GoKawiilAt its Surprise & Shine event on Sept. 9, Apple revealed its newest devices, including its latest smartwatches. Here’s how the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 compare.
The new Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 are premium wearables running the company’s WatchOS 27 software, which have plenty of features that interact with paired iPhones and a growing number that work even when apart (handy when out on a run). The Series 12 is the standard model, while the Ultra 4 is the higher-end version with more durability and features.
This year, the Apple Watches got more software upgrades than hardware upgrades, but one important thing that didn’t change with either was the price. Whereas the iPhones all got price bumps (even the older models Apple still sells), the Apple Watch Series 12 still starts at $400 and the Apple Watch Ultra 4 at $800. Both models can be preordered now and ship on Sept. 18.
Note that while the Ultra 4 only has its titanium finish (and can be pricier with fancier bands), the Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $400 for 42mm in aluminum finish, jumps to $699 for titanium and tops out at $899 for its new ceramics case material.
Here’s how Apple’s latest smartwatches compare.
Apple/CNET $399 (Save with trade-in) Apple Watch Series 12 at Best Buy Get it now See at Best Buy Expert Take The latest 42mm Apple Watch Series 12 is available for preorder at Best Buy for $399. If you have an older device, you can trade it in for a new one at a lower price. Every purchase also comes with up to four free months of Apple Fitness and three free months of Apple Music.
Apple/CNET From $799 (Save with freebies) Apple Watch Ultra 4 at Best Buy Get it now See at Best Buy Expert Take The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is available for preorder at Best Buy for $799. The preorder comes with a few freebies, including four free months of Apple Fitness Plus and three free months of Apple Music. You can choose to pick it up in store on the release date or have it shipped to arrive by the release date, so you can start using your new watch as soon as it’s released.
Design and display
The Apple Watch Series 12 looks practically identical to its predecessor, the Apple Watch Series 11 released in 2025, with a rectangular OLED display (up to 2,000 nits brightness) and rounded edges. The 42mm and 46mm sizes return along with aluminum and titanium body versions — as well as a new ceramic material (returning from the Apple Watch 5 in 2019) that adds a hair more size and about 10g of weight. For a comparison, the 42mm aluminum model is 32.2g, the titanium is 36.5g and the pearl white color of ceramic is 41.7g (the night blue hue of ceramic is 42.8g).
The Apple Watch Series 12 comes in a variety of colors depending on the case material. For aluminum, you can pick between dark bronze, light gold, black and space gray. Titanium comes in radiant gold and natural hues, while the ceramic comes in pearl white and night blue.
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