Apple Watch Series 12 Buying Guide: Specs, Price, and Value Assessment

The Apple Watch Series 12 offers significant upgrades over previous Apple watches, but who is it best suited for?

Apple Watch Series 12 has significant upgrades compared to previous Apple watches, but who is this watch suitable for?

Become a special member of Arjan Ambassador in order to benefit from and access special facilities and different departments in Arjan Ambassador.

In its autumn event, Apple introduced the new generation of its flagship smart watch, the Apple Watch Series 12. With this product entering the market, the most important question for those interested in Apple products and wearable gadgets is whether the 12th generation is considered a significant upgrade over the previous generations or its changes are limited to only a few minor updates? In this Apple Watch Series 12 buying guide, while checking the technical specifications, new health monitoring system, S11 chip, battery charging status and current price of this gadget in the Iranian market, we will help you to choose the most suitable version according to your budget and daily needs.

Apple Watch 12 is a complete and powerful flagship, but its purchase is not the same priority for all user groups. In the following category, we have explained whether buying this smart watch is the right decision for you or not.

If you are one of the users interested in sports and specialized health monitoring, features such as continuous vital signs monitoring system, recovery changes (HRV) and receiving a physical fitness score (Readiness) will be of great use to you.

For users of older watches (Series 9 and earlier), improvements in processor speed, brightness and display design, faster charging, and advanced health features of the Apple Watch Series 12 can be very attractive. Also, if you are looking to buy Apple's first smart watch, Series 12 is an ideal option, but on the condition that you don't have budget restrictions.

Finally, if you only use the smart watch to view notifications, answer calls and measure steps, buying a new watch is not justified and you can go for a more economical model such as SE 3 at a much lower cost. Also, for owners of the Apple Watch Series 11, upgrading to the 12th generation only makes sense if the ability to measure daily fitness and continuous heart monitoring sensors is your first priority.

You can see the user status of Apple's new generation flagship watch in the table below:

Apple Watch Series 12 has major structural changes in the health monitoring module and processor. The table below summarizes the official specifications of this smart watch based on Apple's announcement:

Apple has combined the elegant, slim and ergonomic form factor of recent generations in the 12 series with the improvement of the body material. Variety in different sizes and genders allows buyers to choose the most suitable version according to their wrist and lifestyle.

Choosing the right size is related to the circumference of the wrist and the ergonomics of its use. In the following, we have explained the guide for choosing the right size of Apple Watch Series 12:

The following table explains the size, weight and usage of both versions according to the official Apple blog guide:

Aluminum is a light, economical and very popular option. In this version, thanks to the new Ceramic Shield 2 protective layer, the resistance of the top glass against scratches and impacts has increased by 60% compared to the previous generation glass (Ion-X). This version provides the best balance of price and performance for most users.

The luxury titanium version is extremely durable and lighter than the old metals. The top protector of this model is made of sapphire crystal, which is highly resistant to scratches. This version is suitable for people who want a stylish and formal watch with high durability for harsh environments.

The ceramic version is also back with pearl white and blue colors to be a distinctive, magnificent and highly anti-scratch option available to buyers. Also, this version occupies the highest price range of Apple watches.

The Always-On Retina display in the Apple Watch Series 12 uses an advanced LTPO3 OLED panel. Screen brightness ranges from a minimum of 1 nit in dark environments to a maximum of 2000 nits in direct sunlight, providing perfect viewing at any angle.

The important innovation of this section in aluminum models is to be equipped with Ceramic Shield 2. Unlike previous watches where the vulnerability of Ion-X glass was the weak point of aluminum versions, the second generation Ceramic Shield has improved the strength by 60% so that you can experience adequate resistance in sports activities without the urgent need for third-party screen protectors.

The most important distinguishing feature of Apple Watch 12 compared to all smart watches in the market is the structural changes in the sensor sector, which has been introduced under the title of Health Sensing System.

In the 12th generation of its smart watches, Apple has unveiled a new sensor architecture called the Health Sensing System. In this system, the optical heart sensor is equipped with larger green light-emitting diodes and at the same time less power consumption, which records the heartbeat continuously and in short intervals of 5 seconds during the day and night, unlike previous generations.

The main development that the use of these sensors has led to is the addition of the Readiness feature. The main goal of this feature is to answer a key everyday question for athletes and active users: "Is my body ready for a heavy workout today or should I rest?" By continuously processing the pressure of recent exercises, quality and length of night sleep, heart rate fluctuations and recorded vital signs, this system provides you with a score between 0 and 10 along with a clear recommendation at the beginning of each day:

Apple says this score is not a constant number throughout the day and night; Rather, it is dynamically updated in case of heavy work activity or changes in vital signs during the day to prevent excessive fatigue of the user.

The Apple Watch Series 12 Health Pack provides the user with a complete suite of vital signs monitoring and physical activity management tools:

Apple Watch 12 also supports various sports exercises. From running and swimming to strength training and climbing, you can measure your athletic progress with the help of this product's tools.

Important health note: Although Apple Watch sensors have been developed with numerous medical studies, this gadget is an auxiliary tool for screening and lifestyle improvement and is not a substitute for specialized medical equipment or definitive diagnosis of diseases.

Finally, it should be noted that in certain part numbers or if the initial region of the iPhone is set to Iran, the ECG menu may not be activated. To bypass this limitation, unofficial methods such as changing the region of the device and Apple ID to countries such as the United States or the UAE are suggested during the initial launch of the watch.

Apple Watch Series 12 is equipped with a dedicated S11 chip; A 64-bit dual-core processor, which, along with an upgraded 4-core neural engine, significantly increases the local processing power of machine learning algorithms compared to the S10 chip.

This hardware upgrade, in addition to redesigning the smart pedometer model for ultra-precise distance monitoring, has become the foundation of new Audio Intelligence capabilities. This voice processing system can filter complex environmental noises while talking or recording voice notes and analyze important warnings about vital environmental sounds with the priority of protecting the user's privacy; However, some additional functions are expected to be released in the form of software updates later this year.

In the user interaction department, the improved Siri AI assistant works smarter in analyzing the context of conversations and personal requests, thanks to the integration with watchOS 27 and the artificial intelligence platform Apple Intelligence.

Despite these developments, Iranian users are facing limitations. As it was said in reports, most of the new artificial intelligence features of Apple operating systems such as Siri AI are unusable in Iran.

One of the practical optimizations of the 12 series is to increase the endurance of the battery during heavy exercises.

Apple has announced the battery life of this watch up to 24 hours in normal use, which includes always-on display, 5-second heart rate monitor and sleep monitor throughout the night. In outdoor sports mode with GPS enabled, the battery will last up to 10 hours, which is a 25% improvement over the previous generation.

The charging speed has also been improved in the new generation. In this model, Apple has revised the charging architecture so that the watch can provide up to 12 hours of continuous operation after only 15 minutes, which is very useful for quickly monitoring sleep before going to bed.

One of the most important questions of Iranian buyers is choosing between GPS model and GPS + Cellular model. To understand this better, you need to know the difference between the two versions.

Due to the lack of official support of Iranian telecommunication operators for the eSIM service connected to Apple Watch, the cellular part of these watches is inactive inside the country. So paying more for the Cellular version on the aluminum models doesn't make sense, unless you want the titanium or ceramic models that taste like they only come in cellular.

To make a smart decision, in the table below, we have brought the main specifications of the new Apple flagship with the previous year's model and the economy model, and then we will explain the difference between each:

Series 12 has kept the same dimensional design, but on the inside, it is accompanied by more sensitive sensors, continuous monitoring index, daily readiness score, more resistant Ceramic Shield 2 glass and 25% better charging during workout. If you own a Series 11, upgrading is probably not necessary unless fitness and exercise tracking are your main concerns.

The SE 3 model is a great option for users who don't want an always-on display, an ECG heart monitor, advanced recovery monitoring sensors, and an expensive metal body. If you only care about displaying notifications, alarms, messages, and regular step counting, the SE 3 is a very smart and economical choice.

Apple's official global price for different versions is as follows:

In the Iranian market, the final price of this watch is directly affected by the exchange rate, air transportation costs, customs tariffs, registry and importers' commercial profit. Also, the presence of valid 18-month corporate warranties with replacement testing period usually creates a price difference of a few percent compared to products without warranty or miscellaneous packs. In the first days of entering the market, due to the limited supply, a significant price bubble can be seen, but after the initial saturation, the prices reach relative stability. To avoid confusion, in the table below, the announced global prices of Apple and the daily price range of the Iranian market are separated in Rials.

Note: Due to the momentary fluctuations of the exchange rate and the type of bands, whether silicone sports or Milans Loop, the sellers' prices may fluctuate.