Apple Watch Series 12 adds "Audio Intelligence" to track key phrases in conversations

Apple announced Watch Series 12 with "Audio Intelligence," a feature designed to listen to and track key phrases in user conversations, at its traditional early September event. The feature includes "Rewind," letting users double-tap the Digital Crown for a transcript of the previous 15 seconds, and post-chat summaries via Siri. Apple claims it is customizable, ignores private information, stores no audio files, and processes all data locally on the S11 chip. It launches later in 2026, requires an iPhone 16 or newer, and will not work in the EU due to regional legal restrictions. The watch also acts as an extra ear for people with disabilities, alerting to sounds like crying or alarms, and runs Shazam in the background. The Series 12 features an upgraded sensor platform with a larger ECG electrode and improved PPG photodiodes for more accurate heart rate tracking.