{"id":790398,"date":"2026-10-03T06:09:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T06:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/790398\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T06:09:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T06:09:16","slug":"apple-watch-series-12-in-depth-review-worth-upgrading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/790398\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple Watch Series 12 In-Depth Review: Worth Upgrading?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791007699_133_maxresdefault.jpg\" alt=\"Youtube video\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" nopin=\"nopin\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The Apple Watch Series 12 arguably draws one of the biggest lines in the sand we\u2019ve seen yet from Apple, within the core Apple Watch evolution. Not because it looks different from the outside (it doesn\u2019t), or even because of the changed processor\/chipset (moderately different). But instead, because of the changes in software features that Apple has tied to the new optical heart rate sensor package. As a result of that, there are a host of new features that are only available on the new Series 12 (and Ultra 4), which aren\u2019t going back to previous Apple Watch Series owners.<\/p>\n<p>Thus, for this review I\u2019ll dive into all the nuances like I normally do \u2013 but I\u2019m paying special attention to the new Readiness Score pieces, the heart rate accuracy of the much-touted new heart rate sensor, as well as ultimately whether or not this upgrade is worthwhile. And of course, within that, which people it makes the most sense for.<\/p>\n<p>Note that as usual, there\u2019s also the full video review above. There\u2019s certainly some overlap, but also some pieces I cover within the video review that I don\u2019t cover here, and vice versa.<\/p>\n<p>With that \u2013 let\u2019s get right into all the newness!<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s New:<\/p>\n<p><img data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169902\" title=\"Series12-WhatsNew.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Series12-WhatsNew.jpg\" alt=\"Series12 WhatsNew.\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; background: 0px 0px #ffffff; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-color: initial;\">The Apple Watch Series 12 might look identical from the outside, but internally it\u2019s got an entirely new processor, along with a boatload of new software features. Most of those features are lit up today from launch, but some of them won\u2019t arrive until later on (a portion of the Audio Intelligence features). Further, all of the new Series 12 internals (processor-wise) are shared with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcrainmaker.com\/2026\/09\/apple-watch-ultra-4-in-depth-review.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Apple Watch Ultra 4 that was launched the same day<\/a>. Here\u2019s how it differs from the Series 11:<\/p>\n<p id=\"apple-watch-ultra-4-hardware-updates-changes\" style=\"font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; background: 0px 0px #ffffff; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-color: initial;\" data-test=\"9\/9\">Apple Watch Series 12 Hardware Updates\/Changes:<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; background: 0px 0px #ffffff; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-color: initial;\">\u2013 Gets new S11 chipset, which has features from the new A20 Pro chips of the iPhone 18 Pro<br \/>\u2013 Gets new secure audio processing exclave within that (for Audio Intelligence)<br \/>\u2013 Series 12 increased battery life to \u201cover 2 days\u201d (50 hours, technically)<br \/>\u2013 Series 12 adds revamped \u2018Extended Battery\u2019 (GPS) mode and new \u2018Max Extended Mode\u2019 (increasing workout GPS modes, though Apple doesn\u2019t make battery claims on the Series 12)<br \/>\u2013 Boatloads of new bands for all of them, including new Nike bands<br \/>\u2013 New aluminum gold color<br \/>\u2013 New Hermes options as well<\/p>\n<p id=\"apple-watch-heart-rate-sensing-hardware-update\" style=\"font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; background: 0px 0px #ffffff; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-color: initial;\" data-test=\"10\/9\">Apple Watch Heart Rate Sensing Hardware Update:<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; background: 0px 0px #ffffff; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-color: initial;\">\u2013 New heart rate sensor with increased electrode surface area for better ECGs<br \/>\u2013 New photodiodes below it for better workout capture<br \/>\u2013 New LED array below that for better 24\u00d77 HR readings<br \/>\u2013 New HR sensor is thinner (bump) than in the past<br \/>\u2013 Increased background (non-workout) HR readings to every 5 seconds (60x more than before)<br \/>\u2013 Increased HRV readings to every 5 minutes (24x more than before)<br \/>\u2013 Claim of Apple Watch Series 12\/Ultra 4 \u201cMost accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable\u201d<br \/>\u2013 Published their own white paper to support that claim, with competitor comparisons<\/p>\n<p id=\"new-hrv-features\" style=\"font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; background: 0px 0px #ffffff; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-color: initial;\" data-test=\"11\/9\">New HRV Features:<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; background: 0px 0px #ffffff; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-color: initial;\">\u2013 Added overnight HRV trending\/recording within the Vitals app (as one of key metrics)<br \/>\u2013 Added new HRV into new \u2018Daytime\u2019 view in the Vitals app<br \/>\u2013 Requires 7 nights of initial data on a watch to get HRV trends in the Vitals app<\/p>\n<p id=\"new-readiness-score-feature\" style=\"font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; background: 0px 0px #ffffff; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-color: initial;\" data-test=\"12\/9\">New Readiness Score Feature:<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; background: 0px 0px #ffffff; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-color: initial;\">\u2013 Each morning you\u2019ll get a new score<br \/>\u2013 Score is based on a range of 0-10 (zero being worst, 10 being highest)<br \/>\u2013 Four core descriptors you can get: Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready, Go For It<br \/>\u2013 Can be viewed on the watch or the Fitness App<br \/>\u2013 Leverages your Sleep data, Vitals Metrics, Training Load, and recent Activity data<br \/>\u2013 Requires 7 nights of initial data for the HRV trends, before it can populate Readiness Scores<\/p>\n<p id=\"new-health-app-redesign-on-phone-coming-later-this-year\" style=\"font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; background: 0px 0px #ffffff; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-color: initial;\" data-test=\"13\/9\">New Health App Redesign (on phone, coming later this year):<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; background: 0px 0px #ffffff; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-color: initial;\">\u2013 Adds new AI summary and recommendations<br \/>\u2013 Adds Apple Intelligence guidance, including suggesting intervals<br \/>\u2013 Adds new Health Age: Based on Sleep, VO2Max, HRV, Heart Rate, Exercise Minutes, Steps, and optionally Labs<br \/>\u2013 Adds new longevity Tab, based on Nutrition, Metabolic, Overall Movement, Sleep, Hearing, Heart metrics, mental wellbeing<br \/>\u2013 Adds support for pulling in lab work<br \/>\u2013 Adds new VO2Max test (test can be done in living room in 6 minutes)<br \/>\u2013 Adds new other tests for flexibility, movement mechanics, strength, and more, which can be trended<br \/>\u2013 Health app coming later this year in beta in English<\/p>\n<p id=\"new-audio-intelligence-features-on-device-some-features-later-this-year\" style=\"font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; background: 0px 0px #ffffff; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-color: initial;\" data-test=\"14\/9\">New Audio Intelligence features (on-device, some features later this year):<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; background: 0px 0px #ffffff; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-color: initial;\">\u2013 Everything done on-device, without need for your phone (at least for immediate processing)<br \/>\u2013 [Available today] Adds Sound Recognition alerts for sirens, doorbells, baby crying, and more (shows up as text on watch)<br \/>\u2013 [Available today] Instant Shazam: Will instantly show you the name of songs when you raise your wrist<br \/>\u2013 [Available later 2026] Live Rewind: Double-tap the Digital Crown to get a text-only transcription of the last 15 seconds of spoken words<br \/>\u2013 [Available later 2026] Siri Recap: Will summarize conversations\/spoken words heard around you into a recap that\u2019s available on your phone.<br \/>\u2013 Can configure all features independently (enabled\/disabled, plus further focus-mode-like controls for Siri Recap)<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; background: 0px 0px #ffffff; border: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0px 0px 24px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-color: initial;\">Got all that? Good, so let\u2019s dive right into all the stuff you need to know when using the watch each day.<\/p>\n<p>Daily Usage Basics:<\/p>\n<p><img data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169903\" title=\"Series12-Basics.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Series12-Basics.jpg\" alt=\"Series12 Basics.\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\"   fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p>In this section, I\u2019m going to cover all the day-to-day basics of using the Apple Watch Series 12, mainly from the perspective of health, wellness, and sports\/fitness. I\u2019ll cover some of the other basics as well, but there\u2019s plenty of other resources for things like playing back music, contactless payments, or 3rd party apps. None of which have changed in many years on the Apple Watch. So if you\u2019re familiar with those from anytime in the last decade, it\u2019s all the same as before. The key exception being the Audio Intelligence features, which I break out into their own section down below later in the review.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, it\u2019s worth noting that the Apple Watch Series 12 does indeed require an iPhone. It\u2019s unable to be initially setup\/configured without an iPhone, and you\u2019ll need an iPhone 11 or newer that\u2019s running iOS27 (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/os\/ios\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the full list is here<\/a>). Further, for the newer Audio Intelligence features, those need an iPhone capable of Apple Intelligence, which is essentially an iPhone 15 Pro, or any iPhone 16\/17\/18. That\u2019s also true for the Apple Workout Buddy features too. Or really, anything depending on Apple Intelligence. But if you don\u2019t care about those aspects, then just an iPhone 11 or newer will do fine.<\/p>\n<p>With that set, on to the watch basics. The 2,000-nit display remains the same as last year, which is more than bright enough for even the sunniest of days. I live on a Mediterranean island, with plenty of bright, direct sun, and I\u2019ve had zero issues seeing the display at any time. The screen size is the same as last year, which is almost identical to the Ultra 4. Both watches support minimum brightness down to 1-nit, which ensures it doesn\u2019t blind you in the middle of the night. Here you can see the two screens side-by-side on a bright day in direct sun:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169904 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_0998_still.jpeg\" alt=\"IMG 0998 still.\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0998_still.jpeg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Next up, the interface basics. The Apple Watch Series 12 has essentially two buttons, though one of them also rotates and presses inwards. Plus, of course, the touchscreen itself. In the upper right, you\u2019ve got the Digital Crown, which you can use to rotate through menus, and then also open the quick access menu to get to recently used apps (and Siri), like seen below.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169905 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"Series12-Quickaccess.jpg\" alt=\"Series12 Quickaccess.\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Series12-Quickaccess.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the lower right button opens up the controls dashboard to check battery, turn on the flashlight, set focus modes, and more. The focus modes will sync between your iPhone and watches instantly. Handy when you want to head to sleep early, simply toggle the bed icon on either watch or phone, and boom \u2013 all of your devices are instantly in sleep do-not-disturb mode.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169907 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"Sidebuttons.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Sidebuttons.jpg\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169906 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"ControlsPanel.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ControlsPanel.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Speaking of sleeping, it\u2019s probably worth mentioning that one of my favorite new features of the Series 12 is the incredibly fast charging for topping off the battery. Just 5 minutes of charging is enough time to get 10 hours of sleeping time. This is achieved through both updated charging algorithms, as well as changes in the charging puck itself. Nonetheless, there have been countless times in the last 3 weeks where being able to throw it on the charger for those few minutes means I didn\u2019t have to worry about it not tracking sleep data.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169908 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6479.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6479.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>This fast charging also extends to more than just sleep times. You can charge the Series 12 to 80% in 30 minutes, and 100% in 60 minutes. When I did fully charge it, I got somewhat variable battery. The first week or so, battery life honestly wasn\u2019t super great. I was barely making it 24 hours, and even that was iffy at times. This is with 1-2 hours of GPS activities, but sometimes none. However, over the last week, things have notably chilled out, and now I\u2019m comfortably getting the usual 1-1.5 days I expect.<\/p>\n<p>For example, one night a few days ago:<\/p>\n<p>12:20AM: Charged to 100%<br \/>25 hours later (1:20AM): Down to 45%<br \/>37 hours later (7:30PM): Down to 10% (and then I charged it)<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m quite happy with that.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, back to some quick basics. You can lightly customize the watch face by long-pressing it, which brings up watch faces you can choose, and then from within that you can select from a slate of complications. Still, Apple doesn\u2019t allow\/have 3rd-party watch faces like most other brands do, so you\u2019re kinda stuck with what they have. Though, what they have is pretty darn nice. I tended to float between the \u2018Nike Globe\u2019 and Exactograph\u2019 ones you see below:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169909 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07924.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07924.jpg\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169910 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07925.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07925.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Whereas my wife preferred the moving lava-lamp style \u2018Flow\u2019 watch face you see below:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169911 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_5957.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"479\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5957.jpeg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Depending on the watch face, one of the complications you can see is your daily activity rings. You\u2019ll often hear the term \u2018closing your rings\u2019, which refers to closing each of the three Apple rings each day.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169912 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"AppleWatchRings.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AppleWatchRings.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>These are pinkish for movement, greenish for exercise, and blue for standing (once per hour). Below is an example of my rings from today, where you can see it was a mostly quiet morning, and then I did an afternoon run. Later on I\u2019ll jump on the indoor bike for a bit:<\/p>\n<p>All of the above are accessed within the \u2018Activity\u2019 app on the watch, though they are mirrored to the \u2018Fitness\u2019 app on your phone (and also visible within the \u2018Health\u2019 app on your phone).<\/p>\n<p>One of the next metrics is your sleep stats. These can be found within the Sleep app on the watch, which is often on the watch face as a little bed icon. These are tracked automatically and are critical to getting Readiness Scores.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169913 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07938.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07938.jpg\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169914 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07939.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07939.jpg\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169915 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07940.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07940.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>From an accuracy standpoint, I focus primarily on the times I went to sleep and the times I woke up, which it nailed within ~5 minutes each night\/morning. Note, however, that I don\u2019t compare sleep phase\/stage data (e.g., REM\/Deep\/etc.), because doing so would basically be fake science. The \u2018best case\u2019 scenario for accuracy of a pro-level \u2018gold-standard\u2019 device is only in the low 80% range, and we\u2019d never use a comparison chest strap that was only 80% accurate to judge workout accuracy. So, I\u2019m not going to mislead you here and do the same. Instead, I focus entirely on the sleep times, which I find is the majority of what you need to know in terms of whether or not you\u2019re getting enough sleep.<\/p>\n<p>Next, there\u2019s a new Apple Health app coming later this year. It\u2019s just started rolling out as a developer beta, so it\u2019s not fully available yet. But the gist of the changes here are that it takes Apple Health from being a nightmare for regular people to navigate to a much more consumer-friendly app. Previously, Apple Health was really the app that developers dumped data into for HealthKit. So it wasn\u2019t exactly meant to be a place my Mom would open up and try to use. But these days, Apple has started shifting more features into it, including a bunch of health and wellness tests you can do, data about your sleep, and plenty more.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" class=\"wp-image-169639 perfmatters-lazy\" style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-thickness: auto; text-decoration-style: solid;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/HealthApp.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll dive into that in more detail down the road, but looking at it briefly, things are looking really good compared to before. The geekery from before is still all there if you need it, but now front and center, it\u2019s much cleaner and more simplified for everyday usage. But again, more down the road<\/p>\n<p>Finally, a few minor leftover hardware notes. First up is, of course, the new optical heart rate sensor on the back. I\u2019m going to dive into all the heart rate accuracy pieces later in the heart rate accuracy section \u2013 so stay tuned for that. Likewise, in the next section I\u2019m going to go into the new HRV pieces, as well as the dependent Readiness Score &amp; Vitals pieces that leverage it. Still, here\u2019s what it looks like:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169916 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07946.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07946.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>The new sensor expands the electrode area for improved ECGs, plus a slate of changes I outlined earlier to improve\/increase heart rate readings.<\/p>\n<p>If your region supports ECG, the Apple Watch has medically certified ECG readings on it, as well as background AFib detection. To use these features, you\u2019ll need to do a quick onboarding piece that explains (numerous times) that the Apple Watch doesn\u2019t detect a heart attack. Again, it doesn\u2019t detect a heart attack. Instead, it\u2019ll record an ECG that you can send to a doctor. To do so, you\u2019ll simply wear the watch and then place your finger on the Digital Crown:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169917 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07945.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07945.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Once that\u2019s done, you\u2019ll get an ECG summary that confirms if it detected an abnormal sinus rhythm (such as Atrial Fibrillation, or Afib), as well as the ability to add symptoms. Then from there you\u2019ll get a PDF of the actual ECG itself that you can send to a doctor.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169918 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_7301.PNG\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_7301.png\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169919 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_7302.PNG\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_7302.png\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169920 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_7303.PNG\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_7303.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, last but not least are the bands\/straps. The Apple Watch bands haven\u2019t changed here, and you can continue using existing bands you might have, or buy others from Apple\/Amazon\/Aunt Band. These simply pop off by pressing the button under the watch edge, which releases the locking mechanism:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169921 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07947.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07947.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Then swap as you see fit. I\u2019ve mostly been using the stock olive-colored band that came with the bronze unit. At first I was kinda \u2018blah\u2019 about it, but it\u2019s grown on me. But for fancier date nights, I also used the Milanese loop band, which looks really nice with the bronze coloring on the watch:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169922 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07985.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07985.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, my wife simply used the white band that came with her watch. I didn\u2019t have any other fancier shorter-watch straps for her. Sorry!<\/p>\n<p>Readiness Score &amp; Vitals (including HRV):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169923 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07986.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07986.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Next up, I want to dive into the new Readiness Score features, as well as the updated Vitals app \u2013 which now includes both nighttime and daytime HRV (Heart Rate Variability). In the future, this would normally just be wrapped into the \u2018Daily Usage Basics\u2019 section above like most of my reviews, but given it\u2019s new here, I figured I\u2019d pull it out into its own section and make it a bit more detailed. Plus, I\u2019ve now got even more time on the Readiness Score piece than my Ultra 4 review a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n<p>To quickly baseline, though, the new Readiness Score from Apple is more or less the same concept as other readiness scores we\u2019ve seen from Google and Garmin, which are a bit more advanced than the basic recovery and strain scores you see from Whoop and Oura. Further, in the case of Whoop\/Oura, those are one-time morning scores (recovery), whereas Garmin &amp; Apple\u2019s scores are dynamic throughout the day. Meaning, they show an initial value when you wake up, and then respond to different parts of the day, such as doing a hard workout (or two workouts), as well as even taking a nap.<\/p>\n<p>Apple\u2019s Readiness Score has two key components: A numerical value and a descriptor. The numerical value is from 0-10 (with zero being the worst, and 10 being the highest). And then within that, there are four descriptors you can get. Here\u2019s an example of my score as I sit here mid-afternoon typing this at \u20187\u2019 and \u2018Ready\u2019, with some icons below it indicating the supporting categories (Activity\/Workouts, Vitals, Sleep):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169890 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"AppleReadinessScore7.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"479\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AppleReadinessScore7.jpeg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>You can see my score was a \u20187\u2019, with a descriptor of \u2018Ready\u2019. Here\u2019s a quick list of the descriptors available and their corresponding ranges<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 0-1: Recover<br \/>\u2013 2-4: Pace Yourself<br \/>\u2013 5-7: Ready<br \/>\u2013 8-10: Go for it<\/p>\n<p>These scores are in turn based on four core umbrella categories:<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Fitness: This is primarily your workouts, but can also include other activity<br \/>\u2013 Overnight Vitals: This includes your overnight resting heart rate, respiration rate, wrist temperature, and overnight HRV<br \/>\u2013 Daylight Vitals: This includes your resting heart rate during the day, and HRV during the day<br \/>\u2013 Sleep Score: This is your sleep score from last night, based on sleep times\/durations\/phases<\/p>\n<p>Getting a readiness score requires some historical data, specifically 7 nights of sleep data, at least 4 hours of sleep per night. Further, that\u2019s on a per-watch basis. In the unlikely event you change watches, you\u2019ll need to ensure that you\u2019ve also got wrist temperature and respiration rate data for some of those nights as well. But for most people, if you just sleep with it 7 nights, you\u2019ll be totally good to go.<\/p>\n<p>That said, as you might expect, the more data, the better. In my case, my initial 7 nights included an 11-hour red-eye flight across the ocean (with barely 4 hours of sleep), followed by days of yo-yo\u2019ing jet lag sleep. So, my initial seeding sleep\/HRV data was a hot mess. That said, it does pull in your historical activity data beyond that, which helped to normalize things a bit.<\/p>\n<p>In any case, starting off with an example day, where I woke up with an \u20188\u2019 in the morning, indicating to \u2018Go For It\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169894 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_5924.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5924-1.jpeg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>And that stayed as-is till around 1PM, when I went out for a 2-hour road cycling ride with my wife:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169924 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6006.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6006.jpeg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>This wasn\u2019t a crazy hard ride or anything, just kinda medium intensity up the climbs, and chillax on the way back down out of the mountains. Still, once I finished the ride, the watch notified me that the readiness score had dropped down to a 5 (from 8 earlier), indicating I\u2019m still Ready to take on more load.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169895 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6027.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6027.jpeg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s logical, given my \u2018readiness\u2019 to tackle another workout or some other training load was now lower than before. Now, in my case, I went about writing\/editing for the next few hours. But had I instead taken a nap, perhaps I\u2019d have improved that to \u20186\u2019 during that timeframe.<\/p>\n<p>In any case, fast-forward a few hours later, and we\u2019d go do an evening track workout. This one was actually quite solid. Not \u2018I want to die\u2019 painful, but enough to rethink my few-hour ride earlier.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169926 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6147.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6147-1.jpeg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Once that was completed, the watch then dropped my values again, this time down to a 3, which is to \u2018Pace Yourself\u2019:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169896 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6157 2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6157-2.jpeg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Again, that seemed logical to me, given the intensity of the workout. In fact, it\u2019ll even note that below it, saying *why* it dropped your values:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169897 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6156.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6156.jpeg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s perhaps even more interesting is to fast-forward a week later, when I wasn\u2019t feeling all that great \u2013 a bit under the weather. In this case, I had basically ceased daily workouts to mitigate things, but I still managed to drop down to a score of \u20181\u2019 (almost as low as you can go, which is a \u20180\u2019). In this case, it was clearly upset about life. Unfortunately, in my haze, I forgot to take a photo of this on my Apple Watch Series 12, but here it is on the other wrist with the Ultra 4:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169898 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6865.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6865.jpeg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Certainly, I wasn\u2019t feeling well, though as evidenced by the handlebars in the background, I still do an hour-long bike commute to pick up some new products. Hey\u2026gotta get the job done! Plus, it was an e-bike, so\u2026yeah.<\/p>\n<p>And you can see the reasons it gave as well, managing to trip both the low vitals and low sleep score triggers. My Fitness score was fine, mainly because I had already pulled way back on training.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169899 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6858.PNG\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6858.png\"  data-\/>\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169901 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6860.PNG\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6860.png\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169900 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6859.PNG\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6859.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>If you have an outlier (as defined as a comparison to your personal historic baseline), then it\u2019ll turn pink (as seen above). If you have multiple outliers, it\u2019ll also push a notification to you to be aware of it. These outliers can and will also drag down your Readiness score. In fact, when it comes to \u2018why\u2019 your Readiness score is lower, you can see that both within the watch, as well as the \u2018Readiness\u2019 chunk in the Fitness app (and eventually the new Apple Health app).<\/p>\n<p>Now, that said, the Readiness Score isn\u2019t without its wonk. There have been countless times over the last few weeks where the values are just null for either a few seconds or even longer than a few seconds. That seems to have improved with a firmware update a couple of days ago, but still, it clearly wasn\u2019t ready to launch when it did.<\/p>\n<p>Setting that aside, one of the core pieces that the Readiness score depends on is the HRV values (heart rate variability), which include both your nightly and daytime scores. These values are seen within the updated Vitals app. Here you can see the new nightly HRV values each time you wake up, showing your value from last night and how that compares to your baseline:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169927 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07955.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07955.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Apple takes these values all night long, every 5 minutes, and simply averages them during asleep periods. This is similar to what other companies do. If I compare my values from last night, for example, here\u2019s how that shakes out. Apple now uses RMSSD for their nightly\/recovery HRV values (and all values shown in Vitals), letting you compare it with others (whereas in the past they used SDNN, which wasn\u2019t easily comparable):<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Helvetica Neue';\">Last Night (Late night workout):<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Helvetica Neue';\">Apple Watch Series 12 (Wrist): 40ms<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Helvetica Neue';\">COROS Pace 4 Pro (Wrist): 42ms<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Helvetica Neue';\">Fitbit Air (Bicep): 35ms<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Helvetica Neue';\">Garmin Cirqa (Bicep): 42ms<br \/>Oura Ring Gen5 (Finger): 45ms<br \/>Whoop 5.0MG (Bicep): 47ms<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Helvetica Neue';\">Previous Night (Normal Night):<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Helvetica Neue';\">Apple Watch Series 12 (Wrist): 50ms<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Helvetica Neue';\">COROS Pace 4 Pro (Wrist): 56ms<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Helvetica Neue';\">Fitbit Air (Bicep): 42ms<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Helvetica Neue';\">Garmin Cirqa (Bicep): 58ms<br \/>Whoop 5.0MG (Bicep): 68ms<\/p>\n<p>This is actually quite varied compared to what I tend to see as comparisons. Usually the values tend to be within 2-3ms across the board, though I do consistently find that the Fitbit Air is the outlier.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to nighttime values, Apple now also takes daytime values. \u00a0It\u2019s also worthwhile noting that only Huawei takes and surfaces these daytime HRV values, whereas other companies tend to consolidate them into other scores (e.g., stress scores). That\u2019s likely because the daytime values are super variable, and only taken when at rest (not walking, nor workouts, etc.). You can see your daytime score by opening up vitals and tapping the little bed icon in the upper corner, which toggles it to a sun:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169928 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07958.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07958.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>But here\u2019s where things get pretty messy. Apple is actually comparing to your historical values for that given time slice of the day (e.g., comparing your 2PM values to your historical 2PM values). And those historical values exclude any periods of movement or workouts. In other words, for an active person it may take far longer to build up a daytime HRV baseline, because you\u2019ll get very few (if any) daytime HRV data points. For example, take a look at my data points here, and focus on the ones roughly between 9AM and 11PM. And so earlier on I had zero values for a given hour time slice (e.g., 2-3PM), and thus this wouldn\u2019t show at all. Point being, it can take way more than just 7 days to get values for all the hours of the day.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169929 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_1011.PNG\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_1011.png\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169930 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_1012.PNG\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_1012.png\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169931 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_1013.PNG\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_1013.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>And even once you have those values, frankly, I\u2019m not sure what value they are. I know a *LOT* about HRV and trending and the like, yet when it comes to daytime trending of HRV data, there\u2019s a good reason most wearable companies don\u2019t do it: It\u2019s just not very useful. And certainly not super intuitive, given both the circadian rhythm aspects that Apple says drive their hourly time matching, as well as just the reality of differing\/shifting schedules. Plus the fact that any movement periods are zeroed out.<\/p>\n<p>As I said in my Ultra 4 review, I appreciate Apple going a bit geeky here, but equally, out of all the heart rate areas they could have gone more geeky (like proper Bluetooth heart rate broadcasting to 3rd party devices), this specific daytime HRV area seems uncharacteristically confusing and messy for Apple.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, one last area of note is that the Apple Watch Heart app has been revamped a bit. For example, you can now actually see those HRV values. Below you can see the gaps when I was moving around\/active (since it doesn\u2019t measure HRV then), as well as my workout times having gaps.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169934 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07961.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07961.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Especially when you simply compare it to my day\u2019s HR plot:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169933 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07960.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07960-1.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Now, I\u2019ll be doing a full comparison of Garmin\/Whoop and other recovery\/readiness scores in the near future. But I wanted some of my data to settle a bit, given both the newness, as well as the fact that my initial days were full of all sorts of shifting sands (like transatlantic flights). Whereas the other non-Apple devices have much more baseline data to pull from, to be able to separate out a few random nights impacting that baseline creation. Stay tuned for that!<\/p>\n<p>      Sports Tracking:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169935 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_5980.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5980.jpeg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>I think probably one of the most rarely stated but interesting things to know about the Apple Watch Series 12 is that it\u2019s got the exact same sports profile features as the Apple Watch Ultra 4 does, in terms of general sport profiles, exercise features, and more. Really, the only Ultra series differences in the greater sport realm come in the form of deeper depth gauges\/certification for diving, as well as the emergency siren. Albeit, we do have to mention the annoying lack of \u2018Precision Start\u2019 on the Series 12. But more on that in a second.<\/p>\n<p>To start with a sports\/fitness\/workout activity, you\u2019ll open the \u2018Workout\u2019 app. There are a number of ways you can get there, but you\u2019re looking for the little runner-man icon, which brings you to this page:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169936 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07963.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"479\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07963.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>This page is where you get to choose your sport mode (e.g., cycling, running, etc.), as well as customize various settings. The Series 12 supports all the same sport modes as the Ultra 4, and <a href=\"https:\/\/support.apple.com\/en-us\/105089\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">you can find the full list here<\/a>. The general rule of thumb with Apple Watch sport modes is that while they have most sports covered, they won\u2019t have separate modes for each variant within a sport (e.g., Trail Run vs Run, or Mountain Bike vs Road Bike). Instead, it\u2019s all just \u2018Outdoor Run\u2019 or \u2018Outdoor Cycle\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve selected a sports mode, you\u2019ll see in the upper corners that there are four ways to get into additional settings\/features (shown above):<\/p>\n<p>Upper left: Workout Views (aka your data pages\/settings)<br \/>Upper right: Workout goals &amp; structured workouts (aka the different ways you can have the watch tell you to suffer), including the new Extended and Max Extended modes<br \/>Lower left: Music (all things music)<br \/>Lower right: Workout Buddy &amp; Voice Alerts (thus, all things voice-over related)<\/p>\n<p>For example, if you want to customize the data fields\/pages you see during a given sport type, you tap that upper left \u2018Workout Views\u2019 icon and then tweak the data pages here. Like with the sport profiles, you don\u2019t quite have as much customization or data field creativity as you might on a Garmin\/COROS\/Suunto watch, but you\u2019ve got the main fields you\u2019d probably want\/need.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169937 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07969.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07969.jpg\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169938 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07968.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07968.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the Apple Watch does support custom structured workouts. You can sync things from platforms like TrainingPeaks, Strava\/Runna, etc., or you can create your own on either the watch or your phone. All of this works perfectly well, and was introduced over the past 1-2 years.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169939 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07966.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07966.jpg\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169940 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07967.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07967.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>However, one new feature you\u2019ll find this year with the Series 12 (and Ultra 4) is the new \u2018Extended\u2019 and \u2018Max Extended\u2019 battery modes within the workout pages.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169941 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07971.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07971.jpg\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169942 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07972.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"237\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07972.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Somewhat quirkily, while Apple defines the battery durations of these modes for the Ultra 4, they don\u2019t do so for the Series 12. However, assuming the same rough math applies here as it does to the Ultra 4, you\u2019re looking at about 25% longer battery life in \u2018Extended\u2019 mode, and about 2x longer for \u2018Max Extended mode\u2019. Again, that\u2019s just a rough swag, since Apple doesn\u2019t publish any battery numbers there. Here\u2019s what gets turned off in each mode:<\/p>\n<p>Extended mode: Retains everything but turns off always on display, and running form metrics turned off. Cellular operations gets batches a bit. Everything else remains on, this is effectively the previous \u2018Low Power Mode\u2019 renamed.<\/p>\n<p>Max extended mode: Retains 1-second GPS update rate (with dual\/multi-band satellites), HR data recorded at every 5 seconds like normal, but showing a 5 minute rolling average on screen instead of instant updates. No splits, no alerts, no custom workouts. Plus previously cellular batching, no running metrics, and display not always-on.<\/p>\n<p>With all that covered, it\u2019s time to start a workout. In the case of the Series 12 (and all non-Ultra Apple Watches before it), there\u2019s a 3-second countdown when you press start. Then it goes off and finds GPS\/satellites, and secures your heart rate lock. This is mildly annoying, especially for races, because while you can tap to skip the countdown, it\u2019s only then that it starts looking for satellites. Thus, from a race start standpoint, you either choose to add extra time before the start line, or you get a delayed start after the start line. Both suck. And frankly, it\u2019s ridiculous that you can\u2019t just go into a pending state like every other GPS-connected watch over the last nearly 20 years. Yes, it\u2019s actually been that long.<\/p>\n<p>Once in a workout, you\u2019ll see all the data pages you\u2019ve configured, plus any leftover default\/stock ones you left.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169951 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6018.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6018.jpeg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve left Workout Buddy enabled (which is Apple\u2019s sporty AI assistant that encourages you to suffer longer), it\u2019s actually aware of your Readiness scores, and will generally include tidbits about said score in your workouts (and whether it thinks it\u2019s a good idea for you to be doing whatever it is that you\u2019re doing). That said, as was the case when Apple introduced the feature last year, I still find it makes an astonishing number of errors, frequently hallucinating random data tidbits in nearly every workout. Most of the time they aren\u2019t life-altering errors, but instead are weirdly phrased things, or just straight-up saying the wrong kilometer markers or such. Of course, you can still turn this off on a per-sport mode basis if you\u2019d like.<\/p>\n<p>Once your workout is done, you\u2019ll get a slate of summary workout stats on the watch:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169947 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6021.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6021.jpeg\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169950 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6022 2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6022-2.jpeg\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169949 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6023 2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6023-2.jpeg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>And then you can dive into slightly more detail in the Apple Fitness app:<\/p>\n<p>Now speaking of diving into things, the Apple Watch Series 12 has a depth gauge that supports underwater depth information down to 6m\/20ft. Unlike the Ultra 4\u2019s depth gauge (which goes to 40m\/131ft), this one isn\u2019t certified for scuba usage. But for most people just snorkeling or playing around in the water, 6m\/20ft tends to be roughly where you\u2019ll probably bottom out.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169952 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"Underwatwer.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Underwatwer.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>On the watch, it\u2019ll show your current depth information, as well as track individual \u2018dives\u2019, in much the same way it would in a workout. If you go beyond the 6m\/20ft depth, it\u2019ll tell you that it\u2019s too deep to track the depth, and once you\u2019re back within the 6m\/20ft, it\u2019ll continue showing depth information.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169953 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"18m.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"200\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/18m.jpg\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169954 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"Ap20m.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"200\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Ap20m.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>All of your \u2018dives\u2019 are displayed within the Fitness app, as shown below. The depth app will automatically engage when you submerge past 1m in depth. Though you can disable that if you want.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169955 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_7310.PNG\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"772\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_7310.png\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169956 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_7311.PNG\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"772\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_7311.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a handy feature that I appreciate, and the 6m\/20ft strikes a good balance without needing the additional certification\/safety aspects that the deeper depth gauge would warrant.<\/p>\n<p>Now, one of the metrics you\u2019ll see after a workout is your Effort Rating. This is a score that it initially estimates, and you can tweak, about the intensity of the workout. In other words, how much did you suffer:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169946 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6020.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"479\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6020.jpeg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>This score is the basis of Apple\u2019s training load features. Unlike most other endurance-sports companies that estimate training load based on heart rate or power numbers, Apple uses your score in combination with the duration. That has pros and cons. The negative side is that you might underestimate the impact of a given workout, or it might be hard to assign meaningful scores to both short and much longer workouts (as they can be \u2018hard\u2019 in different ways \u2013 such as intensity vs. duration). On the flip side, Apple\u2019s system is much better for really long-duration but somewhat low-intensity activities like an 8-10 hour hike. In that scenario, you can effectively force training load higher, whereas most endurance sports watches will give a training load amount equal to a 5KM run.<\/p>\n<p>In any case, from there you can see your training load trending over time, and how it compares to your historical norms:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169957 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07978.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"479\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07978.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Still, if you\u2019re quite into sports data, you might find this all a bit thin. The good news is there are tons of apps that can leverage the data Apple puts into Apple Health, to do more advanced analytics.<\/p>\n<p>As I\u2019ve said before, one of my <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/healthfit\/id1202650514\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">favorites continues to be HealthFit<\/a>, which I use for syncing data to numerous data platforms (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcrainmaker.com\/analyzer\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">including now the DCR Analyzer<\/a>), but also tons of other platforms. And then beyond that, it has tons of ways to analyze your data.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169959 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6343.PNG\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6343-1.png\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169960 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6342.PNG\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6342.png\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169961 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_6341.PNG\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"511\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_6341.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t have any skin in the game there; it\u2019s just an app I\u2019ve been using for more years than I can count. And I appreciate that there\u2019s a real human developer dude behind the scenes, and it isn\u2019t just another vibe-coded AI slop app. My inbox is full of those, sadly.<\/p>\n<p>Further, another example I\u2019ve started using on the <a href=\"https:\/\/wristtopo.app\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">mapping\/route side is WristTopo<\/a>. I\u2019ll be doing a separate piece on this shortly, as this vastly beats what Apple has in their own super basic routing features. Further, the native Apple mapping\/routing features are very limited in their coverage areas (mainly just US parks), and not super functional outside of that. Whereas WristTopo has global offline mapping options, route-creation tools, elevation profile charts, turn-by-turn navigation, and even custom data pages. Plus, all your data ends up back in the same Fitness app that you use normally.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169943 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_7085.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_7085.jpeg\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169944 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_7096 2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_7096-2.jpeg\"  data-\/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169945 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_7095.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"157\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_7095.jpeg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Again, more to come on that front here shortly. In the meantime, let\u2019s look at some of the accuracy pieces.<\/p>\n<p>GPS &amp; Heart Rate Accuracy:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-169982 perfmatters-lazy\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5462-720x480.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>The Apple Watch Series 12 has a new optical HR sensor, which includes both new hardware and new software features that I\u2019ve outlined earlier (like the frequent HRV updates and now-5-second background HR update frequency). Here\u2019s the quick recap on those features:<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 New heart rate sensor with increased electrode surface area for better ECGs<br \/>\u2013 New photodiodes below it for better workout capture<br \/>\u2013 New LED array below that for better 24\u00d77 HR readings<br \/>\u2013 New HR sensor is thinner (bump) than in the past<br \/>\u2013 Increased background (non-workout) HR readings to every 5 seconds (60x more than before)<br \/>\u2013 Increased HRV readings to every 5 minutes (24x more than before)<br \/>\u2013 Claim of Apple Watch Series 12\/Ultra 4 \u201cMost accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable\u201d<br \/>\u2013 Published <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/health\/pdf\/Heart_Rate_Accuracy_Study_2026.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">their own white paper to support that claim<\/a>, with competitor comparisons<\/p>\n<p>But the better question is whether or not that accuracy paper\/study represents the real-world testing I saw, and if not, why not?<\/p>\n<p>I dive into this in the video quite a bit, and will probably expand it out into a separate post. But the key thing to understand is that the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Series 12 only have an update frequency during workouts of \u201con average\u201d every 5 seconds within a workout. It can be every second, or every 3 seconds, or every 5 seconds\u2026but it can also have gaps of 20 seconds. All of that depends on whether or not the HR sensor algorithm decides it has enough quality confidence to plot that data point. If not, it simply skips it.<\/p>\n<p>Think of it like this illustration as a timeline (this is just something I quickly whipped up to show you how it works after multiple discussions with Apple):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169660 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"Presentation1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"213\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Presentation1.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>From there, Apple will throw away anything that doesn\u2019t meet its quality confidence level, thus leaving you with something like this:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169661 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"Presentation2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"236\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Presentation2.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Now remember that all other wearables simply always plot a data point every second, including every one of the competitors in Apple\u2019s study. Further, in Apple\u2019s study they \u201conly compared the exact data timestamps from their file to the reference Polar H10 device\u201d. Meaning, using the example above, they only compared the values for the green dots. Not all the missing timestamps.<\/p>\n<p>And as you\u2019ll see, Apple has a lot of missing timestamps, especially when it\u2019s unsure. So, rather than give you the wrong answer, it simply gives you no answer at all. And from a study grading standpoint, it was designed such that \u201cno answer\u201d = \u201cthe correct answer\u201d. Which\u2026ummm\u2026is very slanted towards Apple, to say the least.<\/p>\n<p>But setting aside Apple\u2019s lopsided study, let\u2019s look at the actual accuracy of the data. Because, to be fair, it\u2019s very good. Is it better than its best competitors? Probably not; it seems about the same. But again, it\u2019s really good.<\/p>\n<p>First up, a <a href=\"https:\/\/analyze.dcrainmaker.com\/beta\/public\/8dba8641-67de-43b7-4980-96add0d5939a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">relatively steady trail run<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169662 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"HR-Trailrun-Wide.png\" alt=\"HR Trailrun Wide.\" width=\"718\" height=\"369\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/HR-Trailrun-Wide.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>At a high level, this looks very, very good. No major concerns here. But of course, when we zoom in, we\u2019ll find countless examples of sub-5-second gaps, and other gaps like this one here for 11 seconds. In this case, the Apple Watch is factually wrong \u2013 both with the gap and without the gap. Remember, in the study scenario, it wouldn\u2019t have been docked points for this, because it didn\u2019t plot a point.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169663 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"HR-Trailrun-Zoomed1.png\" alt=\"HR Trailrun Zoomed1.\" width=\"718\" height=\"369\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/HR-Trailrun-Zoomed1.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Next, what about <a href=\"https:\/\/analyze.dcrainmaker.com\/beta\/public\/1200a9c5-74c0-4ae3-5bdf-8bde4717646c\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a Peloton bike ride<\/a>, with some solid intervals in there? Again, at a high level, this looks really good:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-169983 perfmatters-lazy\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"342\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IndoorPeloton-720x342.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>And indeed, it is good. Except there\u2019s still plenty of gaps here, like this 12-second one. And of course, on the watch itself, it\u2019s also only opening the heart rate display every 5 seconds (regardless of data points). So any fast-moving intervals will be wrong 80% of the time on the display.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-169984 perfmatters-lazy\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"343\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/PelotonGaps2-720x343.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Perhaps <a href=\"https:\/\/analyze.dcrainmaker.com\/beta\/public\/84f572a1-2dbb-49aa-4b68-642e9cb103c5\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">some rowing is next<\/a>? Again, at a high level things look really strong \u2013 save for that one moment we see around the 8-minute marker that the Ultra 4 hiccups, though the Series 12 holds on:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169666 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"HR-RowingWide.png\" alt=\"HR RowingWide.\" width=\"719\" height=\"357\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/HR-RowingWide.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Still, there are numerous other gaps, such as this 8-second gap here. In this case the difference isn\u2019t really that meaningful though, compared to the Ultra 4\u2019s issue above.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-169985 perfmatters-lazy\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"355\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/RowingSEries12-720x355.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>And again, we can do this all day long. Here are some <a href=\"https:\/\/analyze.dcrainmaker.com\/beta\/public\/08215eb0-32d4-492c-4994-d0e76afa1fb9\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">10x400m running intervals, which look very strong at a high level<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169668 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"HR-Intervals400m-Wide.png\" alt=\"HR Intervals400m Wide.\" width=\"718\" height=\"395\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/HR-Intervals400m-Wide.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Zoomed in, it\u2019s still strong, but also with a number of gaps in there, sometimes shorter here, but certainly present:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-169986 perfmatters-lazy\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"316\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/400mIntervalsSeries12-720x316.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Or this <a href=\"https:\/\/analyze.dcrainmaker.com\/beta\/public\/d4697b4f-77b5-4180-4d44-da4e0687fa0c\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">track run<\/a> (8x600m), which looks fairly reasonable at a high level:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169670 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"HR-TrackRun-Wide.png\" alt=\"HR TrackRun Wide.\" width=\"720\" height=\"371\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/HR-TrackRun-Wide.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>But once we zoom in, we see numerous moments where there\u2019s \u2018normal\u2019 ramp rate separation for optical heart rate sensors:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169671 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"HR-TrackRun-Zoomed.png\" alt=\"HR TrackRun Zoomed.\" width=\"719\" height=\"368\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/HR-TrackRun-Zoomed.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>And finally, an <a href=\"https:\/\/analyze.dcrainmaker.com\/public\/b2925d16-4bc5-4074-6708-4e8f1e9262dd\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">outdoor ride of a few hours<\/a>. Again, at a high level this looks really good. Like, really really good. Exceptionally good, in fact:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169673 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"HR-RoadRide-Wide.png\" alt=\"HR RoadRide Wide.\" width=\"718\" height=\"366\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/HR-RoadRide-Wide.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>And had it not been for Apple\u2019s study, I probably wouldn\u2019t have overthought it. But with the claims there, it\u2019s hard to ignore moments like this:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169674 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"HR-RoadRide-Zoomed1.png\" alt=\"HR RoadRide Zoomed1.\" width=\"719\" height=\"369\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/HR-RoadRide-Zoomed1.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Or these:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169675 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"HR-RoadRide-Zoomed2.png\" alt=\"HR RoadRide Zoomed2.\" width=\"719\" height=\"359\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/HR-RoadRide-Zoomed2.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>And these:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169676 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"HR-RoadRide-Zoomed3.png\" alt=\"HR RoadRide Zoomed3.\" width=\"720\" height=\"371\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/HR-RoadRide-Zoomed3.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Again \u2013 I think overall Apple is actually delivering on a world-class optical heart rate sensor. And I fully understand their thinking of \u2018not recording data points that don\u2019t have a good confidence level\u2019. I\u2019m OK with that. Really, I am. But it seems disingenuous to then judge everyone else on a full data set, while Apple gets to ignore the \u2018hard parts\u2019 it can\u2019t be sure of.<\/p>\n<p>In any case, as for GPS accuracy, let\u2019s quickly look at a few workouts. This is one of the sets of intervals I did around and around and around, and indeed, <a href=\"https:\/\/analyze.dcrainmaker.com\/beta\/public\/08215eb0-32d4-492c-4994-d0e76afa1fb9\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the Series 12 and Ultra were very good here<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169677 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"GPS-IntervalLoopsZoomed.png\" alt=\"GPS IntervalLoopsZoomed.\" width=\"718\" height=\"317\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GPS-IntervalLoopsZoomed.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Looking at this trail run next, <a href=\"https:\/\/analyze.dcrainmaker.com\/beta\/public\/8dba8641-67de-43b7-4980-96add0d5939a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">at a wide\/high leve<\/a>l, everything looks quite good.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169680 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"GPS-RoadRide-Wide.png\" alt=\"GPS RoadRide Wide.\" width=\"719\" height=\"355\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GPS-RoadRide-Wide.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Once in the trails, we can see that the Ultra 4 &amp; Fenix 9 are very close to each other, though the Series 12 isn\u2019t quite as accurate (probably because it lacks multiband):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169679 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"GPS-TrailRunZoom1.png\" alt=\"GPS TrailRunZoom1.\" width=\"718\" height=\"369\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GPS-TrailRunZoom1.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Here we can see though, on this fairly open stretch of roadway, that the Series 12 is off in the trees somewhere:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169681 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"GPS-TrailRunZoom3.png\" alt=\"GPS TrailRunZoom3.\" width=\"720\" height=\"338\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GPS-TrailRunZoom3.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Though later on, the Series 12 outperforms the Ultra 4 for a few seconds\u2026before going back through some buildings\/bushes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169682 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"GPS-TrailRunZoom2.png\" alt=\"GPS TrailRunZoom2.\" width=\"719\" height=\"336\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GPS-TrailRunZoom2.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, on road cycling up in the mountains, things were pretty good. Here\u2019s the high-level map:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169683 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"GPS-RoadRide-Wide.png\" alt=\"GPS RoadRide Wide.\" width=\"719\" height=\"355\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GPS-RoadRide-Wide-1.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>And then, zooming in to these switchbacks, you can see things look fairly close between them, with a little bit more perfection from the Ultra 4 over the Series 12:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169684 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"GPS-RoadRide-Turns.png\" alt=\"GPS RoadRide Turns.\" width=\"719\" height=\"355\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GPS-RoadRide-Turns.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Though zoomed in further to this switchback, it\u2019s hard to decide which one is most correct. They\u2019re all good enough here:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169685 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"GPS-RoadRide-Turns2.png\" alt=\"GPS RoadRide Turns2.\" width=\"720\" height=\"359\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GPS-RoadRide-Turns2.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>When it comes to openwater swimming, I had pretty good luck with the Series 12. In fact, it handled better than the Ultra 4 did. Though, as long-time readers know, when it comes to one-off openwater swim tests, almost any device can have a bad day in the water. I tend to do more openwater swim tests as part of my larger head-to-head openwater swim guides, which I\u2019m going to be working on here shortly. So I\u2019ll re-test the Ultra 4\u2019s bad day there. In any case, as you can see below, the Series 12 was near perfect here:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169963 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"OWS-Series12.png\" alt=\"OWS Series12.\" width=\"720\" height=\"370\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/OWS-Series12.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Overall though, from a GPS standpoint, the lack of multiband GPS\/GNSS support is a bit of a bummer on the Series 12. Not because I need multiband support, but because it\u2019s simply noticeable in everyday running. As I\u2019ve said before, some brands have good enough GPS chipsets\/antenna\/software to overcome a lack of multiband. But in this case, the lack of multiband on a $400 watch, without making up for it in other ways accuracy-wise, has become the odd-man out in the watch world. I\u2019m hoping\/expecting that next year with a Series 13 we\u2019ll see improvements in this realm.<\/p>\n<p>Wrap-Up:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-169962 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC07903.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/DSC07903.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>One of the things that makes the Series 12 notable over many years of Apple Watch (specifically within the Apple Watch \u2018Series\u2019 lineup), is that this is the first time in a long time where Apple is clearly saying, \u201cyou should be upgrading\u201d. Unlike past years, when the feature improvements were fairly minor year-to-year and\/or nuanced in whether someone with last year\u2019s model would even notice, this time, virtually every major feature is only available on the Series 12 (or Ultra 4).<\/p>\n<p>If you have a 1-year-old Series 11, your watch doesn\u2019t have the right sensor to gather enough HRV data to complete the overnight HRV trending. Nor the daytime HRV trending. And without that overnight HRV trending, you\u2019re not populating that HRV data into the vitals app. And without that extra line item in the vitals app, you\u2019re not getting a Readiness score. None of that goes to older watches. Likewise, all the other updated heart rate frequency bits, be it background readings or updated Heart app features. And even further support in the revamped Health App. And then going forward, as we look at the current and upcoming Audio Intelligence features, those are all only on this year\u2019s watch<\/p>\n<p>Certainly, existing watches get WatchOS27, but even that list seems more limited than usual, with Apple dropping WatchOS27 support for the Ultra 1 &amp; SE 2 watches. Point is, Apple wants you to upgrade. On the bright side, at least they made the offering compelling.<\/p>\n<p>My general upgrade line in the sand here would be anything older than a Series 9 for sure (which is also the line in the sand for WatchOS27). I think if you have a Series 9, you\u2019d find notable benefits here. Whereas if you have a Series 10 or Series 11, I suspect you\u2019d be better served waiting another year. Both have very accurate heart rate sensors already, and Readiness Score-like features can largely be found as a stopgap in other inexpensive apps. That\u2019s just my two cents.<\/p>\n<p>With that, thanks for reading!<\/p>\n<p>Found This Post Useful? Support The Site!<\/p>\n<p>Hopefully you found this review\/post useful.  At the end of the day, I\u2019m an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase \u2013 so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device.  The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so it\u2019s a fair bit of work (and labor of love).  As you probably noticed by looking below, I also take time to answer all the questions posted in the comments \u2013 and there\u2019s quite a bit of detail in there as well.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re shopping for the Apple Watch Series 12 (42mm) or any other accessory items, please consider using the affiliate links below! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn\u2019t cost you anything extra, but your purchases help support this website a lot.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Apple-Watch-GPS-46mm-Smartwatch\/dp\/B0HJ9ZXCSD?SubscriptionId=AKIAIIWZVTXZYIZVROWA&amp;tag=dcr07-20\" data-href-amz-pl=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.pl\/s?k=Apple Watch Series 12 (42mm)&amp;SubscriptionId=AKIAIIWZVTXZYIZVROWA&amp;tag=dcrainmakerpl-21\" data-href-amz-sg=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.sg\/s?k=Apple Watch Series 12 (42mm)&amp;SubscriptionId=AKIAIIWZVTXZYIZVROWA&amp;tag=dcr07sing-22\" data-amz-localizations=\"2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"832\" class=\"fv-product-ad-thumb wp-post-image perfmatters-lazy\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/applewatchseries12-goldalumnium-720x832.png\"  data-\/><\/a>Apple Watch Series 12 (42mm)<\/p>\n<p>And of course \u2013 you can always <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcrainmaker.com\/support\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">sign-up to be a DCR Supporter<\/a>!  That gets you an ad-free DCR, access to the DCR Shed Talkin&#8217; video series packed with behind the scenes tidbits&#8230;and it also makes you awesome. And being awesome is what it\u2019s all about!<\/p>\n<p>Thanks for reading! And as always, feel free to post comments or questions in the comments section below, I\u2019ll be happy to try and answer them as quickly as possible. And lastly, if you felt this review was useful \u2013 I always appreciate feedback in the comments below. Thanks!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Apple Watch Series 12 arguably draws one of the biggest lines in the sand we\u2019ve seen yet&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":790399,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[35184,35488,59,86,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-790398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-apple-watch","tag-apple-watch-series-12","tag-gb","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=790398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/790399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=790398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=790398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=790398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}