GoKawiilIf you look really close, you'll notice differences in other components as well, like the number and layout of the diodes and electrodes around the LEDs. What all this leads to is an increased surface area that's in contact with your skin, which together with the updated hardware should lead to more accurate and consistent readings. Apple is also increasing its sampling rates so it's getting measurements of your heart rate (and therefore related data like your VO2Max and heart rate variability) much more frequently. Apple goes as far as to say that it conducted its own study of wearables and found the Series 12 to be the most accurate in heart rate sensing.
That data feeds into a few health-related features on the Apple Watch Series 12, including the updated heart rate app, which has a new HRV metric. That's now measured at up to every five minutes, compared to every two to four hours or so on older watches.
The HRV information is a key part of the new Readiness app on the watch, and factors into your readiness score each day. This is delivered daily on a scale of 0 to 10, and takes into account your activity, sleep and vitals. Of course, I wasn't able to test this myself as I'd have to wear an Apple Watch for at least seven days for it to work. But the number I did see on a company rep's watch was a concerning "3," and upon closer investigation the Health app said that poor sleep and HRV performance brought the score down.
Apple also made some tweaks to the Vitals app, changing up some of the language it uses around performance. But the biggest update to the Apple Watch experience might be outside of the watch itself. The Health app is getting quite a significant makeover, which might sound like welcome news to longtime users who never quite enjoyed how to make sense of their data in that app.
Since Apple Intelligence summaries are part of the redesigned Health app, you'll have to have a compatible iPhone to use it. (If not, you'll see the current version.) This updated version is coming later this year, with the first thing you see being a summary generated by Apple Intelligence at the top. This considers the time of day to deliver your most relevant information at the time. Then come tiles that show your metrics like activity, heart and sleep, and these will also change order throughout the day.
Swiping sideways on the home screen will take you through sleep, fitness and heart pages, while the bottom navigation bar shows you options to go into the Longevity and data tabs. The Longevity tab is a new interface that not only measures your wellbeing across seven different areas including the ones I already mentioned, but also shows your "health age." It's a bit confusing to me all the different names for what I think should be the same thing, but I'm sure after I spend some time with the app later this year I'll understand the distinctions better. I'm also intrigued and keen to try out some of the new assessments in the app, like the one for VO2Max where you'll have to follow along instructions to jog in place, while the Health app studies your heart rate from your Apple Watch or compatible AirPods to evaluate your performance.
While the refreshed Health app isn't going to be available for a while, nor is it exclusive to the Apple Watch Series 12, it certainly impacts a lot of your experience. It is where you'll spend a lot of time looking at your health data, after all. But more features coming to the Series 12 are around AI, performance and "audio intelligence."