The Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 have 4 GB of RAM. The Series 11 and Ultra 3 have 2 GB, so the value has doubled. This value can be seen in Apple's developer tool Xcode 27.
Both new models run on the S11 chip, which Apple considers its most powerful wearable chip. Apple showcased the other new features in detail at the keynote on September 9th: the new health tracking system, the daily fitness score, and Ceramic Shield 2 on the aluminum cases. The differences between the Series 12 and Series 11 therefore lie primarily in the sensors, glass, and battery life.
MacRumors obtained the memory configuration from Xcode 27, the developer tool that lists the specifications of supported devices.
Key Facts at a Glance
- The Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 each have 4 GB of RAM.
- The Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 come with 2 GB – a jump of double the storage capacity.
- This information comes from Xcode 27, and therefore from a released developer version.
- The starting prices in Germany remain at 449 euros and 899 euros.
- The storage system is working on adding features that will be released later in the year and will initially run in English.
Four gigabytes in the S11 chip
Xcode lists the specifications of each supported device, including its RAM. In version 27, the list shows 4 GB for both the Series 12 and Ultra 4. The same list shows 2 GB for the two previous models.
With this upgrade, Apple has increased the storage capacity along with the chip change. The Series 11 and Ultra 3 still use the S10 chip, while the new models use the S11 chip, which Apple explicitly links to the upcoming audio features in its announcement.
The Apple Watch Ultra 4 features the same upgrade with its longer battery life – unlike the chip and sensors, there is no difference in storage between the Sport and Standard models.
What the storage is used for
Apple has announced two features for the S11 chip that are expected to be released this year. Sound recognition will alert you to sirens, alarms, a doorbell, or a crying baby, even without an iPhone nearby. Shazam will automatically recognize playing music and display the title and artist in the Music Recognition widget in the Smart Stack.
In addition, there are two features related to spoken language: Live Rewind displays the last 15 seconds of speech as text, and Siri Recap summarizes conversations. The audio data is processed by a hardware-separated section of the S11 chip; according to Apple, no recordings are made in the process.
Apple explicitly links these features to the energy-efficient always-on processor of the S11 chip. The also new heart rate measurement every five seconds, however, is attributed by Apple to the revised health detection system.
German prices remain where they were
Memory is the component driving up device prices this year. This isn't the case with watches: the Series 12 and Ultra 4 are launching in Germany at the same price point as their predecessors a year ago.
| Model | RAM | Starting price Germany |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Watch Series 12 | 4 GB | 449 euros |
| Apple Watch Series 11 | 2 GB | 449 euros |
| Apple Watch Ultra 4 | 4 GB | 899 euros |
| Apple Watch Ultra 3 | 2 GB | 899 euros |
Apple mentions €449 in its German press release for the Apple Watch Series 12, and €899 in its press release for the Apple Watch Ultra 4. Both models thus launch at the same price point for the second year in a row, while the RAM has doubled.
It will take a while before German is added
The storage is there, but the features aren't. Apple has announced that sound recognition, Shazam, Live Rewind, and Siri Recap will be available later this year. Siri AI will arrive with watchOS 27 on September 14th, but only as a beta and initially only in English; French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish will follow in October. German is not on that list.
Apple Intelligence itself, however, is available in German – the language support of Apple Intelligence and that of Siri AI are two different things.
Anyone ordering the new watch in the coming days will therefore be paying for an upgrade that the watch will only fully utilize in this country after some time. At least it won't be charged extra: the surcharge that storage is incurring everywhere else this year doesn't appear on the watch's price tag.
Is it enough for you to buy hardware whose features will only be available later and initially only in English, or will you wait until noise recognition and Siri Recap are available in German? Let us know in the comments what you're waiting for.
