Apple has opened beta testing for two Audio Intelligence features on the Apple Watch, Siri Recap and Live Rewind, both of which require the watchOS 27.3 beta and one of the newest wearables. The company first announced the capabilities in September alongside the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, the only two models that support them. Users who install the beta build can begin trying the features now, though they remain in testing rather than general release.
Siri Recap produces short summaries of conversations, with Apple Intelligence generating a title and the main points. Those summaries can be retrieved from the Siri app when a wearer wants a reminder of what was discussed. Live Rewind addresses a narrower problem: when someone misses or does not understand something that was just said, the feature converts the previous 15 seconds of conversation into text. A double-press of the Digital Crown brings up that snippet, and the wearer can then ask Siri about the text or save it for later viewing in the Siri app. Apple points to situations such as airport announcements or presentations as examples of where this might help.
The features rely on the microphones in the Series 12 and Ultra 4, which can continuously pick up ambient audio, a design choice that is likely to draw privacy scrutiny. Those same microphones support other Audio Intelligence functions, including sound recognition for alarms and a crying infant and faster Shazam song detection. Apple says the features do not record or store audio. According to the company, the S11 chip inside these watch models processes audio separately from the rest of the device and deletes it immediately, and Apple says neither its operating systems nor apps, users or Apple itself can access the raw audio.
Apple says users can opt out of each feature, some of which must be switched on manually. Audio Intelligence does not identify or attribute speakers in a conversation, according to the company. Apple also says that even when an Apple Watch is set to silent, Live Rewind plays a chime while it is in use and the display shows an animation and a microphone indicator. For Siri Recap, Apple says summaries will not display sensitive information such as financial details.
Using either feature requires more than the watch. A compatible iPhone with Apple Intelligence turned on is also needed, meaning an iPhone 16 or later, though not the iPhone 16e. Siri Recap and Live Rewind will launch in English only and will not be available in the EU at the outset. Both are also subject to daily usage limits. For US buyers of the Series 12 and Ultra 4, the beta offers an early look at software that is still in testing ahead of a wider release.
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