Apple Watch can now listen to conversations and summarize them
What's the story
At its latest event, Apple has unveiled a new feature for the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4. The feature, dubbed Siri Recap, is part of a suite of audio intelligence capabilities. It uses ambient listening technology to take high-level notes of conversations. The company claims that Apple Intelligence will automatically generate a title, summary, and key points from the conversation for later review in the Siri app.
Feature details
Privacy concerns over always-listening capability
Along with Siri Recap, Apple also introduced Shazam for song identification and a feature that alerts users about loud sounds. The latter can detect sirens, alarms, doorbells, or even a crying baby.
Another feature called Live Rewind lets users recap 15 seconds of conversation by double-pressing the Digital Crown.
However, the always-listening capability may raise privacy concerns as it could capture sensitive information in its summaries.
Design and durability
New health sensing system for accurate heart rate tracking
The new Apple Watch models come in several finishes, including space gray, black, gold, dark bronze aluminum, natural titanium, and gold titanium.
There's also a ceramic case option in white and dark blue.
The Series 12 features Ceramic Shield 2 cover glass that's 60% tougher than before.
Health features
Daily readiness score and background heart rate readings
The new Apple Watch models will also offer a daily readiness score, indicating how well-rested users are.
Background heart rate readings are now taken every five seconds throughout the day, with heart rate variability sampled as often as every five minutes.
The Ultra model promises up to 50 hours of battery life and faster charging times.
Preorders for both models start Wednesday, with availability in stores from September 18.