wrist range of minus 20 C to 55 C on the Ultra.
For runners the same split applies. Series 12 is rated for up to 10 hours of outdoor workout, so a four-hour marathon fits inside it twice over. Ultra 4 answers a narrower question with 25 hours in Extended Workout mode and 45 hours in a new Max Extended Workout mode that samples GPS every second, which Apple aims at 100-mile races.
Weight often decides it before any of that. A 42mm aluminium Series 12 is 32.2 g and the 46mm is 39.5 g, against 63.0 g for the Ultra 4, and band fit runs 130 to 200 mm, 140 to 245 mm and 130 to 210 mm respectively.
Desk workers: the two sensors SE 3 does not have
SE 3 has no electrical heart sensor and no Blood Oxygen sensor, so it cannot run the ECG app or take a Blood Oxygen reading. It does carry a temperature sensor.
Series 12 and Ultra 4 measure heart rate every five seconds all day and HRV every five minutes, and both add hypertension notifications, sleep score, sleep apnea notifications and the new Readiness score, a daily 0 to 10 rating with four recommendations. Apple says a study of more than 1,000 participants run in July and August 2026 found Apple Watch the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable. For someone who sits still and wants sleep and recovery data, that $150 step is the one that buys something.
The pick for each profile
| Profile | Pick | The number that decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Pool or lake swimmer | Series 12 | 50 m rating plus a water temperature sensor |
| Scuba diver | Ultra 4 | EN13319 to 40 m, depth gauge accurate to 1 m |
| Day hiker | Series 12 | 24 hours of battery, 10 hours of outdoor workout |
| Off grid or multi-day | Ultra 4 | 84 hours in Low Power Mode, satellite messaging |
| Marathon runner | Series 12 | 10-hour outdoor workout rating covers the race twice |
| 100-mile racer | Ultra 4 | 45-hour Max Extended Workout, one-second GPS |
| Desk worker tracking sleep | Series 12 | ECG and Blood Oxygen, neither of which SE 3 has |
| First watch, tight budget | SE 3 | $249, 18 hours of battery, same watchOS 27 |
What has not been confirmed
Apple publishes starting prices and nothing more for Apple Watch, so no titanium, ceramic, cellular, Hermes or band price appears on its own pages. Per-device AppleCare+ prices for Series 12 and Ultra 4 are not published either. Apple does not publish a Watch trade-in table, and the values recorded for individual models run from $30 for a first-generation SE to $430 for an Ultra 3, which are recorded figures rather than Apple’s own. One retailer offer is confirmed: Best Buy lists up to $325 off a Series 12 pre-order for an eligible Watch trade-in, and that expires on September 18.
Series 12 and Ultra 4 have been open for pre-order since Tuesday, September 9 and reach stores on Friday, September 18. watchOS 27 arrives free on Monday, September 14 for Series 9 and later, SE 3, and Ultra 2 and later, so the software half of this decision costs nothing either way. Our event recap covers everything else Apple announced.
