Apple officially began rolling out a controversial new tool that turns an Apple Watch into an AI-driven, always-listening device.
Apple first announced the Apple Watch Series 12, and its AI-infused Siri features, at its fall hardware event, Surprise and Shine, back in September. Two key new features were unveiled under the name Audio Intelligence, and both sound like privacy nightmares.
First there is Live Rewind, which allows Apple Watch owners to double press the digital crown button to get a transcript of the last 15 seconds of any conversation in the watch’s vicinity. The second is called Siri Recap, and it relies on ambient listening to constantly eavesdrop on a user’s daily conversations and create summaries, key points, and other notes.
Both features are concerning, and potentially even illegal in some states, due to the fact that people being discreetly recorded by these Apple Watches won’t be able to openly give consent. Apple seems aware of the potential ethical issue it has on its hands, as it has tried to circumvent it by promising strict omission of personal identifiers and other privacy protections such as an audible chime and a visible animation on the screen when Live Rewind is activated. But other AI-recording-enabled devices, most notably Meta’s smart glasses which have been widely criticized and dubbed “pervert glasses” online, have also tried to add similar features to alert bystanders if they are being recorded, which were bypassed by doggedly determined perverts.
The Apple Watch Series 12 launched weeks ago without the two controversial features. Then, finally on Tuesday, Apple officially began rolling out the first developer beta version of iOS 27.3 and watchOS 27.3, which host both of these features. The features are not yet in their final form, but the rollout means that select users will now have access to the feature at its most basic. So if you wanted a heads up to start being wary about what you say around Apple Watch Series 12 wearers, this is your final warning.
The full public rollout isn’t scheduled until December, but early reviews give a glimpse in to how the features will work. Both features have to be manually enabled and TechCrunch notes that any of the snippets you recover via Live Rewind can be saved as note on the standalone Siri app. If you don’t save them via Siri, then the snippets are deleted after 30 seconds. The high-level notes and summaries that Siri Recaps compiles can also be saved on to the iPhone, particularly in the Notes app, or they will be deleted within seven days, TechCrunch reports.
The features are also currently unavailable in the European Union, a decision that Apple made months ago. The company is blaming strict EU tech regulations.
“Apple is working constructively with the EU in an attempt to find a path forward,” Apple said in a release.
