Apple is about to introduce AI features to the iPhone which will deliver boosts to core applications, offering transcription for Voice Notes, for instance. On a personal note, this is something I’ve been angling for, so I’m looking forward to it.
The next iPhone software is due to be unveiled on Monday, June 10 at this year’s World Wide Developers Conference for general release this fall. According to Apple Insider, “Apple has been working on AI-powered summarization and greatly enhanced audio transcription for several of its next-gen operating systems. The new features are expected to enable significant improvements in efficiency for users of its staple Notes, Voice Memos, and other apps.”
Let me tell you, at almost every interview with Apple execs I have made a point of saying it would be great if Apple could introduce a transcription feature for Voice Memos. Transcribing interviews is, by a country mile, the most tedious part of being a journalist.
And there are plenty of other people who also have to transcribe, and also hate it as much as I do: students in lectures, minutes-takers in meetings and so on.
Which is why I often carry a Google Pixel into interviews of Apple and other leading brands, and I get gently teased for it every time.
The Pixel phones, you see, have easily the best transcription app on any phone, called Recorder. While it’s an Android app, it’s exclusive to the Pixel.
It transcribes in real-time and on-device. While there are some great alternatives—the brilliant Otter: Transcribe Notes is a standout—the simplicity of Reorder is very winning. Samsung has recently introduced a transcription feature and there’s a handsome piece of kit called Plaud Note, which I’ll be reviewing properly soon. But both transcribe the audio after the event, while Recorder turns noise into text as you go, which is the best.
But Recorder could be better still. There are always plenty of mistakes of names, words or punctuation, for a start, which need cleaning up. But it’s still about 385 times better than full-on transcription.
According to the report, “The default Voice Memos application that Apple includes across its device portfolio will be among the first to receive upgraded capabilities. Early versions of the app provide a running transcript of each audio recording, operating similarly to the company’s recent Live Voicemail feature. The transcriptions occupy the central area of the application window, replacing the larger graphical representation of recorded audio found in the existing version of the app.”
So, if Apple Insider is right, I cannot wait for iOS 18.
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