Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $399, which is what Series 7 cost in 2021 and what every Series watch in between has cost at launch. Apple Watch Ultra 4 starts at $799, the same as the first Ultra in 2022, and Apple Watch SE 3 is $249, the same as the SE it replaced.
Five years of new chips, new sensors and new case materials have arrived without a single change to the three numbers on the price tag. What has changed is what those numbers leave out.
Key facts
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Series launch price, 2021 to 2026 | $399 every year |
| Ultra launch price, 2022 to 2026 | $799 every time |
| SE launch price, 2022 and 2025 | $249 both times |
| Watches Apple sells today | Three: SE 3, Series 12, Ultra 4 |
| Series 12 monthly lease | From $11.99 over 24 months |
| Ultra 4 monthly lease | $24.99 over 24 months |
| Published configuration prices | None beyond the starting price |
Six Series watches, one price
Apple’s press releases put Series 7 at $399 in October 2021, Series 8 at $399 in September 2022, Series 9 at $399 in 2023, Series 10 at $399 in 2024 and Series 11 at $399 in 2025. Series 12 is from $399 now.
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The word that changed is from. Apple’s store page lists a starting price and no configuration table, so $399 buys the 42mm aluminum GPS model and nothing above it is priced in public.
Series 12 is also the first Series with three case materials, aluminum, titanium and ceramic, and Apple has published a price for none of them beyond that starting figure.
SE has been $249 twice
The second-generation Apple Watch SE launched at $249 in September 2022. Apple Watch SE 3 launched at $249 in September 2025 and is still $249 today.
What $249 buys did move. SE 3 carries the S10 chip rather than the S8, adds a temperature sensor the older SE never had, and is on Apple’s watchOS 27 compatibility list, which the second-generation SE is not.
Every Ultra has cost $799
Apple introduced Apple Watch Ultra at $799 in September 2022, Ultra 2 at $799 in 2023, Ultra 3 at $799 in 2025 and Ultra 4 at $799 this month. Ultra 2 gained a black finish in 2024 without a new model number.
Inside that fixed price, the battery rating went from 36 hours to 42 to 50, the chip went from S8 to S11, and satellite communications arrived with two years included on Ultra 3 and later.
| Model | Year | US launch price | Sold by Apple today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series 7 | 2021 | $399 | No |
| Series 8 | 2022 | $399 | No |
| SE (2nd generation) | 2022 | $249 | No |
| Ultra | 2022 | $799 | No |
| Series 9 | 2023 | $399 | No |
| Ultra 2 | 2023 | $799 | No |
| Series 10 | 2024 | $399 | No |
| Series 11 | 2025 | $399 | No |
| SE 3 | 2025 | $249 | Yes, from $249 |
| Ultra 3 | 2025 | $799 | No |
| Series 12 | 2026 | From $399 | Yes |
| Ultra 4 | 2026 | From $799 | Yes |
The right-hand column is the story of September 9. Apple’s watch range went from a long tail of older models to three watches at $249, $399 and $799, and the Series 11 store page now returns an error.
What the starting price leaves out
A starting price is one configuration. The larger case size, cellular, titanium, ceramic and every Hermes edition sit above it, and Apple has published no figure for any of them.
Bands are the other gap. Apple announced new Sport Band, Sport Loop, Milanese Loop and Modern Buckle colors for Series 12, and Trail Loop, Alpine Loop and Ocean Band colors for Ultra 4, without prices for any of them.
Apple does publish monthly figures: Series 12 from $11.99 a month over 24 months on an Apple Upgrade lease, and Ultra 4 at $24.99. Both are leases rather than installment purchases.
What Apple has not said
Apple has not published per-configuration prices, band prices, Hermes prices, or a dollar trade-in value for any Apple Watch. Its trade-in page asks condition questions and produces an estimate instead.
Apple has also said nothing about whether last year’s Series 11 or Ultra 3 return at a lower price, or what happens to the models it stopped selling on September 9.
Pre-orders for Series 12 and Ultra 4 opened on September 9 and both reach stores on Friday, September 18. watchOS 27 arrives first, free, on Monday, September 14.
