While all eyes are turned toward the foldable iPhone that Apple is expected to unveil soon, news surrounding the Apple Watch Series 12 has remained largely quiet. Evidence suggests that the upcoming update will be mostly incremental; however, new and reliable leaks from Mark Gurman via his Bloomberg newsletter reveal Apple’s intention to introduce a health upgrade that may seem modest on the surface, but is in fact quite fundamental and touches the daily life of every user.
Continuous heart rate tracking: A long-awaited upgrade
Since the birth of the Apple Watch twelve years ago, the heart rate measurement process has only operated at full capacity when you start a workout, or when you manually open the Heart Rate app to check your current status. Otherwise, the watch only takes random, intermittent readings at long intervals throughout the day to preserve battery life. But this approach seems to be on the verge of change, as information indicates that Apple is testing the activation of continuous, non-stop heart rate monitoring, as if the sports tracking mode were running in the background all the time.
This step is not just a technical showcase; it offers a highly significant medical benefit. Continuous monitoring contributes crucially to detecting subtle disorders such as Atrial Fibrillation and tracking the athletic recovery curve for longer periods after workouts end. Although this feature might mean additional strain on the battery, reports suggest the possibility of upgrading the optical heart rate sensor to an entirely new fourth generation to handle this load with higher efficiency.
Historically, Apple has only upgraded its sensors to support major features; the first generation lasted until Series 3, then the second generation introduced the ECG feature in Series 4, followed by the third generation in Series 6 to enable blood oxygen measurement, leading up to hypertension alerts in the Apple Watch Series 11. It is also expected that the Apple Watch 12 will be equipped with a truly upgraded internal processor that goes beyond just renaming previous processors, which aligns with Apple’s usual cycle of developing watch processors approximately every four years.
The return of ceramic: Are we witnessing a revival of the luxury Edition models?
In terms of design, the Apple Watch Series 12 is expected to retain an exterior appearance identical to the Series 11 without revolutionary changes, but the most prominent surprise lies in the materials used. Leaks indicate the potential return of the luxurious ceramic material that we have missed since the launch of the Apple Watch Series 5 in 2019. Sources state that Apple has tested white and dark gray ceramic for this year’s models under the internal codename “iceman”.
The history of ceramic with Apple has a special character; it first appeared as a logical alternative to 18-karat gold in the Apple Watch Edition models with the second generation in white, then expanded to include gray with the third generation, before Apple limited it again to the fifth generation in conjunction with the launch of the first titanium models. With the subsequent cancellation of the Edition brand and the replacement of stainless steel with titanium in the Series 10, it remains unknown whether ceramic will return under the umbrella of an independent luxury brand or if it will simply be an additional option alongside titanium and aluminum.
As for those wishing to see radical changes in the general shape and screen size, Gurman confirms that the major redesign has likely been postponed to the Apple Watch Series 13 next year, or perhaps delayed even further until 2028, making the upcoming Series 12 an update aimed at those looking for continuous health precision and the classic elegance of manufacturing materials.
Source:
Leave a Reply