Listen to the lecture, read it afterwards

Nuvi, the AI note taker for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch by Ege Beşe, records a lecture or seminar and returns a transcript, a summary with key points and a way to ask questions about what was said. Before anything else: record a class only when you are allowed to.

The problem with lecture notes

You cannot write and listen at the same speed. While you copy down one definition, the lecturer has moved to the example that explains it, and that example is the part you needed. By the end of the hour the notes have gaps you can see and gaps you cannot.

A plain audio recording does not fix this. Nobody has time to sit through the whole lecture a second time, and finding the two minutes about one concept means dragging a playhead back and forth. What helps is text you can read, skim and question.

What Nuvi gives you after class

• A transcript. The lecture as text, with speakers separated, so a question from the audience does not blur into the lecturer’s answer.
• A summary. An overview and the key points, written in the language that was spoken.
• Custom vocabulary. Add the names and terms of your course so they are heard correctly. Free keeps 10 words, Pro up to 100.
• Ask. Ask what the lecturer said about a topic and get an answer that cites the note it came from. With Pro, ask across every lecture you have recorded.
• To-dos. If the lecturer says the problem set is due next Tuesday, that can appear as an action item with its due date, and it lands in your to-do list.

A seminar, step by step

Picture a 50-minute seminar on the history of science, with a lecturer and a dozen students.

1. Before class you check the course policy on recording and ask the lecturer. She agrees to a recording for your own study.
2. You add a few names from the reading list to custom vocabulary, so they are less likely to be misheard.
3. You sit near the front, set the microphone mode to Room and tap Record. On an iPad the app works the same way.
4. You lock the screen and keep listening. Recording continues, and a Live Activity shows it is running.
5. When the seminar finishes you tap End. Nuvi shows Recorded, Uploaded, Transcribed, Writing summary.
6. Nuvi asks “Which one is you?” because you asked a question during the discussion. You pick your voice, and you name the lecturer.
7. You read the summary to see the main argument, then read the transcript for the part you missed.
8. One historian’s name is spelled wrong. You use Fix a word… once. Every place in the note is corrected, and later recordings are fixed automatically.
9. A week later, while revising, you use Ask: “What were the three causes she gave?” The answer cites this note.

What it does not do

• A full lecture needs Pro. The free plan transcribes the first 10 minutes of each recording, up to 30 minutes a month. That is enough to try it, not enough for a course.
• One hour per recording. The recording stops automatically at one hour. A longer class means starting a second recording.
• It does not capture slides or the whiteboard. Nuvi records sound only.
• It does not join online classes. Nuvi does not join Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams. You can import an audio file, or a video with sound, from Files (up to 60 minutes), if you are allowed to have that file.
• It can mishear. Transcripts are AI output and can be wrong or incomplete, especially with technical terms and a distant voice. Check anything you plan to quote in an exam answer or an essay against the recording and your reading.
• iPhone and iPad only. There is no Android, Mac, Windows or web app.

Permission comes first

Recording other people may require their consent depending on where you are, and your institution may have its own policy on recording classes. Ask the instructor before you record, follow the policy, and keep the recording for your own study unless you were told otherwise. For the general picture see Is it legal to record a meeting?. It is general information, not legal advice.

What it costs for students

Free lets you see how Nuvi handles your lecturer’s voice and your subject’s vocabulary: the first 10 minutes of each recording, 30 minutes a month. For whole lectures you need Nuvi Pro, which transcribes up to 60 minutes per recording with no monthly limit (fair use). US prices are $4.99 a week, $14.99 a month or $49.99 a year, with a free trial where available. See pricing.

See how to get Nuvi.

Related pages

• How to record lectures
• Multilingual transcription with Whisper
• Voice memos and ideas, for study notes spoken out loud
• All features