At $399, Apple Watch preorders now put a heart sensor that samples every five seconds on the shopping page. Apple announced the Series 12 and Ultra 4 on September 9, opening orders that day for two familiar-looking watches with a new S11 chip and redesigned health sensors. The Ultra starts at $799. According to launch coverage from 9to5Mac and The Verge, both models reach stores on September 18, with starting prices unchanged from their predecessors. [1, 2]
Apple Watch Preorders: Dates and Prices
For anyone tracking when Apple preorders start, the Watch ordering window opened on September 9, 2026, according to Zac Hall’s launch report for 9to5Mac. September 18 is the release date, nine days later. The Verge’s September 10 buying guide lists Apple, Amazon, and Best Buy for the Series 12, and Amazon and Best Buy for the Ultra 4. The supplied reports do not specify a UK opening time or provide a country-by-country availability schedule. [1, 2]
The 42mm Series 12 starts at $399, while the 46mm version costs $50 more, according to The Verge’s Cameron Faulkner. Ceramic models start at $899. Apple last offered that material in the Series 5, making its return one of the more visible changes in a generation that otherwise keeps the established Watch shape. The Ultra 4 starts at $799 in a single size with GPS and 5G support; black and natural titanium remain its finishes, and Apple is adding a titanium band. Series 12 buyers also have aluminum and polished titanium options, with pearl white and dark blue ceramic cases at the more expensive end of the range. [1, 2]
Apple has no new SE this year. The Series 12 and Ultra 4 carry the hardware changes, beginning where each watch touches the wrist. [2]
A Pulse Every Five Seconds
Apple’s new Health Sensing System rearranges the light-detecting photodiodes into a ring, enlarges the electrode contact area, and uses bigger green LEDs that the company says consume power more efficiently. WIRED reports that the system has 32 electrodes, compared with two in the Series 11. The design aims to capture light more efficiently and improve skin contact while collecting heart-rate readings throughout the day. A new watch-face complication (a small information display) shows heart rate in real time. [3, 4]
Apple calls the result the “most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable,” according to Ars Technica’s Scharon Harding. That is Apple’s claim. The supplied coverage does not independently verify its accuracy against competing watches, and more frequent measurements alone do not establish that ranking. What changes concretely is the sampling schedule: Apple says heart rate now updates every five seconds, while heart rate variability (HRV) measurements can occur up to 24 times more frequently than before. [1, 3]
HRV helps describe how the body responds to stress and exercise. Apple says overnight vitals will compare recovery HRV with each wearer’s personal baseline, while a daytime view will let people inspect metrics before the next night’s readings arrive. PerEXP Teamworks’ coverage of a wearable biosensor that measures fertility hormones in sweat examines another approach to collecting health signals. For Apple Watch preorders, the immediate question is how the new readings translate into useful guidance. [3]
Recovery Gets a New Score
Apple combines activity, sleep, and vital signs in a new Readiness score, extending the sensor update into a daily assessment of recovery. The redesigned Health app also introduces a Longevity tab and a Health Age metric, according to WIRED’s Boutayna Chokrane. Apple is putting those measures together on screen, but the supplied launch reports do not explain the scoring formulas or establish how reliably they predict an individual’s recovery. Independent testing remains absent from this coverage. [1, 4]
Workout Buddy gains more wellness metrics and can operate without an iPhone nearby, while Apple also expands the feature to Spanish and adds more detail to strength-training records. Sets now join the workout log. Repetitions, weights, and equipment do too. Cycle Tracking adds support for perimenopause and menopause, including alerts about cycle changes associated with perimenopause, as Apple broadens the kinds of health information the Watch presents. [4]
Apple Watch preorders also arrive before a clear account of which new software features older watches will receive. WIRED says watchOS 27 will reach compatible existing models when the Series 12 goes on sale. The new sensor hardware belongs to the Series 12 and Ultra 4. Both also receive the S11 processor, which supports another conspicuous change: a watch that can turn nearby speech into text. [1, 4]
Rewinding a Restaurant Conversation
In Apple’s demonstration, a restaurant server recited the specials while a diner used the Watch to retrieve a transcript of the preceding 15 seconds. WIRED describes the diner scrolling back with the watch’s dial to read the words on screen. The feature gives a concrete use for the new Audio Intelligence system, which also recognizes sounds such as doorbells. How much of everyday conversation will wearers choose to record? [1, 4]
Apple calls the transcription shortcut live rewind. Double-clicking the Digital Crown activates it, replacing that control’s previous multitasking role, according to 9to5Mac. Siri Recap can summarize recorded audio notes, including meetings, and Apple adds a Siri Modular watch face. WIRED reports that the listening features require the wearer’s opt-in; its coverage does not establish that everyone nearby participates in that choice. The demonstration shows the convenience, while leaving the surrounding people part of the recording. [1, 4]
The S11 draws its CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine components from the A20 Pro design, according to Hall. More memory accompanies the processor. Ryan Christoffel reports that Xcode 27 (Apple’s development software) lists 4GB of RAM for both new watches, citing findings shared through MacRumors. Series 11 and Ultra 3 had 2GB. Apple did not announce that memory increase onstage, so it remains a specification reported from developer tools rather than a separately detailed Apple announcement. [1, 5]
Battery Claims Await Everyday Use
Series 12 keeps its 24-hour battery rating, according to WIRED, but Apple promises faster charging: 15 minutes on the charger can supply up to 12 hours of use. Ultra 4 reaches a claimed 50 hours. Both figures come from launch coverage, rather than an independent battery test in the supplied reports, leaving everyday endurance with the new sensing and audio features an open question. [4]
WatchOS 27 changes navigation too. A dynamic app grid presents five Siri-suggested apps, the Siri app, and a shortcut to the full grid; a one-handed tap selects Smart Stack widgets, and a double-tap scrolls through them. A wrist flick returns to the watch face or dismisses notifications and timers. Walkie-Talkie is leaving watchOS. Apple removes the direct voice-chat feature with this release, according to WIRED. [4]
Apple Watch preorders are already open, but the supplied reporting leaves two buying questions unresolved: whether the new sensors outperform rival wearables and how long the watches last with their added features in use. The Verge explicitly distinguishes ordering now from waiting for reviews. September 18 brings the retail launch; independent testing still needs to put Apple’s accuracy and endurance claims against measurements from actual use. [2, 3, 4]
- ONLINE NEWS Hall, Z. (2026, September 9). Apple Watch Series 12 announced: Features, price, release date. 9to5Mac. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Faulkner, C. (2026, September 10). Where to preorder the new Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4. The Verge. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Harding, S. (2026, September 9). Apple starts preorders for Watch Series 12, Ultra 4 with new Health Sensing System. Ars Technica. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Chokrane, B. (2026, September 9). The Apple Watch gets its Siri AI upgrade. WIRED. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Christoffel, R. (2026, September 10). Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Series 12 have surprise upgrade that wasn’t announced. 9to5Mac. [Article Link]
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