Apple Watch Series 12 review: More health tracking, faster in every way

One glance at it and you might not notice anything different. That is because there is nothing obviously different in the design of the Apple Watch Series 12 from the design of its predecessor. I mean there are a few differences but they are so minor that it is safe to assume that most people would not notice them. For example, the bezels seem slightly thicker because the glass is ever so slightly curved. There seems to be a teeny tiny space between the crown and the dial. And the sensor module, which rests on the wrist when you wear the Watch, is significantly thinner. But it is a new Watch, with some new tricks. It is also a noticeable improvement over the previous Apple Watches in a couple of key areas. It offers more, it is faster and slicker with its user experience. It tracks health better, it charges faster, its battery seems slightly more robust. But to understand it all you have to experience it. You can’t just look at it and realise that you are looking at a new product. I don’t mind the same design. That is because Apple Watch has this neutral, inoffensive and yet incredibly functional design. It doesn’t scream for attention when it is on your wrist. But it also doesn’t look ordinary, thanks to its premium materials and the distinct shape. Talking of which, Apple has brought back ceramic finish with the Watch 12. Apart from being available in titanium and aluminium, the Watch 12 is also available in ceramic — in Pearl White and Night Blue. The Watch you see here in this review is in aluminium finish in black. It has matte finish and looks gorgeous in my opinion. Although preference for colours is subjective. In aluminium, the Watch 12 is also available in Dark Bronze, Light Gold, and Space Grey. In titanium, the Watch 12 comes in the Radiant Gold and Natural colours. Apart from new colours and materials, one big design change in the Watch 12 is that it gets the Ceramic Shield 2 on aluminium units. This should make their screens more resistant to scratches, though my experience so far with the Watch is that it rarely gets scratched if you are wearing it in office and during day-to-day urban life. The ceramic and titanium Watch will continue to have the Sapphire crystal shield, which is obviously much tougher and better against scratches and regular wear and tear. More sensors, more robust health trackingSo, if the design is more or less the same, what is the big news with the Watch 12? For that you need to turn it over and look at its sensor hub. Apple has not added a big ticket feature to the Watch 12 but it has streamlined the amount of health data it collects, and then is using this data in some new ways to offer users more health insights. The biggest updates in the Apple Watch 12 are in its sensor hub, which is flatter but now packs in more. Unlike the Watch 11, which has 4 electrodes for ECG and other functionalities, the Apple Watch 12 features 32 electrodes for more precise measurements. It also has larger green LEDs for the same reason and the number of times Apple Watch tracks heart vitals has increased significantly. Earlier Apple Watch would measure heart rate every few minutes when you were not actively tracking a workout. Now, it does so every five seconds, the same rate at which it tracks heart rate during a run or workout. Similarly, earlier the Watch was tracking HRV — the heart rate variability, which has become a key health metric to track in recent years — every 5 to 10 minutes. Now, the Watch 12 does it 24 times more. In addition, the Watch 12 now differentiates between HRV during activity and HRV at rest. The reason why Apple is now collecting more data is also because it aims to offer more insights to users. The way the Health app organises its data and presents it to users through various features gets a big revamp with the Watch 12. The biggest, and most meaningful change is the readiness score. Enabled around 7 days after you start wearing the watch, including while sleeping, the readiness score is like a summary of how your body is feeling in the morning after you wake up. The score ranges from 0 to 10, and it is calculated on the basis of sleep, heart rate, HRV, SpO2, breathing and other data collected throughout the previous night and day. Apple says the Watch 12 is incredibly accurate. While I have no reason to doubt that, I must add that something like the Readiness score, which is similar to what Whoop, Oura and Fitbit etc also offer, is more art than science. That is because there are so many factors behind how a person is feeling physiologically that it is nearly impossible to reflect it in a “score.”Irrespective, in my experience I found the Readiness score broadly accurate. The nights I slept badly I did see not-so-good scores while on mornings when I woke up feeling better also were the mornings when my Readiness scores were good enough to please me. Apple is also working on a new Health app — currently it is part of iOS 27.2 Beta — that will make even better use of all the data that Apple Watch 12, and Watch Ultra 4, can collect. It will come with features like Heath Age, which will use the collected data to predict your overall well-being in a physiological sense. Some of the features in the new app will work only with the latest Watch models, because only they have the necessary hardware. Faster overall and Siri tricksAs noted earlier, a more robust sensor system is one key update in the Watch 12. The other big hardware update is the S11 chip, which is significantly faster compared to the previous chip. It is also a chip that has been fine-tuned for a couple of AI features on the Watch 12. But about them in a minute. Overall, using the Watch 12 is a refined experience. You do need a companion iPhone to set it up as well as to make full use of it. But with the watchOS 27, there are some new software tricks that this device now offers. Of particular note is the new app grid, which is surfaced by Siri on the basis of apps and features you use. Unlike the previous screen full of all apps, now you get to see only a few of YOUR most used and most important apps. Then there is the single tap gesture using index finger and thumb to quickly open an item from the notification stack. The screen of the Watch 12 remains utterly usable and gloriously bright, similar to the screen on the Series 11. The overall speed and smoothness of the Watch 12 too is exemplary. It is slick in every way and functional. In fact, the Watch packs in so much functionality that I doubt most users would be using more than 30 per cent of all that it offers. The best part of the software and interface is that whether you use just 5 features, or 50, using the Watch 12 doesn’t feel overwhelming. You can use and customize it in the way you want, in the manner that is most comfortable to you. While none of these new changes, whether the speed or features, makes the Watch 12 a radically different device compared to its predecessors, in one area it is a leap forward: the battery charging. The battery life of Watch 12 is still somewhere around 24 hours, depending on how you use and how often you engage GPS (and network in the case of cellular variant). But the charging speed is truly a big change this time. The Watch 12 charges extremely fast, going from zero to 80 per cent in around 30 minutes. This makes it the kind of device that you will not mind wearing during sleep because even if you are running low on juice, you can charge it for just 15-20 minutes before bed — or in morning before you leave home — and it is good to go. Now, let’s talk about Siri. The Apple AI is finally getting smarter. While mostly Siri is going to be a tool made for iPhone and Mac, some Siri features are coming to the Watch as well. There are two that are of note, although they would be rolling out to users later this year. One is Rewind and another is Recap. Both use secure and private hardware pockets in the S11 to process voice data. Recap will let the Watch 12 users record voice around them — say during a team meeting or a conversation — and then generate a summary of it automatically using Siri AI. Rewind, meanwhile, is a more interesting and even somewhat perplexing feature. The Watch 12, when this feature is available, will continuously record 15 seconds of audio on a rolling basis. As in 15 seconds audio recorded, then another 15-seconds video recorded and the previous clip deleted automatically. This 15 second audio will be available for playback when you want to “rewind” something because you missed it the first time. Both features are coming later this year. How these features will be used by people and how useful they will prove to be is something we will get to know when they are accessible. But they are interesting features, and will be exclusive to the Watch 12 and the Watch Ultra 4. Apple Watch Series 12: Worth buying?If you have an iPhone and want a smartwatch, I continue to believe that the Apple Watch is the best option for you. Even at its increased price of Rs 56,900. That is because unlike its competitors, the Watch 12 is a complete package. There are some other devices that do this or that. But none of them do everything that the Watch can do. It is a tiny smartphone folded into a watch-shape device and peppered with a number of health sensors and incredible features like Fall Detection, Accident Detection, SOS, and proactive heart monitoring that have in the past saved lives. There is no other device that does it all in such a sleek package, except probably Google Pixel Watch 5. Whether you need everything that Apple Watch 12 offers to you is a different question. But as a device it is right there for your needs. It is for you if you are looking for a stylish and tech-savvy watch to wear in your office. And it is for you even if you are an avid mountaineer who wants something that can keep up with your treks. At the same time, Apple Watch offers a number of key health features — such as Readiness Score — without requiring a monthly or annual subscription. In that way it is unique, because most of its competitors want you to separately purchase a subscription to access your own data.The Watch is still not a necessity the way a smartphone is. And in the Watch 12 there aren’t enough big-ticket updates — apart from the charging speed — that in my opinion justify an upgrade for the Watch 11 or even the Watch 10 users. But if you are keen on your first Apple Watch, or if you are hoping to move on from your three or four years old Watch, go for it. You will feel right at home with it.- Ends