Apple's September 2026 wearables: Watch Series 12, Ultra 4 and AirPods 5

On Sept. 9, 2026, Apple published three newsroom releases: Apple Watch Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra 4 and AirPods 5. Series 12 starts at $399 (US), Ultra 4 at $799 (US) and AirPods 5 at $129 (US). All three went on sale Friday, Sept. 18. This guide is based on those Apple releases and on Talaya's earlier coverage of each product.

The September lineup at a glance

Apple's pages don't name an event for Sept. 9, so this guide doesn't either. Apple Watch SE 3 was not part of those releases; our Apple Watch guide covers it alongside Series 12 and Ultra 4.

Apple Watch Series 12

Series 12 comes in 42mm and 46mm sizes. Apple says it runs on the new Health Sensing System and the S11 chip. It now measures heart rate every five seconds, all day long, and adds a new readiness score.

Battery is rated at up to 24 hours of everyday use and up to 10 hours in an outdoor workout, which Apple says is 25% more than the previous model. The aluminum models use Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple calls 60% tougher than the Ion-X of previous aluminum models.

Apple Watch Ultra 4

Ultra 4 shares the Health Sensing System and S11 chip. Apple rates it at up to 50 hours of everyday battery and up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode, so it is the longest-lasting of the new watches. For a head-to-head with a rival, see our Ultra 4 against Garmin comparison.

AirPods 5

AirPods 5 are open-ear earbuds with active noise cancellation. Apple lists up to five hours of playback with ANC on one charge, and up to 22 hours with the charging case. Apple says customers in the US and more than 65 other countries and regions could pre-order them.

One thing the release leaves out: it doesn't mention heart-rate sensing, the Hearing Test, Hearing Aid or Hearing Protection. If you want heart rate from earbuds, AirPods Pro 3 measure it in workouts on an iPhone with iOS 26 or later and cost $249 at Apple, according to our AirPods Pro 3 health features article.

The software that arrived with them

watchOS 27 became available Monday, Sept. 14 for Apple Watch Series 9 or later, SE 3 and Ultra 2 or later. Siri AI also began rolling out that day as a beta with iOS 27 and watchOS 27, for users with a supported device set to English.

Apple said French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish would follow in October. On Oct. 26, with the 27.2 updates, Siri AI expanded to those languages. In the same post, Apple says Siri AI is currently unavailable in the EU on iOS, iPadOS and watchOS.

Hypertension notifications carry a regional caveat. Apple's support page says they might not be available on Series 12 or Ultra 4 in some regions while regulatory clearances are in process. Our hypertension notifications article covers it in more detail.

What wasn't part of September

• AirPods Max 2. Apple announced them on March 16, 2026, with orders opening March 25, so they belong to spring, not September.
• AirPods Pro 3. Apple's tech specs still date them to 2025.
• Smart glasses. Apple hasn't announced any. See Apple glasses rumors for what has been reported, and Apple Vision Pro in 2026 for its headset.

What Apple hasn't said

Apple's releases don't list which regions get hypertension notifications on the new watches, whether Siri AI will reach the EU, or availability for Series 12 and Ultra 4 beyond the countries named. We will update this guide if Apple publishes any of them.