NuviOn an iPhone 12 or later, open the recording in the Voice Memos app, tap the More button and choose View Transcript or Copy Transcript. It is built in and free, and Apple lists ten supported languages. For a recording with several speakers, another language, or a summary with action items, import the audio file into a dedicated transcription app.
The built-in route is good, and for a single voice in a supported language it is all most people need. It costs nothing and needs no extra app. This guide covers that route first, with Apple’s own requirements, and then the cases where it runs out.
What do you need for the built-in transcription?
Apple states the requirements on its support pages:
| Requirement | What Apple says |
|---|---|
| Device | iPhone 12 or later |
| Languages | English (all variants), Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese |
| Regions | Not available in all countries or regions |
| Older recordings | Recordings made in iOS 17 or earlier are transcribed automatically when you open them, if they include speech |
Source: View a Voice Memos transcription on iPhone, Apple Support.
The same page’s wording about “an earlier version of Voice Memos (iOS 17 or earlier)” tells you where the line is: transcription arrived in the version after iOS 17. Apple’s Notes article says it plainly for the sister feature: “In iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, you can record and transcribe audio within a note.”
If your iPhone is older than iPhone 12, or the recording is in a language not on the list, skip to the other routes.
How do you transcribe a voice memo in the Voice Memos app?
These are the steps from Apple’s current guide. Button positions differ a little between iOS versions.
For a recording you already have:
- Open the Voice Memos app (in the Utilities folder).
- Tap the recording.
- Tap the More button.
- Choose View Transcript to read it, or Copy Transcript to copy all of it.
- Paste the text into a note, an email or a document.
To copy only part, choose View Transcript, select the text and tap Copy.
While you are recording:
- Tap Record.
- Swipe up from the top of the waveform.
- Tap the Transcription button to watch the text appear live, with the current word highlighted.
To find something later: tap Search in Voice Memos and type a word. Apple says the list then shows recordings with that text in the title or in the transcription.
How do you transcribe audio in the Notes app?
Notes is the better choice when you want the recording, the transcript and your typed notes in one place.
- Open Notes and open or create a note.
- Tap the Attachments button, then Record Audio.
- Tap Record. Tap the Transcription button to see the live transcript.
- When you finish, tap Pause, then Done.
- To keep the text, tap the recording, tap the More button and choose Add Transcript to Note or Copy Transcript.
Source: Record and transcribe audio in Notes on iPhone, Apple Support. The requirements are the same: iPhone 12 and later, with the device language set to one of the supported languages.
Two details from that page are worth knowing. Deleting the audio recording also deletes the transcript, so add the transcript to the note first if you want to keep the text. And Notes is where transcripts of recorded phone and FaceTime audio calls appear, which Apple says requires iOS 18.1 or later.
Can iPhone summarize a voice memo?
Yes, on some models. Apple says Writing Tools can summarize a Voice Memos transcript, and Notes can show a Summary of an audio recording, both through Apple Intelligence. Apple lists Apple Intelligence as available on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 16 models or later, and not in all languages or regions. It also notes that some languages that support summaries are not available for audio transcription.
On an iPhone 12, 13 or 14, you get the transcript but not the summary.
What if the built-in option does not work for you?
There are four common reasons to look further.
| Your situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| iPhone older than iPhone 12 | Use an app that transcribes on a server, or move the file to a computer |
| The language is not on Apple’s list (Turkish, Dutch, Polish, Arabic, Hindi and many more) | Use an app built on a multilingual speech model |
| Several people are talking and you need to know who said what | Use an app that separates speakers |
| You want decisions and action items, and your iPhone does not support Apple Intelligence | Use an app that writes a summary |
Move the file. Any other tool needs the audio file. In Voice Memos, tap the recording, tap the Share button and send it or save it to the Files app. Apple documents this in Share a recording in Voice Memos on iPhone.
Use a transcription app. Several apps and web services accept an imported audio file. When you compare them, check the same things each time: which languages, whether speakers are separated, the length limit per file, the price, and what happens to your audio after it is uploaded. The last question has a guide of its own in AI note taker privacy.
How does Nuvi handle an existing voice memo?
Nuvi, the AI note taker for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch by Ege Beşe, can import an existing audio file, or a video with sound, from Files, up to 60 minutes. So the path is: share the voice memo to Files, then import it in Nuvi.
What you get that Voice Memos does not describe:
- A transcript split by speaker. You can name a voice, and Nuvi recognizes it in later recordings on the device.
- A summary with an overview, key points, decisions and action items, written in the language that was spoken.
- Many languages. Nuvi uses the open-source Whisper large-v3 model and detects the language by itself. Quality is not equal across languages. More in Whisper multilingual transcription.
- “Fix a word…” to correct a misheard term everywhere in the note.
And what you give up, said plainly:
- It is not on the device. Nuvi uploads the audio over an encrypted connection to be transcribed on servers the developer operates, and deletes the upload once the transcript is returned. It needs an internet connection for transcription. See privacy first.
- The free plan is limited. It transcribes the first 10 minutes of each recording, 30 minutes a month. Nuvi Pro transcribes up to 60 minutes per recording. See pricing.
- It runs on Apple devices only. There is no Android, web or Mac app, and the interface is in English.
For a short memo in English with one voice, Apple’s built-in transcript is the simpler choice. The side-by-side is on Nuvi vs Apple Voice Memos.
How do you get a cleaner transcript, whichever route you use?
- Record close. Hold the phone within arm’s length, or put it on the table between speakers.
- Cut the noise. Fans, traffic and clattering dishes cost more accuracy than any setting gains.
- One person at a time. Overlapping voices are the hardest case for every speech model.
- Read it against the audio. Names, numbers and dates are where errors hide. Tap a word to jump to that moment and listen.
If the memo includes other people, remember that recording others may require their consent depending on where you are. Tell people before you record. The rules by region are in is it legal to record a meeting.
