Apple has unveiled the Apple Watch Series 12 and AirPods 5, putting artificial intelligence, health tracking and active noise cancellation at the centre of its latest wearable and audio-device lineup.
The Apple Watch Series 12 gets new AI-powered features designed to help users remember conversations, monitor their health and better understand their readiness for the day. The company said its new Audio Intelligence features use the watch's microphone to capture key moments from conversations.
One of the features, called Live Rewind, allows users to go back 15 seconds to review something that was just said. Apple is also introducing Siri Recap, which uses ambient listening to create high-level notes from conversations, including takeaways from meetings or parent-teacher conferences.
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"Conversations will have an Apple Intelligence-generated title, summary, and key points," Apple said. The company added that the feature has been designed with privacy in mind and that audio recordings will not be stored or shared with Apple. The Audio Intelligence features are expected to arrive in beta later this year.
Health tracking is another major focus of the Series 12. Apple said the smartwatch uses a new Health Sensing System, combining new optical and electrical heart sensors with its S11 chip to deliver higher-frequency heart rate and heart-rate variability measurements.
The watch also introduces a new Readiness score, which analyses recent activity, training load, vitals and sleep to generate a score from 0 to 10. It then provides recommendations such as "Recover", "Pace Yourself", "Ready" or "Go For It".
Apple said the Series 12 continues to offer up to 24 hours of everyday battery life, while outdoor workout battery life has increased to up to 10 hours. A redesigned pedometer and new machine-learning algorithms are also aimed at improving step and distance tracking.
On the audio front, Apple has introduced AirPods 5 with active noise cancellation in an open-ear design. Apple said the new earbuds can remove up to 50% more external noise than AirPods 4 with ANC, while also offering improved sound quality and a more natural Transparency mode.
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AirPods 5 start at $129, while the version with a Wireless Charging Case costs $149. Pre-orders begin September 9, with store availability from September 18.
Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $399, while the Apple Watch Ultra 4 starts at $799. Apple has also introduced a ceramic-case version of the Watch.
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