Apple in September, simultaneous with the introduction of the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, unveiled a set of microphone-based features called Audio Intelligence. Two features-sound recognition and music identification with Shazam-were available from the start, but two other features are now being introduced to users with the release of the watchOS 27.3 beta.
According to ITna citing GSMarena, the Live Replay feature allows users to view the last 15 seconds of conversation text on the watch display by pressing the Digital Crown twice. This feature is useful for moments when the user did not hear part of someone else’s speech correctly, such as a restaurant’s daily orders or an address. The displayed text can then be asked about via Siri or saved in the Siri app. Otherwise, the text is deleted about 30 seconds after the display dims.
Activation of this feature is accompanied by an alert sound and a full-screen animation with a microphone indicator; even if the watch is in silent mode or headphones are connected.
Siri Summaries has a broader function and takes notes of conversations throughout the day. After the conversation ends, a title, brief summary, and key points are shown in the Recaps section of the Siri app. This feature does not provide the full conversation text and does not separate speakers from each other. Apple says sensitive information such as financial data and government IDs are removed from summaries. These data are automatically deleted after seven days unless the user saves them.
Apple emphasized that no raw audio files are recorded. Live Replay processing is performed on-device, but Siri Summaries sends a condensed version of the conversation text for processing to Private Cloud Compute.
Both features are optional and require an Apple Watch Series 12 or Ultra 4, along with an iPhone 16 or later models (except iPhone 16e) equipped with Apple Intelligence. These features currently support only English and are not available for people under 13 years old. Also at launch, users in the European Union cannot use them due to Siri AI access limitations.