Apple has unveiled the Apple Watch Series 12, bringing a redesigned sensing system, new health-tracking features and an "Audio Intelligence" suite to its smartwatch line-up. Engadget got early hands-on access after Apple's "Surprise and shine" keynote, noting that while some additions, such as readiness scores, echo features already offered by rivals, others including the audio tools and new finishes are genuinely novel. The updates matter because they push the Watch further into continuous health monitoring while raising questions about always-listening features, which Apple says do not involve eavesdropping on conversations.

The core change is a re-architected sensing system: the Series 12's underside now has a ring of 12 LEDs, replacing the four-LED diamond layout on the Series 11, alongside reworked diodes and electrodes that increase skin contact and improve accuracy. Heart rate sampling is far more frequent, with heart rate variability now measured roughly every five minutes instead of every two to four hours, feeding into a new daily Readiness score (rated 0-10) based on activity, sleep and vitals. The Health app is also getting a significant redesign, with an Apple Intelligence-generated summary at the top (requiring a compatible iPhone) and reordering metric tiles for sleep, fitness and heart data throughout the day, due to roll out later this year.