Apple introduced a set of audio intelligence features for the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 at its latest launch, with the most anticipated being a meeting transcription tool that organizes conversation content. The new feature, called Siri Recap, generates conversation titles, summaries, and key points, which users can then view in the Siri app.
Can generate conversation summaries
According to Apple, this feature refines conversation content through ambient listening but does not save full recordings. Users can choose to keep it always on, enable it on a schedule, or turn it off entirely.
Apple states that the system does not save the original recordings, and the original audio cannot be accessed. Siri Recap also does not identify speakers, making it more akin to an automatic summarization tool than a traditional speech-to-text product.
Sync voice recognition
In addition to conversation summaries, Apple has brought more audio recognition capabilities to the watch, including integrated Shazam song identification, allowing users to quickly identify music playing around them.
The Apple Watch can also detect environmental sounds such as sirens, alarms, doorbells, or baby cries and notify the user. This means the watch’s audio capabilities are expanding from voice assistants to environmental awareness.
Supports 15-second content review
Apple has also introduced a feature called Live Rewind. After double-pressing the Digital Crown, users can review the previous 15 seconds of conversation. Apple states that this replay content is end-to-end encrypted.
However, even though Apple has implemented designs such as not storing recordings and restricting access to raw audio, always-on listening features may still spark privacy concerns, as conversation summaries could still contain sensitive information.
Additional information: From a product perspective, Siri Recap is similar to meeting transcription tools such as Granola and Circleback, which have already released Apple Watch apps.