Apple Watch in 2026: every current model, its price and what's new

Apple sells three Apple Watch models as of late October 2026: the Apple Watch Series 12 from $399, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 from $799 and the Apple Watch SE 3 from $249. Apple announced the Series 12 and Ultra 4 on Sept. 9, and both went on sale Sept. 18. The SE 3 carries over from September 2025.

This year's main change is in the sensors. Series 12 and Ultra 4 share a new Health Sensing System and the S11 chip, which measure heart rate every five seconds and power a new readiness score. Apple has also added Audio Intelligence features and, through watchOS 27, its new Siri AI.

This guide is based on Apple's press releases, product pages and comparison tool. We haven't tested the new watches.

The current lineup at a glance

What's new in 2026

These changes apply to both Series 12 and Ultra 4, according to Apple's announcements for the Series 12 and Ultra 4.

Heart sensing

The Health Sensing System uses new optical and electrical heart sensors with larger green LEDs. The watch now measures heart rate every five seconds, all day, and heart rate variability (HRV) up to 24 times more often than before. Apple splits HRV into recovery HRV, for daily stress and recovery, and overall HRV, for broader health. Apple says the new system gives "the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable," based on its own study of more than 1,000 participants comparing Apple Watch with leading wearables.

Readiness

A new daily score from 0 to 10 weighs recent activity, training load, vitals and sleep score, and comes with one of four recommendations: Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready or Go For It. It updates through the day. Apple's comparison page lists the Readiness app and recovery HRV only for Series 12 and Ultra 4.

Battery and charging

Series 12 keeps its 24-hour rating but lasts up to 10 hours in an outdoor workout, which Apple says is 25% more than Series 11, and 15 minutes of charging adds up to 12 hours. Ultra 4 moves to 50 hours of everyday use.

Step tracking

A redesigned pedometer model and the S11 chip give what Apple calls the most accurate step tracking of any smartwatch, with a new Steps complication for the watch face.

Audio Intelligence

These features use the watch's microphone. They include Sound Recognition, which alerts deaf or hard-of-hearing users to sirens, alarms or a crying baby; Live Rewind, which shows the last 15 seconds of a conversation as text when you double-press the Digital Crown; Siri Recap, which writes short summaries of conversations; and Shazam song detection. Apple says the features don't create or store audio recordings, and Live Rewind plays an audible chime and shows an animation so people nearby know it's on. Live Rewind and Siri Recap arrive in beta later this year.

Siri AI and the Health app

With watchOS 27, Apple Intelligence powers Siri AI on the watch, rolling out as a beta in English since Sept. 14, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish coming in October. A redesigned Health app on iPhone, arriving later this year in US English first, adds an Insights tab, a Longevity tab with a Health Age feature and lab tests covering more than 50 biomarkers for $119 at about 2,000 Quest Diagnostics locations.

Apple Watch Series 12

Series 12 starts at $399 and comes in 42 mm and 46 mm sizes. The aluminum versions come in dark bronze, black, light gold and space gray and now use Ceramic Shield 2 glass, which Apple says is 60% tougher than the Ion-X glass on previous aluminum models. Titanium comes in radiant gold and natural, and a new ceramic case comes in pearl white and night blue.

Beyond the new sensors, Series 12 has the full set of Apple's health features: the ECG app, irregular rhythm and high and low heart rate notifications, hypertension notifications, the Blood Oxygen app, sleep apnea notifications, sleep score, wrist temperature and the Vitals app. Apple's support page says hypertension notifications might not be available on Series 12 or Ultra 4 in some regions while additional regulatory clearances for those models are in process, as our hypertension notifications explainer explains. It is water resistant to 50 meters, with a depth gauge to 6 meters, and offers 5G on cellular models. Apple rates it at up to 24 hours, or 38 in Low Power Mode, and up to 10 hours of outdoor workout tracking.

Apple Watch Ultra 4

Ultra 4 starts at $799 and comes in one 49 mm size, in natural or black titanium. It is Apple's watch for endurance sports and the outdoors: brighter (up to 3,000 nits), water resistant to 100 meters with a depth gauge to 40 meters, rated for scuba diving, with dual-frequency GPS, a siren and satellite communications for Emergency SOS, Messages and Find My.

Apple rates Ultra 4 at up to 50 hours of everyday use, up from 42 hours for Ultra 3 on Apple's comparison page, or 84 in Low Power Mode, and says 15 minutes of charging adds up to 18 hours. A new Extended Workout mode tracks outdoor workouts with full GPS and heart rate for up to 25 hours, and Max Extended Workout stretches outdoor runs, walks and hikes to 45 hours, which Apple says is typically enough for a 100-mile race. It shares Series 12's health sensors and readiness score.

Apple Watch SE 3

At $249, SE 3 is Apple's cheapest watch, in 40 mm and 44 mm aluminum cases. It uses the S10 chip, has an Always-On display and is rated for up to 18 hours, or 32 in Low Power Mode. Apple's SE 3 specifications list sleep score, sleep apnea notifications, high and low heart rate and irregular rhythm notifications, Cycle Tracking with retrospective ovulation estimates, and Crash and Fall Detection, and cellular models support 5G.

The SE 3's spec sheet doesn't list the ECG app, the Blood Oxygen app or hypertension notifications, and it doesn't get the new readiness score or high-frequency heart rate tracking.

Series 11 and Ultra 3: what changed

Apple's lineup page now shows only the Series 12, Ultra 4 and SE 3, though Series 11 and Ultra 3 remain in its comparison tool. If you find a Series 11 or Ultra 3 for less elsewhere, here's what you give up:

• Series 11 launched in September 2025 at $399 with hypertension notifications, sleep score and a 24-hour battery rating, and Apple said 15 minutes of charging gave it up to eight hours. Series 12 adds the new heart sensors, readiness, Audio Intelligence and 25% more outdoor workout battery, and charges to 12 hours in the same 15 minutes.
• Ultra 3 is rated for up to 42 hours on Apple's comparison page. Ultra 4 is rated for 50, and adds the Health Sensing System and readiness.

Both older models still run watchOS 27, which supports Series 9 and later, SE 3 and Ultra 2 and later. Hypertension notifications work on Series 9 and later and Ultra 2 and later, so those older watches keep that feature too.

Which Apple Watch should you buy?

• Get Series 12 if you want Apple's full health feature set and the new readiness score in a regular-size watch. For most iPhone owners, it's the model to start with.
• Get Ultra 4 if battery life is the priority, or you run long races, dive or spend days outdoors. It costs about twice as much as Series 12, is rated for more than twice the battery life and adds satellite messaging and SOS.
• Get SE 3 if you want the basics, including sleep score, sleep apnea notifications and Crash Detection, for $249, and don't need the ECG or blood oxygen.

Whichever you pick, it has to be paired with an iPhone. Apple says the current models need an iPhone 11 or later running iOS 27, and Apple Watch doesn't work with Android phones. There's no required subscription, though Apple says new subscribers may get three months of Apple Fitness+ and Apple Music with a new watch. If you're also considering a ring for sleep tracking, see our smart ring vs smartwatch guide.