Apple Watch Audio Intelligence: Siri Recap and Live Rewind enter developer beta

Centre · 2Apple's Audio Intelligence features for the Apple Watch have begun beta testing, first for developers in the iOS 27.3 update. 1 2 Centre · 2Apple announced the features in September, at its Surprise and Shine hardware event alongside the Series 12 and Ultra 4, but held them back until after the watches launched. 1 2 Centre · 1TechCrunch describes four opt-in features: detecting important sounds such as sirens, alarms or doorbells for deaf and hard-of-hearing users, identifying songs through Shazam, catching up on conversations, and taking notes. 1

Centre · 2Both outlets single out the two features that listen to conversations, Live Rewind and Siri Recap, as potentially controversial. To try them, users update their iPhone to the iOS 27.3 developer beta and then update the watch. 1 2 Centre · 2With Live Rewind, double-pressing the Digital Crown shows a text snippet of the last 15 seconds of conversation, with a chime and an animation to signal that it is in use. The snippet is shown for 30 seconds and deleted unless the user saves it to the Siri app or taps an option to ask Siri about it. 1 2 Centre · 2Siri Recap summarizes a conversation in a short sentence and bullet points covering key points such as dates, deadlines, prices and action items. According to TechCrunch, Apple says it does not identify speakers, save raw audio or provide word-for-word transcriptions. 1 2

Centre · 2Users review recaps at the end of the day and can save them to Notes or export them to Journal. Unsaved recaps delete themselves within seven days. 1 2 Centre · 2Siri Recap can be switched on manually or on a schedule, such as at work, and turned off at any time from Control Center. It does not run during phone or FaceTime calls or when music or earbuds are in use. ZDNET adds that it does not work when AirPods or other Bluetooth devices are in use, and that a daily morning notification tells the user it is on. 1 2 Centre · 2Apple says Siri Recap is designed to omit sensitive material such as government-assigned identifiers, financial and authentication data, personal identifiers and language promoting self-harm. ZDNET adds that it names a person only if they introduce themselves or are regularly mentioned. 1 2

Centre · 2The features run on the watch's S11 chip, with audio held in a secure enclave and passed to the paired iPhone through a secure pairing mechanism. The iPhone converts it to condensed text with filler words removed, and that text is encrypted and sent to Apple's Private Cloud Compute to produce the recap. TechCrunch says the recap and related summaries are deleted from Private Cloud Compute immediately afterwards. 1 2 Centre · 2Both outlets say the design means no one, including Apple, can access the raw audio. The outlets describe Live Rewind's processing differently: TechCrunch says the watch transfers audio to the iPhone to create the snippets, while ZDNET says it is processed on the device and not sent to Apple. 1 2 Centre · 2Both outlets present the features as a privacy concern that Apple has tried to address. TechCrunch points to the backlash against AI recording devices such as Meta's AI glasses. ZDNET calls the worry about an always-listening watch "a fair concern" and notes that the features are off by default. 1 2

Centre · 1TechCrunch says the features will later reach the public beta for broader testing before general availability. Apple says they should not affect the battery life of the watch or phone. 1