Thanks to Siri Recaps, your Apple Watch is always listening as you go about your day but Apple may be risking a Meta Glasses-style backlash

Date:
Wed, 09 Sep 2026 18:10:50 +0000

Description:
Apple may not have read the room on this one, as its always-listening Siri Recaps feature comes at a time when people turn away from AI-powered surveillance wearables.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter The Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 have landed, along with a revolutionary folding iPhone at this year's Apple event , but despite major advancements under the hood, the feature that is standing out to me is a software-based one.

Siri Recaps is a new Audio Intelligence feature that turns your Apple Watch into an always-listening device. The idea is that Siri Recaps, which lives on the Siri app, uses the Apple Watch's sensors to provide a summary of your
day, including conversations that have taken place. It can be toggled with a schedule, or at the top of the Smart Stack. It's a little like the Amazon Bee , which is a microphone attached to a smart band, which is used to capture
and summarize conversations. While I can see this feature as being useful for people who attend lots of meetings (having a virtual assistant taking minutes in the background all day long could be very useful), there are
understandably privacy concerns here. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

We're told the Recaps feature doesn't record or store audio and it can't show a transcript. Instead, it processes events live as they take place, using
Siri AI to turn that raw data into actionable notes, never written into permanent storage. Below is a screenshot from Apple's presentation: (Image credit: Apple) Your watch, like a smartphone or smart speaker, already has to always listen for a wake word (like 'Siri' or 'Alexa'), but the audio it's listening to is not logged or recorded: only interactions starting with the wake word are. You may like Apple's watchOS team told me what Siri AI will bring to the Apple Watch Metas super-sensing AI glasses edge one step closer to reality 'The chicification of surveillance is deeply concerning' why our tech is getting far too close (and what you can do about it)

But add an always-listening AI assistant into the mix who's taking notes on your day-to-day, including your conversations with others who may not know they're being surveilled, and suddenly Apple's latest handy feature starts to look a lot creepier. Apple's other big new Audio Intelligence feature for watches is Live Rewind, which can produce a transcript of the last 15 seconds of audio on your watch face whether a wake word was said, or not.

I'm frankly surprised Apple even went through with this feature at this time, considering the bans and backlash other AI-powered surveillance wearables are getting. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. (Image credit: Meta / Ray-Ban) I'm thinking, of course, about Meta, and its smart glasses being banned in some public spaces and generally disparaged with
names like 'pervert glasses' . Smart glasses have obviously garnered a real stigma thanks to people drilling out the LED recording light and using them
to discreetly record inappropriately and without consent for clout, content, or their own personal use.

This has created a general feeling of malaise around wearables equipped with discreet cameras and microphones in general. Like Meta Glasses, the Live Rewind and Siri Recaps features have accessibility potential for those hard
of hearing, but they're going to make most people uncomfortable. Watch: Audio Intelligence features being announced @techradar

original sound - TechRadar Apple is keen to evidence its trustworthiness, with on-device AI and Private Cloud Compute and an insistence that it doesn't record or log audio and transcripts. However, if people think they're being discreetly recorded without their permission, it's possible Apple Watch wearers could experience their own slice of the abuse hurled at Meta Glasses wearers.

I wrote earlier this year that wearable tech has to separate itself from surveillance capitalism if it wishes to be cool again . It seems Apple has taken a step in the other direction. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/health-fitness/smartwatches/thanks-to-siri-recaps-yo ur-apple-watch-is-always-listening-as-you-go-about-your-day-but-apple-may-be-r isking-a-meta-glasses-style-backlash


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