Apple's new Watch features can transcribe nearby conversations. They are in early testing now, and people near a wearer cannot opt out.
Apple has started testing two Apple Watch features that listen to the room. Live Rewind can show a written transcript of the last 15 seconds of a conversation. Siri Recap builds summaries of a person's day from what it hears. Both arrived Tuesday in a developer beta, an early test version, with a full release planned for December.
Apple groups them under the name Audio Intelligence. With Live Rewind, the wearer double presses the digital crown, the dial on the side of the watch, to get the transcript. Siri Recap relies on ambient listening, meaning it picks up daily conversations in the background, then produces summaries, key points and other notes.
Apple first showed them in September, alongside the Apple Watch Series 12. The watch went on sale weeks ago without them.
Both features must be turned on by the owner. Live Rewind snippets can be saved as a note in the standalone Siri app. Otherwise, TechCrunch reports, they are deleted after 30 seconds.
Siri Recap notes and summaries can be saved to the iPhone, including in the Notes app. If they are not saved, they are deleted within seven days.
The wearer chooses to use these tools. The people around them do not. Anyone talking near the watch could be transcribed without agreeing to it. Gizmodo says that could even be illegal in some states, though the material does not say which ones.
Apple says it will strictly leave out personal identifiers. Live Rewind also plays an audible chime and shows an animation on the watch screen. Gizmodo points out that Meta's smart glasses added similar alerts for bystanders, and some people found ways around them. How well Apple's safeguards hold up is not yet known.
The features are not offered in the European Union. Apple decided that months ago and blames strict EU tech rules. The company said it is working constructively with the EU to find a path forward.
Both features are off by default, but anyone near a Series 12 wearer could be transcribed once they are switched on, so think before sharing sensitive talk.
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