Among the many new features of iOS 17.4, attention has been focused more on the changes in the App Store with the arrival of alternative stores, the new NFC or the changes in the browser. However, Apple Podcast transcripts have reached everyone and, although it is not a secret, it seems to have been unfairly left in the background.
It is a novelty which It also arrived on iPadOS 17.4 and macOS 14.4, being one of the ones I personally wanted to try the most. I’m a big consumer of podcasts (probably more than series and movies), so I always try to get the best player possible and I gave up on Apple Podcast a long time ago. Now, thanks to this aforementioned novelty, I’m back with a vengeance.
How transcription works in Apple Podcast
Podcast transcription is literally that. It’s basically capturing everything said in the episodes and translating it into text. It’s obviously not about podcasters starting to write it, but rather This is done automatically thanks to artificial intelligence.
Apple explained that this is a novelty focused on make podcasts more accessible and immersive. In other words, a hearing-impaired person can follow the content thanks to it. But it’s also a feature that can be used by anyone, whether they have hearing problems or not.
The first time you watch an episode in full screen, the interface itself will tell you which button to press to get the transcript.
As soon as you open a podcast episode after updating to iOS 17.4, the app already tells you where the transcription option is. It is a dialog box icon that appears at the bottom left when the program is open in full screen.
Tapping on it opens this transcription of the audio to text and, as is the case with lyrics in Apple Music, we can touch any part of the text to direct the episode there.
With Apple Podcast transcriptions, you can even search for specific words in the episode and copy the text
Although if there is one specific function that takes the cake, it is displaying text and using a search engine to find a word or expression, either because we feel that it is said in the episode, or because we remember that it is said, but not at what minute. It comes with another great tool like hold down to select text, copy it and paste it wherever you want.
Being able to search for a specific word or phrase and select text to copy are both great additions
If you want to skip this transcript and exit the episode coverage view again, you can. Just tap the dialog icon again and the app will return to its usual appearance.
What are the uses of podcast transcription?
All that you want. As I said before, this is extremely useful for people with hearing problems. While it is true that reading a text intended to be read is not the same as a speech intended to be heard, the possibility ultimately remains interesting.
As for my uses and I think they can be used for many others, that’s it It’s great for jumping to the part of the podcast you want or going back to something you want to listen to again.. Some of the podcasts I follow are particularly long and dense, covering topics that, for whatever reason, don’t interest me. Thanks to this function I can jump from one subject to another and access the part that interests me and save time by going forward and backward.
Likewise, it has an indirect usefulness that I also find notable: listen to a podcast in other languages. I’m trying to improve my English, so having this transcription not only helps me understand the episode better (especially when the podcaster has a strong accent), but it’s also great for knowing how to pronounce a certain word or know what exactly it was about. what was said in one part.
I must say that to my great surprise, works pretty well. The algorithm that Apple uses for transcription works well most of the time, even when a word is not pronounced correctly, it is able to transcribe it correctly based on context. Even punctuation marks like commas and periods are fine.
It was precisely in a podcast allowing you to train languages that I found a bug. In the part marked with an arrow it was spoken in English, but the transcription only shows this part with three dots.
However, there are also specific errors. Personally, I noticed that there were a few errors. Or, for example, when the episode mixes words in several languages. However, there are few cases that I have encountered.
Likewise, it must be said that still has some possible improvements such as being able to discern the introductions to certain sections. For example, divide these parts clearly, hinting that in this section there is a melody or a voiceover presenting something. But hey, in the end, it’s a first step. It will surely continue to improve in future updates and who knows what it will bring with iOS 18, since even the CEO of Apple himself is already highlighting new developments in the field of artificial intelligence.
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