Apple Watch Series 12 vs Apple Watch Ultra

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

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Watch Series 12 compared with Watch Ultra

	AppleWatch Series 12	AppleWatch Ultra
Overview
Released
Released	September 2026	September 2022
Display
Case sizes
Case sizes	42 mm or 46 mm	49 mm
Panel
Panel	LTPO OLED	LTPO OLED
Peak brightness
Peak brightness	2,000 nits	2,000 nits
Always-on display
Always-on display	Yes	Yes
Display detail
Display detail	Always-On Retina display with wide-angle OLEDs and LTPO3; 1Hz refresh; 374 x 446 pixels (42mm) or 416 x 496 pixels (46mm) at 326 ppi; 970 or 1,196 sq mm display area; 1 nit minimum brightness	LTPO2 OLED Always-On Retina display; 410 x 502 pixels; 1,185 sq mm display area; Night Mode on the Wayfinder face
Screen protection
Screen protection	Ceramic Shield 2 (aluminium cases); sapphire front crystal (titanium and ceramic cases)	Flat sapphire front crystal, with the case raised around its edges
Health and fitness
ECG
ECG	Yes	Yes
Blood oxygen
Blood oxygen	Yes	Yes
Skin temperature
Skin temperature	Yes	Yes
Sleep apnoea alerts
Sleep apnoea alerts	Yes	No
High blood pressure alerts
High blood pressure alerts	Yes	No
Body composition
Body composition	No	No
Fall detection
Fall detection	Yes	Yes
Crash detection
Crash detection	Yes	Yes
GPS
GPS	Single-band	Dual-band (L1 and L5)
Water resistance
Water resistance	50 m	100 m (better)
Sensors
Sensors	Health Sensing System with third-generation electrical heart sensor, always-on optical heart sensor, blood oxygen sensor and temperature sensor; compass; always-on altimeter; high-g accelerometer; high dynamic range gyroscope; ambient light sensor; depth gauge to 6 m; water temperature sensor	Electrical heart sensor (ECG app); blood oxygen sensor; third-generation optical heart sensor; temperature sensing with a two-sensor design; compass; always-on altimeter; high-g accelerometer (up to 256 g-forces); high dynamic range gyroscope; ambient light sensor; water temperature sensor; depth gauge
Health features
Health features	Readiness app; Vitals app (heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, blood oxygen, sleep duration and HRV); Recovery HRV; high-frequency background heart rate tracking; ECG app; Blood Oxygen app; irregular rhythm notifications; high and low heart rate notifications; hypertension notifications; sleep apnoea notifications; sleep stages and sleep score; Cycle Tracking with fertile window and retrospective ovulation estimates, perimenopause and menopause support; Medications; Mindfulness; Noise	ECG app; Blood Oxygen app; irregular rhythm notifications; temperature sensing for retrospective ovulation estimates in Cycle Tracking
Fitness features
Fitness features	Custom workouts; Training Load; customisable heart rate zones; VO2 max; Race Route; Pacer; cadence, stride length, ground contact time, vertical oscillation and running power; automatic track detection; multisport workouts; offline maps with custom route creation; Backtrack; pool and open-water swimming with SWOLF; cycling power zones with Bluetooth accessories; GymKit	Depth app and recreational diving to 40 m with the Oceanic+ app; Backtrack; Compass Waypoints; Action button for workouts, segments and waypoints; GymKit
Safety features
Safety features	Emergency SOS; international emergency calling; Fall Detection; Crash Detection; Check In; Backtrack; Last Emergency Call Availability Waypoint; torch; noise monitoring	Emergency SOS; international emergency calling; Fall Detection; Crash Detection; 86 dB emergency siren
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 24 hours	Up to 36 hours
In low-power mode
In low-power mode	Up to 38 hours	–
Mobile data option
Mobile data option	Yes	Yes
Works with
Works with	iPhone	iPhone
Chip
Chip	S11	S8
Storage
Storage	64 GB (better)	32 GB
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 24 hours of normal use; up to 38 hours in Low Power Mode; up to 10 hours of outdoor workout	Up to 36 hours of normal use; up to 18 hours on LTE
Charging
Charging	Fast charging to 80% in about 30 minutes; 15 minutes for up to 12 hours of normal use; 5 minutes for up to 10 hours of sleep tracking	Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable
Connectivity
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) at 2.4GHz and 5GHz; Bluetooth 5.3; second-generation Ultra Wideband chip; NFC for Apple Pay; Precision L1 GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou); GPS + Cellular models (A3582, A3587) with 5G RedCap and LTE	4G LTE and UMTS; Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz; Bluetooth 5.3; W3 wireless chip; U1 chip (Ultra Wideband); L1 and L5 GPS with GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou; Apple Pay
Storage
Storage	–	32GB
Design
Weight (lightest version)
Weight (lightest version)	31.5 g (better)	61.3 g
Software
Software	watchOS	watchOS
Case materials
Case materials	100% recycled aluminium or 3D-printed 100% recycled titanium case with zirconia back, or ceramic case; water resistant to 50 m (ISO 22810:2010); IP6X dust resistant	Aerospace-grade natural titanium case; ceramic and sapphire crystal back; water resistant to 100 m (ISO 22810); IP6X dust resistant; tested to MIL-STD 810H; on-wrist operating temperature from -20°C to 55°C
Size
Size	42mm is 42 x 37 x 9.7 mm (ceramic 43 x 37 x 9.85 mm); 46mm is 46 x 40 x 9.7 mm (ceramic 47 x 41 x 9.85 mm); lightest is the 42mm aluminium GPS + Cellular at 31.5 g, heaviest the 46mm Night Blue ceramic at 52.9 g	49 x 44 x 12 mm; 61.3 g
Bands
Bands	Fits 130–200 mm wrists (42mm) or 140–245 mm wrists (46mm)	Alpine Loop, Trail Loop and Ocean Band
Colours
Colours	Aluminium in Dark Bronze, Light Gold, Black and Space Grey; titanium in Radiant Gold and Natural; ceramic in Pearl White and Night Blue	Natural titanium
In the box
In the box	Apple Watch Series 12, strap, Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable (1 m)	Apple Watch Ultra, band or loop, Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable (1 m)