The Apple Watch SE 3 starts at $249, while the Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $399. The $150 difference buys a more advanced health sensing system, a larger display, longer battery life, and more options for tracking training and recovery.


The two watches still share many features, including an always-on display, wrist temperature sensing, sleep apnea notifications, retrospective ovulation estimates, 5G connectivity on cellular models, media playback, and 64GB of storage. Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two Apple Watch models is best for you. The differences between the two models are as follows:

‌Apple Watch SE 3‌	Apple Watch Series 12
Same design as Apple Watch Series 4, 5, and 6	Refined design with a thinner casing, display with more rounded edges and a wider aspect ratio, and front glass that extends further over the sides for a higher screen-to-body ratio
40mm or 44mm case	42mm or 46mm case
Aluminum case	Aluminum, titanium, or ceramic case
40mm: 40 by 34 by 10.7mm 44mm: 44 by 38 by 10.7mm	42mm aluminum/titanium: 42 by 37 by 9.7mm 46mm aluminum/titanium: 46 by 40 by 9.7mm 42mm ceramic: 43 by 37 by 9.85mm 46mm ceramic: 47 by 41 by 9.85mm
Aluminum GPS weight: 26.3 grams (40mm) or 32.9 grams (44mm)	Aluminum GPS weight: 32.2 grams (42mm) or 39.5 grams (46mm)
Ion-X front glass	Ceramic Shield 2 front on aluminum models; sapphire crystal front on titanium and ceramic models
No published IP6X rating	IP6X dust resistance
LTPO OLED display	LTPO3 display with a 1Hz always-on refresh rate, allowing a live ticking seconds hand on supported watch faces
‌OLED‌ display	Wide-angle ‌OLED‌ display
40mm: 324 by 394 pixels 44mm: 368 by 448 pixels	42mm: 374 by 446 pixels 46mm: 416 by 496 pixels
40mm: 759 sq mm display area 44mm: 977 sq mm display area	42mm: 970 sq mm display area 46mm: 1,196 sq mm display area
Up to 1,000 nits brightness	Up to 2,000 nits brightness
2 nits minimum brightness	1 nit minimum brightness
Nylon composite and sapphire crystal back	Aluminum or titanium and zirconia back; ceramic and zirconia back on ceramic models
S10 chip (2024)	S11 chip (2026)
2GB RAM	4GB RAM
Second-generation optical heart sensor	Always-on optical heart sensor
Standard background heart rate tracking	Background heart rate readings every five seconds
Heart rate variability tracking	Recovery HRV and more frequent overall HRV readings
Vitals app with heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, and sleep duration	Vitals app with heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, sleep duration, HRV, and a daytime view
	Readiness app
	Electrical heart sensor and ECG app
	Blood oxygen sensor and Blood Oxygen app
	Hypertension notifications
Standard step tracking	Improved step tracking
	Real-time heart rate and steps watch face complications
	Water temperature sensor
	Depth gauge to 6 meters and Depth app
	Oceanic+ app for snorkeling to 6 meters, available on the App Store
	Audio Intelligence features including Siri Recap, Sound Recognition, and Shazam
	Live Rewind and ‌Siri‌ Recap, due in beta in late 2026
Microphone	Microphone with Voice Isolation
Single, elongated speaker openings	Individual speaker holes
2.4GHz Wi-Fi 4	2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi 4
L1 GPS	Precision L1 GPS
	Second-generation Ultra Wideband chip
Find iPhone	Precision Finding for iPhone, with distance and direction guidance
HomePod playback controls	‌HomePod‌ playback controls and proximity-based media suggestions with a compatible Ultra Wideband ‌HomePod‌
Up to 18 hours of normal use	Up to 24 hours of normal use
Up to 32 hours in Low Power Mode	Up to 38 hours in Low Power Mode
Up to 7 hours of workout tracking	Up to 10 hours of workout tracking
Charges from 0 to 80% in about 45 minutes	Charges from 0 to 80% in about 30 minutes
15 minutes of charging for up to 8 hours of normal use	15 minutes of charging for up to 12 hours of normal use
8 minutes of charging for up to 8 hours of sleep tracking	5 minutes of charging for up to 10 hours of sleep tracking
Midnight and Starlight aluminum finishes	Dark Bronze, Light Gold, Black, and Space Gray aluminum finishes
	Radiant Gold and Natural titanium finishes
	Pearl White and Night Blue ceramic finishes
	Silver and Radiant Gold titanium Hermès models
40mm: $249 GPS or $299 GPS + Cellular 44mm: $279 GPS or $329 GPS + Cellular	Aluminum 42mm: $399 GPS or $499 GPS + Cellular Aluminum 46mm: $449 GPS or $549 GPS + Cellular
	Titanium models start at $699; ceramic models start at $899

If you mainly want a smart watch for notifications, standard workout and sleep tracking, and an always-on display, the ‌Apple Watch SE 3‌ remains the better value. Although it is now a year old, it still represents excellent value for money at $249, offering most of the Apple Watch's core features for $150 less than the entry-level Series 12.

The Apple Watch Series 12 has a much stronger case for anyone who uses their device to follow health and recovery trends. Its new Health Sensing System enables frequent heart rate readings, Recovery HRV, and a Readiness score that draws on recent activity, training load, vitals, and sleep. ECG, blood oxygen monitoring, and hypertension notifications add further capabilities unavailable on the ‌Apple Watch SE 3‌.

Battery life may be a decisive factor. The Apple Watch Series 12 is rated for six more hours of normal use and three more hours of outdoor workout tracking. It also charges faster, which is particularly useful if you wear your watch overnight for sleep tracking.

The Series 12 also offers a larger and brighter display, which makes a noticeable difference in daily use, along with 5GHz Wi-Fi, Precision Finding for a misplaced iPhone, and premium titanium and ceramic case options. Its Audio Intelligence features include ‌Siri‌ Recap, Sound Recognition, and always-on Shazam.

If you prefer the Series 12's broader health tracking capabilities, longer battery life, display advantages, or luxury case options, the extra cost is justified. If those features are unlikely to change how you use or appreciate your watch, the ‌Apple Watch SE 3‌ is the more economical choice.
This article, "Apple Watch SE 3 vs. Series 12 Buyer's Guide: Which Should You Buy?" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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DoorDash is inviting U.S. customers to join a waitlist for an AI assistant that can take food orders through Apple's Messages app (via Bloomberg).


The phone number used in the conversation connects the request to a customer's DoorDash account. The assistant can use previous purchases and preferences to help put together an order, then use a saved payment method at checkout. Customers can also view food photos in the chat or send a picture of their fridge for recipe ideas and suggestions for missing ingredients.

The service builds on Ask DoorDash, which launched inside the DoorDash app in June. DoorDash describes the message assistant as a pilot for select U.S. account holders and advises users to check their carts before paying because the AI can make mistakes.

To join the beta waitlist, U.S. iOS users can enter their phone number at doordash.com/text and select Continue. DoorDash says Android support is coming soon.






This article, "DoorDash Unveils AI Food Ordering Through Apple's Messages App" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple is working to revamp HomeKit amid a new push into the smart home market, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.


In a report that detailed the impending launch of next-generation Apple TV and HomePod mini models, as well as Apple's all-new smart home hub, Gurman said that the company is developing broader smart-home ecosystem software for its devices.

Apple apparently plans to expand the ‌HomeKit‌ platform with support for new categories of connected products. The company is also said to be working with third-party manufacturers on new devices designed for the Siri AI-powered smart home platform.

The new Apple TV, HomePod mini, and smart home hub are set to be introduced on Tuesday, October 13, Gurman claims.


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Apple's long-rumored smart home hub will have an iMac G4-style design and a host of unique features, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.


The smart home hub is said to feature a square 6-inch display, with variants that can be placed on a countertop or mounted on a wall. It features a single FaceTime camera on the front, with microphones and speakers in its connected base. Gurman described the design as follows:

The hub is about as thick as an iPhone, and its display is surrounded by a quarter-inch, black bezel reminiscent of older iPads. It has rounded corners and no sharp edges. The device lacks a battery, so it has to be plugged in at all times, and there are no volume or power buttons.

The product comes in Apple's standard gray aluminum finish and includes a USB-C port for power. The screen sits above a metal, round base with multiple rings of perforated speaker holes and connects to it through a polished metal arm. Users can manually tilt the display forward or backward. And the base has a rubberized bottom to help it stay on a table.

The standard version looks reminiscent of the famous iMac G4 from 2002 that has a large display that sits on a half-dome-shaped base.

Apple has also developed a second version, code-named J491, designed to be mounted on a wall. It has a thin, square-shaped base beneath the display that houses the speakers and microphones. The base sits flat on the wall below the screen. This version also must remain connected to power through a USB-C cable.

Apple envisions customers placing several of the devices throughout their homes. Users will be able to control smart home devices, make video calls and intercom-style messages, play audio, and view slideshows of photos. The device will also be able to serve as an information hub for the kitchen, with the ability to watch videos and look up recipes with voice commands.

It will also be able to recognize who is speaking to it or approaching it, and display personalized content and answers accordingly. The interface will change automatically depending on who is using the device, and there will be a mode for visitors that hides personal information.

The smart home hub will identify users by their voice or facial recognition, but the latter system is said to be less reliable than Face ID, and users will be able to enable a secondary authentication method via an iPhone if they wish. The iPhone will also serve as a fallback solution for when the hub cannot identify a user correctly. In dark rooms, a Mac-style Edge Light feature will illuminate the area around the screen to help the camera recognize the user.

The device purportedly blends interface elements of the Apple Watch, Apple TV, and iPad. Siri AI continues to feature the same dark visual style used on other devices. iPhone-style widgets are available and users can choose a wallpaper and rearrange apps and widgets by pressing and holding them, just like Apple's other devices.

The UI is heavily built around slideshows and clock displays, similar to the revamped StandBy Mode on the iPhone Duo. One clock is said to resemble "a lava lamp with an overlay of the time that shows the hour in digital form with minutes listed below." Users can then swipe up from the clock screen or photos to open the app launcher.

The device will include many of Apple's most frequently used apps, including Calendar, Messages, Photos, ‌FaceTime‌, Notes, Reminders, Music and Podcasts. The Home Screen features Apple Watch-style apps that open into iPad-style interfaces with multiple panels. For example, the Messages app has a two-panel layout like it does on the ‌iPad‌. When a user taps a thread in their list of conversations, a second pane opens to display the conversation feed. This interface is said to carry over to many of the other default apps.

The device is reportedly set to be introduced on Tuesday, October 13, alongside new HomePod mini and ‌Apple TV‌ models.
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Apple plans to introduce a series of new smart home products on Tuesday, October 13, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.


Apple reportedly plans to debut its long-awaited smart home hub device, a new HomePod mini, and a new Apple TV on the date. The new ‌HomePod mini‌ and ‌Apple TV‌ are set to retain their existing designs, but tout faster chips to support Siri AI. The new ‌HomePod mini‌ will also come in new color options, including pink and green.

All three products are set to showcase ‌Siri‌ AI, which apparently explains the delay in their launch. All three were originally planned to launch in 2024.

Apple plans to update the larger HomePod at a later date. A privacy-focused home security camera and sensor is also in the works; the device can detect which room a person is in and does not record video. Apple also continues to work on a higher-end version of the smart home hub, featuring a 9-inch display mounted on a robotic arm that can swivel 360 degrees.

Gurman set out a range of details about the smart home hub device in the report, which we've outlined in another article.
This article, "Three New Apple Smart Home Products Coming on October 13" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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