New Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 Features Revealed

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has provided further details about the upcoming Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, which are set to be unveiled on September 9. Gurman confirmed that the new models will not feature significant design changes compared to the existing Series 11 and Ultra 3. However, he expects a return of ceramic case options for the Series 12, similar to what was offered for the premium Series 3 in 2017. The ceramic cases will come in both white and dark gray options.

Gurman did not mention any rumors about an embedded health sensor in the Series 12 band. Instead, he anticipates more routine enhancements, such as faster performance and upgrades to health and fitness tracking capabilities. The Series 11 and Ultra 3 share the same S10 chip as the Series 10 and Ultra 2, so the upcoming Series 12 will likely benefit from the introduction of the S11 chip or a newer version, which could mark the first performance improvements for the Apple Watch in several years.

One new feature being tested allows the heart-rate sensor on the Apple Watch to continuously gather data throughout the day. Gurman also mentioned that Apple is working on revamping its Health and Fitness apps to incorporate more wellness-related metrics, drawing inspiration from popular apps like Whoop and Oura.

An Apple Watch SE 4 is not expected to launch this year. Although a major redesign is in the works for the Apple Watch, Gurman believes it will not arrive for another one to two years. In the long term, he previously stated that Apple is continuing to develop a blood sugar detection feature, with hopes of releasing it by 2030.