Apple watchOS beta includes always-on Audio Intelligence features for Siri
Two new Siri tools
The watchOS 27.3 developer beta, rolling out now, introduces Siri Recap and Live Rewind. Both features draw on audio detected by the Apple Watch microphone. Siri Recap uses ambient listening to create conversation summaries. Live Rewind produces text from the last 15 seconds of audio the watch has picked up.
Review recent conversation audio
To use Live Rewind, a person double-presses the Digital Crown. The watch then displays a text snippet of the previous 15 seconds, which can help someone catch something they missed or do not know well. Users can ask Siri about the transcript’s content or save the snippet in the Siri app to revisit later.
Apple describes privacy safeguards
Apple has published a privacy overview addressing the implications of an always-listening AI. It says raw audio is handled in dedicated hardware, is not saved as a file, and cannot be accessed by the operating system, apps, or Apple. Apple says saved Siri Recap summaries and Live Rewind snippets sync across devices with end-to-end encryption when users have iCloud with two-factor authentication and a device passcode.
Key points
- watchOS 27.3 beta adds Siri Recap and Live Rewind.
- Siri Recap uses ambient listening to summarize conversations.
- Live Rewind shows text from the last 15 seconds of detected audio.
- Apple says raw audio is not saved as a file or accessible to apps.