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The Apple Watch Series 12 is not built primarily to be a running watch, but it’s one of the better sporty smartwatches available, and has a couple of useful upgrades on the Apple Watch Series 11 including improved heart rate tracking and a readiness score.
It doesn’t match the tracking and training analysis you get on the best running watches, or the Apple Watch Ultra 4, but the Apple Watch 12 does do a solid job of run tracking, especially when aided by third-party apps, and has a terrific, lightweight design and lots of useful smart features for when you’re not training.
Some of the key features for runners that are missing include a dedicated lap button and multi-and GPS, and despite a boost in GPS battery life, you’ll still need to charge the Apple Watch 12 daily.
Design & Key Stats
- Price: £369/$399
- Size: 46 x 40 x 9.7mm or 42 x 37 x 9.7mm
- Weight: 39.5g (46mm), 32.2g (42mm)
- Display: 1.96in or 1.77in OLED
- Case material: Aluminium, titanium or ceramic
- Screen material: Ceramic Shield 2 or sapphire crystal
- Water resistance: 50m
- Battery life (watch): 24 hours
- Battery life (dual-band GPS): 10 hours
Apple Watch Series 12 Review
What’s New?
Along with some new design options including a dark bronze colour and a ceramic model, the Apple Watch 12 aluminium model has a tougher Ceramic Shield 2 screen, with sapphire crystal used on the titanium and ceramic models.
The biggest update for runners is the improved heart rate tracking, with the sensor on the watch now taking more frequent readings of both heart rate and heart rate variability, with the latter being used to deliver a new readiness score.
A minor upgrade runners will also appreciate is the extra two hours of GPS battery life on the watch, which takes it to 10 hours of tracking. Overall battery life remains at 24 hours, however.
The Run Test: Likes
The Apple Watch 12 retains the slim, lightweight and attractive design of its predecessors, and it really is one of the most enjoyable watches to wear 24/7 we test each year. It has a premium and comfortable feel, and looks great too.
During our testing the heart rate accuracy was very good too. The Apple Watch 12 still isn’t flawless on this front and sometimes ‘greys out’ the heart rate when it isn’t confident about its reading, but throughout our testing it matched up closely with a chest strap during runs of all types.
We found the addition of training readiness to be useful too. The reading adjusts throughout the day and can be used as a rough gauge of the state of your body to help guide your approach to training, especially if you also use the self-rated training load feature on the watch.
The native sports tracking on the watch is now pretty good, with lots of useful stats and two customisable data pages, but the advantage Apple has is that if you don’t find the Workout app good enough for you, you can raid the App Store for a third-party option. WorkOutDoors in particular gives you a lot more customisation options, and maps on your data pages.
It also works well with run coaching apps like Runna if you use them, which are a great options for beginners looking for a plan to follow on the wrist.
Finally, though we don’t like the short battery life on the Apple Watch 12, we do like how rapidly it charges, so if you can find 20-30 minutes to plug it in each day you’ll generally have enough juice to get by.
The Run Test: Dislikes
A long-term dislike with the Apple Watch Series model is the lack of a dedicated lap button during runs, and the fact you have to use the screen to end runs as well. It’s just not as convenient as having a button for these actions, and even pausing a run requires you to press two buttons at once.
The lack of multi-band GPS on a watch doesn’t always mean it will fall short in this area, but the Apple Watch 12 is not as reliable on this front as the best multi-band watches from Garmin, Coros and Suunto, and not as accurate as the Apple Watch Ultra 4 either.
When looking at our GPS tracks we could it veered away from the path we ran at times or cut corners, and the distance and pacing stats on the watch sometimes were off, especially when Kieran ran the Berlin Marathon with the Apple Watch 12.
The training analysis on the watch remains minimal when compared with even entry-level sports watches, and it’s also still a little annoying that Apple hasn’t added a map display you can add to your data pages during outdoor activities tracked in the native app.
Verdict And Alternatives
The Apple Watch Series 12 is a great smartwatch that’s also a solid running watch, especially for beginners who want an attractive device that will still be a good purchase if you don’t end up sticking with the sport.
If you want a better running watch at around the same price or less, our top recommendations would be the Coros Pace 4 if you’re not too bothered about smart features, and the Garmin Forerunner 170 if you are, since the Garmin does have at least have NFC payments and the ability to sync music from streaming services to the watch.
Opting for these watches will get you longer battery life, more reliable GPS tracking and more training analysis, and both still have lightweight, attractive designs, if not as nice as the Apple Watch 12.
The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is a better option for runners if you don’t mind its higher price and bulkier design. It fixes most of our issues with the Series 12, though isn’t as accurate with its heart rate tracking in our experience, as still doesn’t offer great battery life.
For a little more than the Apple Watch Series 12 you can also look at the Coros Pace 4 Pro, which has a huge, bright display in a lightweight, slim case, and has been a huge hit with the team since we tested it.