Apple's new Watch Ultra 4 can listen in on your conversations and summarise them: Here's how it works

At Apple's recent event, the new Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Series 12 garnered attention for a feature that has little to do with technical specifications. This feature allows the watch to listen to conversations happening around the wearer and generate a summary of what was said. This capability is part of Apple's broader strategy to transform Siri into a more integrated digital assistant accessible via the wrist.

The two key features are Live Rewind and Siri Recap. Live Rewind transcribes the last 15 seconds of a conversation, which can be helpful for catching missed details, such as a name mentioned or a missed direction. Siri Recap goes a step further, producing a higher-level summary of the conversation, including notable quotes, enabling the user to catch up on a discussion they may have stepped away from.

Both features are expected to arrive with iOS 27 on September 14th. Apple addressed potential privacy concerns by stating that no audio recordings are stored on the device or Apple's servers. Instead, the Recap feature generates a text-based summary, not a full transcript of the conversation. Moreover, Apple claims that the Siri Recap and Live Rewind features are end-to-end encrypted, adding an extra layer of security.

However, while Apple may not be retaining the audio, the watch is always listening, and the people involved in the conversation are unaware unless the user informs them. This feature, along with the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Duo, and other announcements, is part of Apple's comprehensive AI overhaul across its product line.