Apple Watch Series 12 vs. Ultra 4: Is It Worth the Upgrade?

Yeah, go ahead. Explain your to flesh out your your reasoning there, Adam. >> Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, it's just a couple things. Um, I mean, upgraded health sensors, obviously, you know, my thing's a few years old, but it does most of the things that I want it to do. I mean, it does the sleep tracking, it does the trending, it does heart rate monitoring, it does EKG, like a lot of the things that already have, but >> be nicer to have the more modern sensors. I like the idea, especially that that I'm older, of it monitoring more frequently and the heart rate variance stuff is probably pretty good. >> Um, which I wouldn't have, you know, I don't have currently. >> Um, the longer battery life, I mean, my battery I if I don't get a new watch, I probably should get the battery replaced because it definitely doesn't last a full day anymore. >> Yep. >> Um, you know, I charge it in the morning. I I wear it at night, I charge it in the morning, and it's pretty pretty much dying somewhere in the middle of the middle of the night. Um, so I'm not getting a full 24 hours out of it. >> Uh, again, I'm just kind of overdue. And then on top of it, thing that really intrigued me, although I'm having a hard time thinking that I would really use it that frequently, but it was all of the they call it audio intelligence. Is that what they called it? I can't remember what what name Apple gave me. Yeah, audio intelligence. You're you're absolutely right. Yeah. >> So, uh there's a cool feature where um it is constantly listening AI recording and we can go into thoughts on that too. Obviously, it's some it's a feature that can be disabled or enabled, but um so it has I forget what the gesture was, but I think you can double tap something or tap something. >> I think it's the crown. you dub the crown or something like that and it will rewind 15 seconds uh if you missed hearing something. >> Live rewind is the feature. >> Live rewind give you a transcript. >> Um and then >> it you can also have it always on and it will give you a full daily summary. I forget what they call this of all >> Siri recap >> recap of everything that all the conversations you had. Yeah. No, that's great. No, no. I I shouldn't have I should have said Sbot recap, not [laughter] I will get there. I I'm trying. We're trying. Yes, >> the recap. Yeah. And so it'll give you a full like thing of your day or you can also uh it sounds like turn that on and off when you want. There's also a um an icon I think in your control center where you can just turn it on for a one time use. Basically, it it would act like one of these little AI note devices that people have now that are like standalone little devices that you can put on a table, record a conversation, then get a get a notes summary of it. So, that sounds like intriguing and cool to me, too. Again, how much am I going to actually use it? I don't know. The one place where it might come in really handy and I have to see how well it did with this is uh you know I do theater now so like presumably I could wear it during rehearsals and then it could help me with my lines potentially. Um if you have access to the recording I would want access to the recordings. >> Yeah. Yeah. with with this they they said for obviously for live rewind it's got the actual recording there for the espot recap um ambient listening is going to give you title summary and key points and they made it I believe very clear that the recordings were never stored it's just kind of doing that >> assume it's device device device only I remember >> and if you can't get it they can't get it >> probably probably what it's doing is taking a transcript in real time and and then processing it and and dumping it, right? >> Yeah, exactly. Y >> So, Espot AI um too, just having better more access to to that probably. >> Um although I would presume that's still only mostly happening on device anyway. So, I don't know how that impacts. But I mean, >> at the end of the day, my my my Series 6 is definitely like I haven't looked at what its actual status is, but I mean, it's it's pretty much end of life. I think it is still running the latest watch OS, but obviously not all the features, not all the functionality. So, >> yep, >> that's where I'm at with it. Yeah, Apple's um the the the in terms of the audio intelligence thing, uh Apple's slide said that the audio is not recorded nor stored. Audio can't be accessed, speakers are not identified, and this is where it gets a little bit nebulous. Syncing is endtoend encrypted. Now, the question is what are they syncing? [laughter] and and the the presumption or the interpretation of that is that it is uh the summaries as we mentioned and any transcripts are end to end encrypted. So that which makes sense that you know it's more that way goes into because I that came up a number of times with uh Espot AI and I think it's related to the app itself. So if you want your conversations synced and your interactions synced across the sady app, >> I think that's what's being encrypted end. So >> when it's going between your devices and stuff like that. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That it does. It it makes sense. Um I I will you know it it they showed some examples of you know the the summary of how how that's going to look and you can see it on your phone and you can you know see what your general thing was. So, um, >> yeah. So, again, my my dilemma is like these are all really cool features and things I think I would enjoy, but the question becomes when, >> you know, I'm trying to save for retirement and do a bunch of other things and [laughter] want to have a certain amount of safety buffer in my bank account. Like, >> yep. >> Wants versus needs, I guess, is what >> Oh, yeah. These are all these are all champagne problems. I don't I probably don't need it, so it could get cut from my list, but >> Yep. >> I also feel like I've waited six years. It's not like I'm buying a new a new one every year. >> No, which I used to do. >> The Apple Watch is not a new one every year for most people. Certainly not for me. And I I think the same is true for you, Pete. Uh yeah, >> but >> I actually got a point or two on that. Yeah, I I was leaning towards the series 12 if I was going to get a new watch and and that um the audio intelligence. I think it's a terrible name. I I think it should be audible intelligence, right? Because it's not intelligence about audio. It is intelligence that is >> what you hear >> you Yes. about what it hears, right? You know, but Yeah. >> But then you get a lawsuit from Amazon and then you got to deal with that. >> Oh, yeah. That's true. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's fair. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Uh but anyway, dumb names aside, they're they're they're in stone now. Uh so I Yes, the new health sensors that are, you know, what you know, 20 times taking readings more frequently and like that, like you said, that's a that's a good thing. Um the that that that the Espot recap is something I have used other wearables that do that sort of thing and for the right like you said you have to have a use case where it's valuable um for me like going to conferences and being able to just have meetings and have the the transcript of the meeting there just like you get with a Zoom meeting now is freaking amazing. In fact, I turned yesterday when the keynote started. I turned on I launched the Zoom app on my computer. I was just in the room. I was watching it on my Apple TV. So, it was coming out of the speakers. I turned on the Zoom app and I told it I am in a meeting. Take notes. Uh, and it started listening through my microphone and it got our my my daughter and my wife were in the room uh too watching it and we made a few like, you know, snarky comments or whatever, questions about things. >> Pick those up, did it? >> It [laughter] it did, but it it it was able to uh break them out and like that allowed me to do my show prep here without really doing any show prep. I mean, I got to look at its summary and ask it questions about it, but I didn't have to like take my own notes. I could just watch the the thing. And I took some screenshots that I've been showing every now and then here in the, you know, the uh the video of this. And and actually then I pointed the transcript and the screenshots at a Claude session and said, "Uh, rename all of these screenshots so I know what the heck they are and uh relate them. make me a summary of what went what went down and leave, you know, identify any points that they didn't clarify so that we can rename all the screenshots and relate them. So like when you were talking about the audio intelligence, I was like, "Oh, great. That's slides 101 through 105 for me. I know exactly how to pull those up on the screen." >> Like and I didn't I this literally all happened while I slept last night. So, like having having that recap at your fingertips, you know, something that's always with you. There's a there's a value there. And that's the one of the things where I'm like, "Oh, do I really want this?" Um, >> Dave, I did something similar. >> Um, and I I went to uh YouTube Apple event and I pulled down the transcript. >> Oh, you did even better than me. >> Yeah. And I fed it to Claude and said, "Look, these are the point, you know." But here's the thing, the beauty of this what why that worked for me. Instead of furiously taking notes and missing something that was said, I was able to absorb everything. >> Yes. >> As it came at me and then go and then when I went to Claude with the transcript, I said, "These are some points I want to talk about." Yes. >> And so break those out for me. And it gave me two pages of notes that that I was then able to highlight things. I'm like, "Oh, this is fantastic." It's it's so much different being able to pay attention >> yes >> to the person that you're talking with or the presentation that you're watching you know whatever the the the format of the conversation is then having to take those notes and you're right yesterday's event what a perfect for us I know most people don't watch with the notes app in front of them but you know >> they got to take notes to talk about later >> we know we're going to be doing this and yesterday I was like screw that I don't want to do that and I did I took a few notes because there were things like you said that was like oh I want to mark that down but I didn't feel obliged to capture everything and remember we were John Bronn and I and Mac Observer in general Brian Chaffen was very much a part of it he just wasn't in the room he was the one putting it up but I think we were the first website to do live updates from a keynote um you know so this has been in my bones for a long time [laughter] yesterday was the first time I didn't take notes so yeah >> yeah so and so yeah go ahead How quickly does the does a lawsuit come up over this technology and people not being disclosed that they're being recorded? >> I I think it's it's when you mentioned that it was interesting and and I think there's there's a couple of themes here with Apple um that we'll get to in terms of their them waiting the exact right amount of time. I mean, I have I I I don't love everything that Apple's done with this, but that ship has already sailed because these wearables that record all the time >> are everywhere. So, I assume when I'm having a meeting with someone that it's being record, right? So, that you know that now you can go back 10 years and people have been and they haven't. >> The legal term is no reasonable expectation of privacy. That's it. >> You know, you just don't have it anymore. So, >> yeah. Yeah, that's right. That's right. There's no Yes. In in a Now, if it's you and me in a room with a door and it's just you and me talking, Adam, and I record that conversation, regardless of my method of doing so, without telling you, and then publish that convers, you know, it's like if I use it for my own personal notes, >> Sure. I I I don't I don't think that there's a lawsuit there, right? But if I if I then take it and publish it without your permission, well, I mean, that's, you know, [clears throat] by the way, I give my consent for this episode to be published. Uh, [laughter] >> no. So, this is the classic, you know, it's going to fall on the actual laws, not the underlying technology, which I think is the right approach most of the time. I'm not going to say all the time, but the majority of the time because I think that >> we often blame the technology or the producer or try to blame the technology or producers of the technology for stuff when there's already existing laws that cover. >> Yes. >> What these laws happen with this with this information or content or whatever it might be. >> Yeah. Fair fair point. >> I um could I circle back to the watch briefly? Um >> please do. Yeah. Yeah. >> Please. So, I I'm I'm truly very interested in the Ultra 4. Uh, however, I have a 4-year-old Series 1 Ultra. I still get probably 30 hours plus out of a charge. Uh, with the fast charge, it takes me 20 to 30 minutes to get it to 100%. >> Yep. >> And it's >> 48 hours uh is what I was getting on it on the first throw round. So, >> say wait, you got to say that again because you you he cut out, right? That wasn't me. >> I froze for a second. $99 to go to Apple and get an out of warranty battery replacement on your Ultra Series 1. And so it's like, do I drop $800 on an Ultra 4 or do I drop $99 on my Ultra 1 by which by the way, I can still see my blood oxygen on the watch as opposed to having to go to my iPhone to look it up. >> I know. >> Which is, you know, get that feature back and then I'll then it might push me over the line. But uh and sadly I think that the uh their S11 chip is the hardware that's going to be required to do the audio rewind >> for sure. >> Um and so but man being being hard of hearing in noisy environments I would love audio rewind to go so I don't have to go say that again. What what did you say? I think that would be a beautiful thing for me. Um and my kids and my wife would love that. >> Yeah. Right. But [laughter] until they're willing to cough up some money for this thing, that's that's still why I'm quite not there on the watch yet. But uh although I guess so the series 12 will do the audio rewind as well, right? >> Oh, yeah, >> it will. And yeah, you So I I was thinking I didn't I've been on the fence here about which Apple Watch, right? Yeah. because like the series 12 will do everything that I need and and and all of that, but I'd been leaning towards the Ultra 4 simply because of battery life. I love the battery life of my Ultra 2, which of course has degraded in the in the years that I've had it. That's I mean, as as you know, as you would expect, >> uh but it still gets me more than a day, which is just luscious. >> Um >> great. However, your reminder that we can go to Apple and refresh our Apple Watch's batteries >> makes me think, hey, you know, if that Series 12 will do what I want when it's brand new for $300 less >> than Oh, wait. $400 less, right? Uh, let me look at my pricing grid here. >> Well, it's $449 basically because you're going to want the 46 millimeter, not the 40. Okay. So, half >> whatever, right? 40. >> Yeah. So, but still 350 bucks, right? You're right. You're you're right, Adam. Yeah. So, it'd be four Yeah. $4.49 for me versus $7.99 for me. Uh but, >> you know, that's that's three and a half battery replacements, assuming they're 99 bucks for the the Series 12. And I they might even be less for the Series 12 than they are for the Ultra. I don't know. I don't have that in front of me. So, uh, but let's assume high. Uh, you know, I'm not going to need to replace it three and a half times. So, huh. >> And while you were just talking, I looked I at 4 years old, I'm at 85% battery life, >> and it was last charged to full uh 28 hours ago, and I'm still at 22% battery. >> Yeah. >> So, I mean, the battery life on the Ultra is just amazing. >> It's great. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. It's the it it to me it's the number one reason for the Ultra. Um >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. Well, the four to me there are other people that have different reasons. I don't mean it's the it's the universal number one reason, but yes. >> Well, I would love the four. I can't justify $800 for a for a four when for 100 bucks I can replace this battery. And I love this watch. It's It's the coolest watch I've ever >> But if but if you want if you want spot recap and live rewind then you would >> Okay. And and well and let me say that about that though was uh that's was what I was going to say and I'm glad I remembered it. I I use the app and we talked about it on the show. B be e >> and be will listen and recap all kinds of things for you. Now it won't do the live rewind to my knowledge. I haven't tried. Yeah, but it does listen. Like I I turned it on yesterday and was playing with it and it it recounted a I won't call it an argument, but a discussion my wife and I had about uh the shredder and it's needing to be emptied and >> Oh, I I would I would be very cautious [laughter] about using transcripts to prove that you are right. >> Oh, why? Because she does it all the time. Although she just does it from her memory. >> [laughter] >> I've often stated I want a tattoo on her forehead that says, "Warning, this conversation is being recorded." [laughter] >> This um this conversation has gotten off the rails. I'm not going to be a part of this. >> I have one last Apple Watch question and then I think we should move on cuz we've talked about them for a really long time. Do either of you uh do uh cellular or is it just GPS only? I I I only do because I have a US mobile account and it comes with free cellular for the Apple Watch and so I turned it on. >> But candidly, I c I I don't know that I've ever actually used there have been times when I've been far away from my phone and far away from Wi-Fi and gotten, you know, a notification on my Apple Watch. So, I have I have used it. I don't know that I would have cared whether I used it or not. But but again, my use case for my Apple Watch is I am, you know, there I think there are three groups of people that buy Apple Watch Ultras. There are the people who actually do the things that the Apple Watch Ultra is built for, like the, you know, the the the hiking off the grid and like all those things. And I love that. >> Uh and the extreme stuff. Then there are people who aspire to do the extreme stuff and therefore buy one. Then maybe there's four groups. And then there's the the the fashion group, the people that like the look of the Apple Watch Ultra. And I certainly fall into that group. And then there are the people that buy it uh for the capabilities and the battery life. And so I I am in the the latter two groups that I just described. So yeah, you know, it's Yeah. Go on. >> One more question. Well, Pete, you maybe let you answer that. Pete, >> what what what was the question? I'm sorry. >> Live watch. >> Yeah. >> Oh, yeah. Um yeah, I wish I could use the live rewind. So, uh uh >> your Apple Watch, you you don't use cellular with it, right? >> I don't use cellular because of um Mint. There we go. That's the word I was looking for. So, I'm on Mint Mobile. They don't do the watch thing, but I'll tell you what I do is uh I I I have music on there uh that's set to 160 beats so I can go when I go out for a run, I listen to music and all I have on me is my watch and my AirPods. Um occasionally I'll listen to an audio book or something like that. I mean, it's it's fabulous for that. I assume that the series 10 and 11 and all that will do the same, but >> Oh, for sure. >> Yeah. So, >> yeah. So, last question. Color. if he went with a series 12. >> You guys care? >> I'm sure. You're darn You're darn right. I care. I haven't I haven't gotten that far, Adam. >> So, there's a there's kind of a couple new colors, I think. Um, >> was it bronze? >> And the bronze one. Yeah, I I have a black one now, and I might still end up with black, but yeah, the dark bronze finish looks really nice to me. But it's like one of those things. You never know the color till you actually see it. >> Yeah. Yeah. My my daughter cavaded that bronze. I'm like, "Okay, well, whatever. [laughter] I like that." >> Yeah. Yeah. But it's like rich. It looks like really >> It's It's rich. >> It It does. Yeah. I've got it up on the screen here now. The the dark bronze. Um it's it's brown. It is is probably the the the you know, the best way to describe it. I mean, it's a shiny brown, you know. Um, yeah. So, like it would work. It would not stand out in a way that would be inappropriate if you were, you know, doing like out to dinner or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. >> I'll tell you what I have in my cart now. I have I have a black one with the maroon band to hopefully match my maroon iPhone 18 Pro. >> Oh, there you go. Okay. Yeah, there you go. Yep. >> Yep. >> I think so. I was going more for the fashion side of it. It's like, "Oh, my watch will my watch will exactly match my iPhone." >> I mean, that like there's nothing wrong with that.