Apple Watch Series 12 Adds Siri AI and Audio Intelligence

Summary

Apple Watch Series 12 is a new wearable focused on health, fitness and safety, with availability starting September 18 and pre-orders offered on Apple’s product page. Its redesigned Health Sensing System and S11 chip support more frequent measurements, including background heart-rate readings every five seconds and heart-rate-variability readings as often as every five minutes. The watch adds a readiness score based on recent activity, vitals and sleep, as well as a sleep score and expanded workout insights. The main AI additions are Siri AI and Audio Intelligence. Siri AI supports natural voice conversations, personal-context assistance and wellness or workout brainstorming, while Audio Intelligence uses the microphone, S11 chip and Apple Intelligence to help interpret what users hear. Apple says Siri AI is rolling out in English, and some Audio Intelligence features are scheduled for beta in late 2026, with usage limits possible. Siri Recap can turn conversations into summaries and key points, while Live Rewind can transcribe the previous 15 seconds; both are also listed as late-2026 beta features. Apple says these audio features do not create or store recordings, delete raw audio after processing, and protect synced transcripts and recaps with end-to-end encryption. The watch also includes cellular connectivity, fall and crash detection, emergency calling, water and dust resistance, and up to 24 hours of normal battery life.