Apple Watch Series 10 vs. Series 12 Buyer's Guide: Should You Upgrade?

The Apple Watch Series 12 is now available, two years after the Series 10 introduced the current thinner design. But is it worth upgrading. While last year’s Series 11 brought just four changes, the Series 12 is a much more substantial update, with a new chip, twice as much RAM, redesigned health sensors, exclusive health and audio features, tougher cover glass, 5G connectivity, and new case materials.

The Series 12 starts at the same $399 price as the Series 10 did in 2024. Apple has now discontinued the Series 10, but remaining units may still be available from third-party retailers and on the refurbished or second-hand market. Here are all of the key hardware and feature differences between the Apple Watch Series 10 and Apple Watch Series 12: Apple Watch Series 10 Apple Watch Series 12 S10 chip (2024) S11 chip (2026) 2GB RAM 4GB RAM Electrical heart sensor Health Sensing System with second-generation electrical heart sensor Third-generation optical heart sensor Fourth-generation, always-on optical heart sensor Periodic background heart rate tracking High-frequency background heart rate tracking every five seconds Heart rate variability Recovery HRV and overall HRV, measured up to 24x more frequently Vitals app with heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, and sleep duration Vitals app with heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, sleep duration, and HRV, plus daytime vitals Readiness app with daily score and recommendation Standard step tracking Redesigned pedometer model with more accurate all-day step tracking Steps watch face complication Audio Intelligence, including Live Rewind, Siri Recap, Sound Recognition, and faster Shazam Ion-X front glass (aluminum models) Ceramic Shield 2, 60% tougher than Ion-X (aluminum models) Metal and sapphire crystal back Case-matched metal or ceramic and zirconia back Aluminum or titanium case Aluminum, titanium, or ceramic case Aluminum: Jet Black, Rose Gold, and Silver Aluminum: Dark Bronze, Light Gold, Black, and Space Gray Titanium: Slate, Gold, and Natural Titanium: Radiant Gold and Natural Ceramic: Pearl White and Night Blue Hermès: Silver titanium Hermès: Silver and Radiant Gold titanium LTE and UMTS (cellular models) LTE and 5G RedCap (cellular models) Up to 18 hours of normal use Up to 24 hours of normal use Up to 36 hours in Low Power Mode Up to 38 hours in Low Power Mode 15 minutes of charging for up to eight hours of normal use 15 minutes of charging for up to 12 hours of normal use Eight minutes of charging for up to eight hours of sleep tracking Five minutes of charging for up to 10 hours of sleep tracking Now discontinued From $399 Design and Display The Series 12 retains the same basic design introduced by the Series 10, including 42mm and 46mm size options and a 9.7mm-thick case.

Nevertheless, Apple has made some subtle dimensional changes. Both sizes are now 1mm wider, and every equivalent aluminum or titanium configuration is between 2.1 and 3.3 grams heavier than its Series 10 counterpart. At the same time, the display has shrunk slightly.

I upgraded to an Apple Watch Series 12 last week, and so far after a few days of testing there are three standout features for me. Apple Watch Series 12: My three favorite new features so far.

Alongside the X500, X500 Pro, and X500 Pro Max, vivo has also unveiled the Watch 6 today. It comes in two case options: titanium and stainless steel.

Review: Beats 360 are the closest Apple headphones to AirPods Max, with one caveat Michael Burkhardt Sep 22 2026.

It has a 1.47-inch AMOLED display with a 466×466 resolution, a 60Hz refresh rate, a 1.49mm bezel, 3,500-nit peak brightness, and a sapphire crystal on top, an optical heart rate and blood oxygen sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor, a barometer, an ambient light sensor, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, dual-frequency GPS, as well as a microphone and a speaker. Vivo Watch 6 official images It runs the…

Vivo Watch 6 launches with titanium case, sapphire crystal, and a 505mAh battery. Vivo Watch 6 launches with titanium case, sapphire crystal, and a 505mAh battery – com news ADVERTISEMENT vivo Watch 6 launches with titanium case, sapphire crystal, and a 505mAh battery Post your comment Comments (7) Vlad 21 September 2026 vivo Smart wearables Announcement Alongside the X500, X500 Pro, and X500 Pro Max, vivo has also unveiled the Watch 6 today.

Vivo Watch 6 official images It runs the proprietary vivo BlueOS 4.0, and it has a 505mAh battery that vivo says will last for 21 days with light use, 6 days with the Always-On Display, and 4 days with eSIM connectivity. More vivo Watch 6 official images The stainless steel case is offered in "Wilderness" and "Moonlight" colorways for CNY 999 ($149) without mobile data, and CNY 1,399 ($208) with mobile data via eSIM.

The titanium version is only available with mobile data, and it costs CNY 1,999 ($298). Unfortunately, it’s unclear if the vivo Watch 6 will ever be offered officially outside of China, but we’ll keep you posted.

Source (in Chinese) Add as a preferred source on Google Reader comments R Rangers 3 – 0 Celtic mp} 4 hours ago Let’s all upgrade.

Resolution is unchanged, but the active display area is around 2% smaller on both sizes. The combination of a wider, receded case and smaller display produces thicker borders around the screen.

Here is how the 46mm models compare: 46mm Apple Watch Series 10 Apple Watch Series 12 Dimensions 46mm x 39mm x 9.7mm 46mm x 40mm x 9.7mm Resolution 416 x 496 pixels 416 x 496 pixels Display area 1,220 sq mm 1,196 sq mm Aluminum (GPS) 36.4 grams 39.5 grams Aluminum (Cellular) 35.3 grams 38.6 grams Titanium 41.7 grams 44.9 grams The 42mm models compare as follows: 42mm Apple Watch Series 10 Apple Watch Series 12 Dimensions 42mm x 36mm x 9.7mm 42mm x 37mm x 9.7mm Resolution 374 x 446 pixels 374 x 446 pixels Display area 989 sq mm 970 sq mm Aluminum (GPS) 30 grams 32.2 grams Aluminum (Cellular) 29.3 grams 31.5 grams Titanium 34.4 grams 36.5 grams The Series 12 also marks the return of a ceramic Apple Watch for the first time since the Series 5 Edition in 2019. The ceramic models are larger and heavier than their aluminum and titanium counterparts: Ceramic 46mm 42mm Dimensions 47mm x 41mm x 9.85mm 43mm x 37mm x 9.85mm Pearl White 51.3 grams 41.7 grams Night Blue 52.9 grams 42.8 grams Is It Worth Upgrading.

Two generations on, the Series 12 represents a meaningful cumulative upgrade over the Series 10, but it is far from an essential replacement. The two models share the same basic design, display brightness, resolution, storage capacity, core safety features, and more.