Apple

May 11, 2026AW-0058Partly right

Instant Digital: Watch battery beats Touch ID

Instant Digital claimed that Apple was prioritising larger batteries and health sensors over Touch ID.

Instant Digital, a Chinese leaker, said Apple is prioritizing larger batteries and better health sensors for the Apple Watch over adding Touch ID, letting users keep unlocking via a paired iPhone instead.

How to read this record

  1. What was reportedInstant Digital claimed that Apple was prioritising larger batteries and health sensors over Touch ID.
  2. Who said it, and whenInstant Digital reported it on May 11, 2026 in MacRumors.
  3. What happened, and whenApple Watch Series 12 / Ultra 4 was announced on Sep 9, 2026, 121 days after this report.
  4. The verdict, and whyPartly rightSome of this was right and some of it was not.Why: Two of three held: Apple prioritised health sensing, with an all-new Health Sensing System, and did not ship Touch ID. The larger battery did not follow — Series 12 is rated at the same 24 hours as Series 11. What the company published
What do these words mean?
Right
It turned out the way this report said.
Partly right
Some of this was right and some of it was not.
Wrong
It did not turn out this way.
Moving target
This was right about the plan at the time. The company then changed it.
Never settled
The company has announced the product and nobody ever confirmed or denied this.
Not comparable
This measured a different thing from the number the company published, so the two cannot be compared.
No outcome yet
Nothing has happened yet that would prove this right or wrong.
Not checked yet
The company has answered this. We have not finished checking this one.
Checked
Checked means the company has since given an answer and we compared it with what was reported. Details still waiting on an answer, details nothing can settle, details where the plan itself changed, and details we have not finished reviewing are all counted separately and are not part of that number.
Moving target
A moving target is a report that described the plan accurately at the time, on a product the company then changed. We count these on their own: it would flatter a reporter to call them right, and it would blame a reporter for a decision that was not theirs to call them wrong.
Reported by
Instant Digital
We read it in
MacRumors
Product
Apple Watch Series 12 / Ultra 4
Read it at MacRumors Read the original

The story of this report

  1. May 11, 2026Instant Digital reported it · MacRumors
  2. Sep 9, 2026Apple Watch Series 12 / Ultra 4 was announced
  3. VerdictPartly rightWhat it means, and why, is in the box above.

Who reported it

Instant Digital · Leaker

27 reports in the Reporting Record. Of the 6 we have checked, 3 held up. The other 21 are not part of that number: 2 never settled, 2 not comparable, 17 no outcome yet.

Every report from Instant Digital

Questions about this report

Did this Apple Watch Series 12 / Ultra 4 report turn out to be true?
Partly right. Some of this was right and some of it was not. Two of three held: Apple prioritised health sensing, with an all-new Health Sensing System, and did not ship Touch ID. The larger battery did not follow — Series 12 is rated at the same 24 hours as Series 11.
Who reported it first?
Instant Digital reported it on May 11, 2026 in MacRumors.
How far ahead of the announcement was it?
That was 121 days before Apple Watch Series 12 / Ultra 4 was announced on Sep 9, 2026.