TechRadar Publishes Apple Watch Series 12 Review Under Jacob Krol Byline

The text published alongside the review, as available, consists of Krol's biography rather than the assessment itself. According to that text, Krol oversees the site's daily content rollout and coordinates with section leads, and he joined TechRadar in May 2024, working from New York City.

Before joining TechRadar, the biography states, Krol was senior editor for technology and commerce at TheStreet, covering consumer technology products from pre-orders to deals, with reviews, analysis and features in between. He was a founding member of CNN Underscored, where he built and grew the electronics section, helped build out social media channels, programmed the homepage and established protocols for testing products for one-off reviews and best-of guides.

Earlier in his career he was a tech writer at Mashable, covering news, reviews and evergreen content. The biography says he has experience covering Apple, Samsung, Google and Microsoft, and has tested smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, smart home gadgets, speakers, earbuds, headphones, televisions and newer devices such as smart glasses.

Krol holds a Bachelor of Arts in media and communication, cum laude, with a minor in innovation and entrepreneurship, from Muhlenberg College. While on campus he interned at CNET, Fox News, CNN and CNBC, and ran his own technology blog, NJTechReviews, which he founded in 2010.

The headline's use of "mainline" indicates that the review concerns the standard model rather than another variant in the range. The material published with the review does not set out testing methodology, specifications, pricing or a verdict beyond the framing of the headline, and no benchmark figures or product comparisons were included in the text available.

TechRadar's review appeared on 23 October 2026, with the question of whether the Series 12 is the strongest standard Apple Watch in years stated in the headline itself.