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 built on keynote coverage, which is thinner than the iPhone and AirPods releases and leaves most of the spec sheet blank. We have separated the handful of confirmed points from the much longer list of things Apple has not said.
What Apple announced for Series 12 and Ultra 4
- Apple Watch Series 12 gets a ceramic case option
- Apple Watch Ultra 4 gets longer battery life
- Both add a day-summary feature built on ambient sensing, and Apple says no audio is stored
- Both add a new Readiness app
- There is no new Apple Watch SE
Two of those four features are software-adjacent, and Apple has not said whether the day summary and Readiness app will reach older watches or are tied to the new hardware. Our Apple Watch Series 12 preview covers what was expected before the event.
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What Apple has not said yet
| Detail | Series 12 | Ultra 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Not announced | Not announced |
| Pre-order date | Not announced | Not announced |
| Release date | Not announced | Not announced |
| Case sizes | Not announced | Not announced |
| Case materials | Ceramic option confirmed, others not stated | Not announced |
| Battery life | Not announced | Longer, no figure given |
| Chip | Not announced | Not announced |
| Display changes | Not announced | Not announced |
| Colors | Not announced | Not announced |
The absence of a battery figure for the Ultra 4 stands out, since longer battery life is the one hardware change Apple named for it. Apple usually attaches an hours number to that claim, and the keynote coverage does not carry one.
Why the Watch details are missing
The pattern matches the iPhone Duo, which also has a keynote mention and no press release. Apple published full documents for the iPhone 18 Pro and AirPods 5 within the day, complete with pre-order times, so the Watch and the foldable appear to be on a separate publication schedule.
This is analysis rather than something Apple has stated. Apple has not explained the gap, and it has not said whether the watches will ship alongside the iPhone 18 Pro on September 18 or later. The Apple event live blog has the Watch segment as it was presented.
What to do if you were planning to buy
Anyone waiting on a Series 12 or Ultra 4 has nothing to pre-order yet and no price to budget against. The pre-event expectation was that the watches would follow the iPhone schedule, but Apple has not confirmed that, and the Series 12 ceramic option may carry its own pricing that Apple has not disclosed.
The next fixed dates on Apple’s calendar are September 12 for iPhone 18 Pro pre-orders, September 14 for iOS 27 and September 18 for iPhone and AirPods deliveries. We will update this article when Apple publishes Watch prices, sizes and dates, and our pre-order expectations guide has the iPhone timing in the meantime.
