Apple's new Audio Intelligence tools are in developer beta, letting some Apple Watch models show recent speech as text and summarize talks into notes.
Apple is testing a way for your watch to show you what someone just said. Double-press the digital crown and the last 15 seconds of speech appear as text on the screen. The feature is part of Apple's Audio Intelligence tools, which started beta testing with developers in the iOS 27.3 update. Apple first announced them at its Surprise and Shine event in September.
Audio Intelligence is a set of four features, and each one is opt-in, so nothing runs unless you turn it on. They are built for the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4.
Say a waiter reads a long list of specials, or someone gives you directions. A double-press of the crown shows the last 15 seconds as a text snippet. If you do nothing, it disappears for good after 30 seconds. You can also save it to the Siri app for later. An "Ask Siri" option lets you ask about a term or dish you do not know.
A chime and an animation play when you double-press. Apple says the gesture, sound and visual together tell people nearby that something was captured.
Recaps go further. They write a short sentence and a few bullet points, such as dates, deadlines or prices. Apple says it does not identify speakers, keep raw audio or give word-for-word transcripts. Suggested uses include work meetings, parent-teacher conferences and training sessions.
At the end of the day, you are asked to review your recaps and pick which to keep. You can save them to Notes, or send personal ones to Journal. Unsaved recaps delete within seven days. You can run recaps all the time or on a schedule, and switch them off from Control Center. They do not record while you use headphones for music or noise cancellation.
Apple says raw audio is processed in a protected part of the watch's chip, and only the paired iPhone can access it. The iPhone turns speech into condensed text. That text is encrypted and sent to Apple's Private Cloud Compute to build the recap. Apple says the recap and its working summaries are deleted from there right away.
Apple also says recaps are designed to leave out sensitive details, including government-assigned identifiers, financial and authentication data, and certain personal identifiers.
The material does not say when the features will reach the public or whether they cost anything extra. For now, only developers can test them, and only on the two watch models named above.
If you own a Series 12 or Ultra 4, these features are opt-in, so check the privacy details before you turn them on once they reach everyone.
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