# How to record and transcribe a meeting on iPhone (2026): 4 ways compared > Four ways to record and transcribe a meeting on iPhone: Voice Memos, Notes, Phone call recording, and a meeting notes app. Steps, limits and privacy, compared. GUIDE · 8 MIN READ Four ways to record and transcribe a meeting on iPhone: Voice Memos, Notes, Phone call recording, and a meeting notes app. Steps, limits and privacy, compared. Leandro Piccione Published 4 November 2026 · Updated 5 November 2026 ## How can I record and transcribe a meeting on iPhone? **Short answer:** on iPhone 12 or later, Voice Memos and Notes can record and transcribe in supported languages. The Phone app records one-to-one calls in supported regions. Notes also offers Apple Intelligence summaries, and Voice Memos supports summarizing with Writing Tools [\[1\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/view-a-transcription-iph00953a982/ios)[\[2\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-audio-iphbe11247b5/ios)[\[3\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-a-call-iph57c6590e9/ios). For speaker-separated meeting notes and action items, consider a meeting notes app: Granola processes in the cloud; Aurora processes on the iPhone. As of 5 November 2026, Aurora is a private TestFlight beta by waitlist invitation, not a team collaboration service. **Definition.** Meeting transcription on iPhone means turning the audio of a conversation captured by the iPhone's microphone into text, either live while people talk or after the recording ends. ## The 4 ways at a glance Four approaches to recording and transcribing on iPhone, with two meeting notes apps compared | Method | Needs | Live transcript | Speaker labels | Summary and action items | Where the audio is processed | Cost | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Voice Memos | iPhone 12 or later, supported language and region [\[1\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/view-a-transcription-iph00953a982/ios) | Yes [\[1\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/view-a-transcription-iph00953a982/ios) | Not described by Apple [\[1\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/view-a-transcription-iph00953a982/ios) | Summary via Apple Intelligence Writing Tools; action items not documented [\[1\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/view-a-transcription-iph00953a982/ios) | Apple does not say on its support page | Free, built in | | Notes, Record Audio | iPhone 12 or later, device language in a supported list [\[2\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-audio-iphbe11247b5/ios) | Yes [\[2\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-audio-iphbe11247b5/ios) | Not described by Apple [\[2\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-audio-iphbe11247b5/ios) | Summary with Apple Intelligence; action items not documented [\[2\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-audio-iphbe11247b5/ios) | Apple does not say on its support page | Free, built in | | Phone app, Call Recording | iOS 18.1 or later, select regions and languages, calls with one other person [\[3\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-a-call-iph57c6590e9/ios) | No, transcript appears in Notes after the call [\[3\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-a-call-iph57c6590e9/ios) | Yes, each statement's speaker is identified [\[3\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-a-call-iph57c6590e9/ios) | Summary with Apple Intelligence [\[3\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-a-call-iph57c6590e9/ios) | Apple does not say on its support page | Free, built in | | Granola for iPhone | Account sign-in, internet | Transcribed after the meeting [\[6\]](https://www.granola.ai/security) | Yes, speaker identification [\[4\]](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/ios/getting-started) | Yes, AI notes | Cloud: audio is cached on the phone, then transcribed by providers such as Deepgram and Assembly [\[5\]](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/ios/transcription)[\[6\]](https://www.granola.ai/security) | Basic $0 with 30 days of history, Business $14 per user per month [\[7\]](https://www.granola.ai/pricing) | | Aurora for iPhone | iPhone, private TestFlight beta | Yes, speaker-separated | Yes, automatic speaker separation | Yes, summaries and action items | On the iPhone, with all required speech and language models installed for offline use | Free during the beta, final pricing undecided | Prices and features read on 2026-11-05. Check the linked pages before you decide. ## Method 1: Voice Memos (fastest, no setup) 1. Open Voice Memos (in the Utilities folder). 2. Tap the red Record button. 3. Swipe up from the top of the waveform, then tap the quote icon to see the transcript live. 4. Tap Done to save. Later, open the recording, tap the More button, then View Transcript or Copy Transcript. Limits: transcription works in English (all variants), Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, and is not available in every country or region [\[1\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/view-a-transcription-iph00953a982/ios). You can copy the raw text, or use Apple Intelligence Writing Tools to summarize it on a compatible iPhone in a supported language and region [\[1\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/view-a-transcription-iph00953a982/ios). ## Method 2: Notes (recording and notes in one place) 1. Open Notes and create a note. 2. Tap the paperclip icon, then Record Audio. 3. Tap Record. Tap the quote icon for the live transcript. You can swipe down to type notes while it records. 4. When you finish, tap Pause, then Done. Open the recording, tap More, then choose Add Transcript to Note or Copy Transcript. Limits: iPhone 12 or later, device language in the same 10-language list [\[2\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-audio-iphbe11247b5/ios). Deleting the recording also deletes its transcript [\[2\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-audio-iphbe11247b5/ios). Notes can also generate a transcript summary with Apple Intelligence on a compatible iPhone in a supported language and region [\[2\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-audio-iphbe11247b5/ios). ## Method 3: Record and transcribe a phone call 1. Start a call in the Phone app. 2. Tap the More button, then Call Recording. Both people hear a notice that the call is being recorded [\[3\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-a-call-iph57c6590e9/ios). 3. Hang up or tap Stop. The recording is saved in the Call Recordings folder in Notes, where the transcript appears, sometimes after a short delay [\[3\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-a-call-iph57c6590e9/ios). Limits: only in some countries and regions, only for calls with one other person, and transcripts only in select languages [\[3\]](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-a-call-iph57c6590e9/ios). It does nothing for an in-person meeting or a video call on another device. ## Method 4: A meeting notes app Use one when you want speaker-separated notes, a summary and action items without writing them yourself, especially for in-person meetings where no video-call bot can join. **Granola for iPhone** is built for in-person meetings and outbound phone calls made through its own dialer. Because phones do not let apps capture other apps' audio, it cannot transcribe a Zoom or Teams call running on the same phone [\[4\]](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/ios/getting-started). On mobile it caches the audio during the meeting and deletes it once transcription finishes; transcription uses third-party providers such as Deepgram and Assembly, and notes are stored in a US-hosted AWS cloud [\[5\]](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/ios/transcription)[\[6\]](https://www.granola.ai/security). Granola trains on anonymized user data unless you opt out in Settings; Enterprise has it off by default [\[6\]](https://www.granola.ai/security). **Aurora** records, transcribes, separates speakers and writes summaries and action items on the iPhone itself. No meeting bot joins, and no recording is uploaded for transcription. Recording, transcription, speaker separation and summaries run on the iPhone, with all required speech and language models installed for offline use. Audio stays on the phone and is deleted once it is more than 7 days old, unless it is still awaiting refinement; transcripts stay. Conversation sync is off by default and copies text, never audio, to your own iCloud. A diagnostic report is sent only when you send it: its session-details switch starts on, and its separate recording switch starts off. Model setup, subscription checks, the free-minutes allowance and other named connections mean Aurora is local-first, not network-free; see [the full network inventory](https://auroraisyours.com/privacy/#app-egress). Without a subscription, offline recording depends on the minutes your device last had confirmed not being used up. Export is plain text. Aurora is iPhone only and in a private TestFlight beta by waitlist invitation, free while the beta lasts; final pricing is undecided. Honest limits of Aurora today: there is no audio playback in the app, so you cannot tap a line to listen back; speaker names are inferred from the conversation, not typed by hand; there are no team, CRM or external workflow integrations. If you need shared team notes, Slack or HubSpot sync, or a SOC 2 report, a cloud tool such as Granola fits better. ## Which one should you use? - One quick voice note or a lecture you will skim later: **Voice Memos**. - You want the recording inside your own notes: **Notes**. - A phone call with one person, in a supported region: **Phone app Call Recording**. - In-person meetings where you want speaker-labelled notes and action items, and team sharing matters more than where audio goes: **Granola**. - In-person or confidential meetings where you want the speech workflow on the iPhone, with all required models installed for offline use: **Aurora** ([join the beta waitlist](https://auroraisyours.com/beta/)). ## Before you record anyone Tell people you are recording and ask if they are comfortable with it. Consent rules differ by country and by state. See [recording consent](https://auroraisyours.com/recording-consent/). ## Related - [Offline AI note taker for iPhone](https://auroraisyours.com/blog/offline-ai-note-taker-iphone) - [Best AI note takers, compared](https://auroraisyours.com/compare/best-ai-note-takers/) - [Granola alternative for iPhone](https://auroraisyours.com/compare/granola-alternative/) - [What happens to your audio in Aurora](https://auroraisyours.com/blog/what-happens-to-your-audio) - [Apple Notes and Voice Memos alternative](https://auroraisyours.com/compare/apple-notes-voice-memos-alternative/) ## Sources (read 2026-11-05) 1. [Apple Support, View a Voice Memos transcription on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/view-a-transcription-iph00953a982/ios) 2. [Apple Support, Record and transcribe audio in Notes on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-audio-iphbe11247b5/ios) 3. [Apple Support, Record and transcribe a call on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/record-and-transcribe-a-call-iph57c6590e9/ios) 4. [Granola Help Center, Getting started with Granola for mobile](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/ios/getting-started) 5. [Granola Help Center, How transcription works on mobile](https://docs.granola.ai/help-center/ios/transcription) 6. [Granola, Security](https://www.granola.ai/security) 7. [Granola, Pricing](https://www.granola.ai/pricing)