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Apple Watch Series 12 has subtle design change that Apple didn’t mention
Apple Watch Series 12 arrives this Friday (pre-order here), but some upgraders might be surprised by a subtle design change that Apple didn’t mention in its announcement: larger bezels around the display.
If you track the history of Apple product design, one clear trend is that the company likes to reduce bezels around the display as much as possible.
Over time, the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch have all progressively shrunk the bezels for a design that puts all focus on the display.
But with Apple Watch Series 12, the reverse is happening as bezels increase slightly.
Per Apple’s website, here’s the breakdown of case sizes for Series 12 compared to the last two models:
As you can see, while Apple Watch Series 12 has the same case height as its predecessors, the width is slightly larger. Per this comparison page though, all three models have the same display sizes.
What this means is that compared to previous models, Apple Watch Series 12’s display is slightly undersized for its larger case size. As a result, it has more noticeable bezels around the display.
Series 12 packs a ton of internal upgrades, like the new Health Sensing System and S11 chip. So it’s unsurprising that the case size would need to change some.
But if you’re upgrading from a recent Apple Watch model, just know that the design might look like a small step backwards rather than following the standard trend of shrinking bezels.
What do you think of Apple’s decision to increase bezel size on Apple Watch Series 12? Let us know in the comments.