Apple Watch Can Now Alert You When Your Doorbell Rings

Apple Watch can now tell you when your doorbell rings. A feature called Sound Recognition, which already works on iPhone, has been extended to the new Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. The alert reaches your wrist even when your iPhone is in another room.

What it does

Sound Recognition listens for important sounds around you, such as a doorbell, siren or alarm, and sends a notification when it hears one. It can detect 15 sounds. It is built mainly for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. It also helps if you wear noise-cancelling headphones and are expecting a delivery.

If a sound is not recognized automatically, you can teach your iPhone a Custom Alarm or a Custom Appliance or Doorbell.

What you need

• An Apple Watch Series 12 or Ultra 4.
• An iPhone 11 or later, or an iPhone SE (2nd generation or later).
• iOS 27, the iPhone software, on that phone.

If you already use Sound Recognition on your iPhone, it turns on for your watch automatically. Sounds you switch on in the iPhone's Sounds list are covered when "Detect using Apple Watch" is enabled.

Privacy and limits

Apple says the listening is processed on your watch and iPhone, and audio is not recorded or stored. Apple also says not to treat it as a safety system. Do not rely on it where you could be hurt, in emergencies, or for navigation. The material does not say what the feature costs or list all 15 sounds.