Apple's "Audio Intelligence" features for the Apple Watch are entering beta testing for developers in iOS 27.3, following the technology's September announcement. The features roll out to Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4.
Four opt-in AI features ship with the beta. Sound recognition helps deaf and hard-of-hearing users identify sirens, alarms, or doorbells. Song recognition taps Shazam to identify music. The other two features listen to conversations: Live Rewind and Siri Recaps.
Live Rewind lets users double-press the digital crown to view the last 15 seconds of a conversation as text on the watch face. The snippet disappears after 30 seconds unless saved to the Siri app. An audible chime and animation signal to nearby people that audio was captured. Users can tap an "Ask Siri" option to ask questions about the recorded snippet.
Siri Recaps summarizes conversations into short sentences and bullet points identifying key information like dates, pricing, or deadlines. Apple does not identify speakers, save raw audio, or provide word-for-word transcriptions. The feature omits sensitive data including government identifiers, financial information, and language promoting self-harm. Users review saved recaps at day's end or the following morning and can save them to Notes or Journal apps. Recaps delete after seven days if not saved. Users can enable recaps manually or set schedules like work-only operation.
The features rely on the S11 chip, built-in microphone, secure enclave hardware, and Apple Intelligence models running on the paired iPhone. Raw audio processes in the secure enclave without accessibility to the rest of the operating system. Lightweight AI models detect conversations on the watch, then transfer audio to the iPhone's secure enclave for processing into condensed text. Encrypted condensed text goes to Apple's Private Cloud Compute for recap creation. Apple deletes recaps from PCC immediately after creation. Users can only access saved recaps, which remain encrypted across Apple devices.
Apple says the features will not impact battery life. Public beta testing will follow before general availability.