{"id":908941,"date":"2026-09-28T20:12:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T20:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/908941\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T20:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T20:12:16","slug":"best-apple-watch-series-12-ultra-4-and-se-3-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/908941\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Apple Watch: Series 12, Ultra 4, and SE 3 (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"

As WIRED\u2019s resident wearable tester, I\u2019ve tried enough smartwatches to know there\u2019s life beyond the Apple Watch. I just apparently don\u2019t want it. Maybe it\u2019s because I joined the Apple ecosystem at 10 years old and have been indoctrinated ever since. I\u2019m fluent in iOS, macOS, and watchOS, and for better or worse, the Apple Watch is my default wearable.<\/p>\n

But what\u2019s the best Apple Watch to buy? There are now three models, each with its own set of features, and the differences between them can appear minor even when the prices aren\u2019t. Fortunately, I\u2019ve tested them all; Here\u2019s how the current lineup stacks up.<\/p>\n

For more recommendations, check out our guides to the Best Apple Watch Bands<\/a>, the Best Apple Watch Accessories<\/a>, and the Best Smartwatches<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Love WIRED? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to see more of us.<\/p>\n

Best Apple Watch Overall\"Image<\/a><\/p>\n

Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane<\/p>\n

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Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane<\/p>\n

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Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane<\/p>\n

The Series 12<\/a> is Apple\u2019s flagship watch. Its biggest upgrade is the new Health Sensing System<\/a>, which improves the breadth, accuracy, and frequency of its health tracking. The ECG now uses 32 electrodes for better skin contact, up from two on the Series 11<\/a>, while improved optical sensing and more efficient LEDs deliver more accurate heart-rate readings. The Series 12<\/a> also tracks your heart rate every five seconds throughout the day and HRV as often as every five minutes, compared with every five minutes for heart rate and roughly every two hours for HRV on the Series 11<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Series 12<\/a> also introduces Apple\u2019s Readiness score, which gives you a snapshot of how prepared your body is for the day based on your recent health and activity data. Audio Intelligence<\/a> is another major addition, though two of its headline features (Live Rewind and Siri Recap) won\u2019t arrive until later this year.<\/p>\n

Battery life remains rated for up to 24 hours, but charging is faster. Fifteen minutes delivers up to 12 hours of normal use, and five minutes get you up to 10 hours of sleep tracking. Just about the only feature the Series 11<\/a> lacks is satellite connectivity, but if you don’t go off the grid, then it has everything else you need.<\/p>\n

Best Battery Life\"Image<\/a><\/p>\n

Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a><\/p>\n

Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane<\/p>\n

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Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane<\/p>\n

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Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane<\/p>\n

The Ultra 4<\/a>\u2019s biggest upgrades are its longer battery life, faster charging, and new health-tracking capabilities. It lasts up to 50 hours on a charge\u2014up from 42 hours on the Ultra 3\u2014and up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode. Fast charging gets a boost, with 15 minutes on the charger providing up to 18 hours of normal use and five minutes offering up to 10 hours of sleep tracking. A new Health Sensing System<\/a> and faster S11 chip enable frequent background heart-rate and HRV tracking, the Readiness score, and Apple\u2019s suite of Audio Intelligence<\/a> features.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As WIRED\u2019s resident wearable tester, I\u2019ve tried enough smartwatches to know there\u2019s life beyond the Apple Watch. I…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":908942,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[1337,16556,64,63,21855,213,2295,229,7240,220,215,105,38844,9544],"class_list":["post-908941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-apple","tag-apple-watch","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fitness-trackers","tag-gadgets","tag-gear","tag-reviews","tag-shopping","tag-smartwatch","tag-smartwatches","tag-technology","tag-watches","tag-wearables"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=908941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/908942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=908941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=908941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=908941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}