[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong] Apple may apply changes to the Apple Watch Series 12 it will introduce this fall, potentially centered on performance, battery and health features.

According to the IT media outlet 9to5Mac on Tuesday, this year's model is expected to focus on an actual chip upgrade and improved battery life.

The most notable change being discussed is a new chip. The Apple Watch Series 9, 10 and 11 have effectively used the same family of chips, but Series 12 could include a new chip with a clearer performance improvement for the first time in a while. Macworld pointed out that the last time Apple introduced a truly new processor for the Apple Watch was the Apple Watch Series 9 in 2023. That upgrade led to faster central processing unit and graphics processing unit performance.

That change is also linked to future artificial intelligence features. Apple is being discussed as introducing Siri AI to the Apple Watch through watchOS 27, and some observers say strengthening device performance has become more important in that flow. It means a chip improvement should come first if the Apple Watch is to handle more on-device functions beyond simple notifications.

Battery is also cited as a major change for Series 12. Apple is known to be pursuing improvements in other components' power efficiency along with a plan to increase the battery's physical capacity. The extension of battery life was also presented as having become a higher priority as the Apple Watch continues to expand functions such as sleep tracking.

In health features, a hypertension-related function is drawing attention. DigiTimes reported that Apple submitted a new hypertension alert function for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the FDA. A hypertension alert function was added in the existing watchOS 26, but it has not yet been confirmed how the new function will differ from the current method.

The current Apple Watch hypertension function does not display an actual blood pressure value. It alerts users when a "hypertension pattern" is detected during a 30-day evaluation period based on data collected by the heart rate sensor. A non-invasive blood glucose measurement function is also still under development, but it was reported to be years away from commercialization.

On the software side, a new watch face is also being discussed. Bloomberg reported that Apple is developing a new watch face in the form of a "simplified Modular Ultra design." It is a version of the Modular Ultra face, which became popular on the Apple Watch Ultra, refined for regular series models, and it is seen as likely to be introduced alongside the Series 12 unveiling event. This watch face could later be expanded to other Apple Watch models.

By contrast, the possibility of including Touch ID, which was once raised, appears to have diminished. Recent outlooks say Apple is known to have dropped the feature. That appears to reflect a view that a larger battery and new health functions are the priority.

Series 12 is expected to be unveiled in September along with the Apple Watch Ultra 4. That is drawing attention to whether this update will be a generational change that places more weight on reinforcing performance, battery and health functions than on changes to the exterior.