The Loud Assistant
When you raise your wrist and ask the Apple Watch a question (“What is the weather like today?”), Siri will display the answer on the screen and loudly read the response back to you using the internal speaker. While this is helpful if you are driving and cannot look at the screen, it is incredibly disruptive if you are sitting in a quiet office. If you want to use the voice assistant to silently set a timer or quickly check a sports score without drawing the attention of the entire room, you must force Siri to stop speaking out loud.
How to Turn Off Siri Spoken Responses
You can force the voice assistant to communicate exclusively via text on the screen.
- Open the Settings app directly on your Apple Watch (the grey gear icon).
- Scroll down the main list and tap on Siri.
- Scroll down the page to the “Voice Responses” section.
- Tap on Siri Responses.
- Under the “Spoken Responses” section, you will see three options: Always On, Control With Silent Mode, and Headphones Only.
- If you never want the watch speaker to talk to you under any circumstances, tap Headphones Only.
The Silent AI
The change takes effect immediately. You can now hold down the Digital Crown and ask a question. Siri will still process your request and fetch the data, but the watch speaker will remain completely silent. The answer will simply appear as text on the OLED screen, allowing you to utilize the AI assistant discreetly in public spaces.