- Auto-transcribe audio attachments in the Notes app
- You can search through the transcript or copy the entire text
- You’ll also get an AI-generated summary of the audio
With iOS 18, Apple has made several improvements to the Notes app. Audio transcriptions are available on all devices, while automatic summaries are only for those compatible with Apple Intelligence. Let’s see how they work.
This feature is available as part of the Apple Intelligence Beta in iOS 18.1, and will require an AI-compatible device.
Live audio transcription
This is a fantastic feature, but it’s buried a few menus deep. Launch the Notes app and open a note or create a new one. Hit the attachment button (a paperclip) and choose Record Audio. You’ll see a New Recording view appear, which you can rename with a tap on the title if you wish before we begin.
Tap the red record button and start talking. You can pause and resume at any time, so there’s no need to track your thoughts in one continuous take. Take a breather when you need one to think.
By default, you’ll see a timeline in the middle of the screen with sound waves as you record. But press the transcription button (quote marks) in the lower left and you’ll instead see a transcription of everything you’ve said so far. It updates in real time as you talk, and will reformat for easy reading when you’re finished.
Hit Done when you’re finished to attach the audio and its transcription into the note. You can save as many different clips as you like to a single note. For any of them, you can press Play to hear it in full or tap the audio card to enter the transcription view again. Long press an audio card and hit Delete if you don’t need it any more.
When viewing a transcript, you can select and copy text as you would with a normal note, and you’ll find some very useful options under the … menu in the top right. Add Transcript to Note copies the actual text into your note, instead of just an audio file. Copy Transcript saves it to the clipboard, so you can paste it into another app. Find in Transcript lets you search the text for a specific word or phrase.
Automatic summaries
Thanks to AI, the app will also generate automatic summaries of your audio notes, which is a great way to get the gist of long recordings without reading or listening to the whole thing.
This feature will be popular with anyone who routinely attends lectures, business meetings, and the like – you’ll essentially have an assistant to take minutes and summarize entire sessions for you right in the Notes app.
Voice Memos
Apple has added the same live transcription capabilities to the Voice Memos app, which is helpful if that’s your preferred method for audio notes, or if you have some existing recordings you’d like to transcribe.