FaceTime, Skype, Zoom and other apps offer live captions for calls and video conferences. You can record calls in FaceTime. Several services and some apps transcribe audio to text using machine learning. Why not combine all of this into one service? Apple did this with the Phone app and FaceTime in iOS 18.1.
Starting with this version, you can choose to record calls if you meet Apple's general requirements. The integration into the operating system is still a bit shaky: Apple saves the Phone or FaceTime app in a Notes element, where you also find a transcription in a special format embedded in the note.
For transcription, you need at least an iPhone 12 model. Presumably for software development reasons, call recording and transcription is limited to most commonly spoken languages. See the bottom of this article for more details.
If you have iOS 18.1 installed and you see the recording icon described and shown below, you have the correct intersection of language, country, and hardware to record.
Record a call
Here's how to record a call:
- In the FaceTime or Phone app, find the new Registration icon that appears superimposed in the application. Tap it. (If you don't see it, read the requirements at the end of the article.)
- A countdown begins with an automated message that says the phrase “This call will be recorded.” There is an X icon you can tap to prevent this message and stop recording before it starts.
- Recording starts. You can press the stop button to finish recording; When you end the call, recording stops automatically.
When recording starts in a transcription-supported language, you'll see a notification that says: “Take notes on this call.” Tap it and you'll be taken to the note that captures audio from the active call and will later have a transcript after the call.
The sequence from an active call to active recording begins by tapping the recording icon (highlighted in red with an arrow pointing towards it) through alerts and notifications.
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Audio playback
Visit the note, which is nested in a Call Recordings folder, to play the audio. If you're using a language that supports transcription, the text of the conversation follows the audio playback. Otherwise, or if you press the Transcription icon in the lower left corner (to deselect it), you will see an audio waveform.
Working with transcription
In languages that support transcription, opening the note reveals the conversation as text and audio control tools at the bottom. You can drag to scroll through the transcript. Speakers are identified based on caller ID or contact information. You are listed as “You”.
Tap any point in the transcription and the audio jumps to that position and starts playing. You can use the Transcription icon to switch between the audio waveform and transcription to move the audio to the point where you want to play the transcription, then press the icon again.
If you want to extract the transcription as plain text that you can work with, tap the … (More) icon and choose Add a transcription to the note. From the menu, you can also copy the transcription for use in another app (or paste it to another device via the Universal Clipboard), or record or share the audio.
The transcription in Notes can be swiped to search for audio or, by tapping the transcription icon (highlighted in red at the bottom right), you can browse the audio instead.
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You can search the transcript with Search Transcript or by tapping Search at the bottom of the view. With Apple Intelligence available and enabled, you can tap Summary to get a brief description of the conversation.
Additional requirements
Apple currently only supports a few languages for call transcription, which it lists as: Cantonese (Hong Kong), English (Australia), English (US), Korean (South Korea), Mandarin Chinese (mainland China) and Spanish. (UNITED STATES).
Call recording gets broader support, but Apple also lists availability by language rather than country. There are 31 languages supported, including Chinese in both forms of Cantonese Mandarin.
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For more information on iOS 18, read our iOS 18 guide.
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