Apple Watch Series 12 brings back a ceramic option, and in conjunction with watchOS 27, it has a new health app called Readiness, plus a series of new health monitoring features.
Ceramic is back with the new Apple Watch Series 5
In an update that sees little else changed with the Apple Watch Series 12, there is now a ceramic option plus watchOS 27 adds new Readiness and Recap apps.
It's seven years since the last ceramic model, the Apple Watch Series 5, but now Apple has brought back the material and done so in two colors. This the only visible change in the Apple Watch Series 12, but it's a welcome return for the premium scratch-resistant material.
That last ceramic Apple Watch only came in white, too, so it's actually been nine years since there were two options like this.
Ceramic was a popular material for the Apple Watch Series 2, Series 3, and Series 5. The ceramic options were primarily prestige ones, but they did have the practical benefit that they were scratch-resistant.
But ceramic is also heavier than the aluminum or stainless steel used in other Apple Watches. Most significantly, though, ceramic is a brittle material so it can more easily crack or chip.
New watchOS features
If the Apple Watch hardware hasn't significantly changed with the new Apple Watch Series 12, watchOS 27 software has. Plus as recently predicted, watchOS 27 comes with more features than were shown in the beta releases.
It appears that some of those features will have to wait for future hardware updates, but Apple has unveiled a new Readiness fitness app that should work on at least most recent editions of the Apple Watch.
Unique to the Apple Watch Series 12 and the Apple Watch Ultra 4, though, is Recaps. This is a Siri AI-based feature that can summarize the wearer's day, based on workouts and location.
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