Do the New Health Tracking Features of the Apple Watch Series 12 Live up to Expectations?
Now I have the Apple Watch Series 12 in my hands—or rather, on my wrist—and I’ve spent the last 24 hours testing it as thoroughly as possible. I’m pleased with the step counting and the “heart rate variability recovery” feature (as opposed to the heart-health-focused variability previously used on the Apple Watch), but I’m not sure if the heart rate accuracy lives up to the claims. I’ll be testing it more thoroughly, but here are my initial impressions.
The step counting turned out to be exactly as I imagined.
Apple has been waiting a long time to add step counting as an easily viewable metric on the watch, but it’s finally here. I can open my Smart Stack (with a double pinch, without even touching the watch face) and see my steps right at the top. I’ve also added a step count widget to my watch face. You can find this widget in the Activity section. The option to display rings as a widget is still available, but now you can also add steps or wheelchair movements.
The step counting works well. The data updates quickly and, based on my usual counting, seems accurate—nine steps from my desk to the door register as nine steps. I’ll be conducting more in-depth testing soon to properly evaluate Apple’s claim that they now have the most accurate step counting on the market.
It’s disappointing that it took so long, and that step counting won’t appear in Series 11 or earlier models. The Apple Watch uses a specialized pedometer built into the new processor. Older Apple Watch models aren’t accurate enough to count steps, so Apple dropped the feature from these watches. This seems incredible to me, considering step counting has been a feature on every other wearable since the first caveman strapped a rock to his wrist.
I’m not sure I believe these claims about “the most accurate heart rate measurement.”
Apple claims the Series 12 has the most accurate heart rate tracking of any wearable, and as I’ve already mentioned , that’s a bold claim given what I’ve seen from Apple and other devices before. Now that I have the Series 12 in my hands, I’ve been able to conduct some preliminary tests.
To be perfectly clear, these aren’t exhaustive tests, and I’m not drawing any definitive conclusions based on just a few days of testing. But I’ll show you what I’ve already tried.
As always, I compare the device’s readings to my heart rate measured with a chest strap heart rate monitor (the gold standard for comparing heart rate readings). Here’s what I did:
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Interval run on a treadmill using the Series 11 and a chest strap.
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An identical interval run on a treadmill using the Series 12, a chest strap, and, for good measure, a Garmin Forerunner 570.
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An outdoor run that included moderate jogging, interval training, and walking, using the Series 12, chest strap, and 570 sensor.
I included the 570 in these tests because, in my opinion, it has the most accurate heart rate sensor among wearable devices. In my previous tests, it showed readings identical or nearly identical to those of a chest strap. However, there are always day-to-day fluctuations, and in these latest tests, it didn’t perform as well as in some previous ones.
Here are the indoor run results: Series 11 on top, Series 12 on the bottom, both shown in red and compared to the chest strap. The Series 11 did a decent job anyway, and frankly, I’m not sure the Series 12 is any better. I was disappointed that the Series 12 still only measures heart rate every five seconds during workouts. Other devices, like the chest strap and Garmin, measure it every second. This means Apple collects 12 data points per minute, while these other devices collect 60.
Here are the results from the outdoor run. The chest strap is gray, the Garmin is blue, and the Apple Watch is red. Again, the limited data from the Apple Watch isn’t impressive. I see a few spots where the Apple Watch missed the peak of a small spike, but then again, the Garmin also struggled in some spots. I’ll conduct further tests and report back once I’ve had a chance to test the watches in more varied conditions and activities.
Something I can’t verify yet.
Live Rewind and Siri Recaps are not yet available. Live Rewind is a feature that lets you request a text transcript of everything said around you in the last 15 seconds. Recaps, on the other hand, cover a longer period of time—for example, to summarize a meeting. These features will be available later this year and are not included in watchOS 27, the version that shipped with the watch. (I haven’t installed any beta software on the watch.)
Readiness is another important feature coming soon, but I haven’t yet accumulated enough data over several nights to get a good estimate—that requires about a week of data. As a preview, I see my “Restoration HRV” score in the sleep data list. Last night, my HRV was 45 according to Apple, and 50 according to my Oura ring. HRV readings from different devices can vary depending on when they take measurements, so I’m looking for trends rather than specific data points. If both devices agree on what’s high or low for me based on my baseline, I’ll consider that a success for Apple.