How to Use iPhone to Write Memos and Voice Lessons

This article describes several methods using three different iPhone applications to write voice memos. We’ve also included a feature called Live Captions, which debuted in iOS 16.

Evernote

The popular note organizer tool, Evernote, has a little-known feature when it comes to writing. You can use this app to edit almost anything, but you can also take your iPhone voice memos (or record them directly from the app) and type them into just press one button.

Evernote has a Free version and a Personal subscription. The only real limitation of the free account is the size of the file you upload. Free accounts have a maximum file size of 25MB, while a Personal account can have a data size of up to 200MB max.

Here’s how to write voice memos (or other audio) in Evernote:

1. In Evernote, at the bottom left of your iPhone, tap Create.

2. In the menu that appears, scroll down, select Audio.

3. If prompted, select it Allow so that Evernote can use your microphone.

4. Start recording. You should see a red bar at the top with your recording progress. Tap Wait to stop recording.

5. Once your iPhone voice prompt appears, select it Write.

6. You will see the recorded voice memo below the recording.

Rev: Record & Write

Rev: Record & Trancribe is a classic voice memo app for the iPhone that has tons of extra features, including Zoom integration, sharing capabilities, and more. Its text features are relatively simple, but you may need to purchase credits to use them all.

How to Use Rev to Record New Audio

1. At the bottom right of the screen, tap the button + (plus sign).

2. Select Record the sound.

3. Tap Allow when Rev requested access to the microphone.

4. Rev will write as you speak. Tap Stop/Save when you have finished recording your voice memo.

5. On the Save Recording screen, tap Save and Write.

6. On the Write screen, choose between Human Translation or AI version. If you do not have credits loaded, you will be prompted to Add Credits to conclude the article.

Using Rev to Record Existing Audio

The rest of the steps are very similar to writing a new pitch. See the performance difference below:

1. At the bottom right of the screen, tap the button + (plus sign).

2. Tap Add media.

3. Select the recording from your iPhone that you wish to record.

4. The audio file should appear on the Recordings screen. Tap Write.

5. On the Write screen, choose between Human Translation or AI version.

6. If you do not have any bills ordered, you will receive a message to Add Credits to conclude the article.

Aiko, A Free Writing Solution

If you’re looking for a free solution, Aiko offers an easy-to-use iPhone voice memo app. The controls are perfect for creating a new voice memo or inserting a pre-recorded voice.

How to Use Aiko to Record Live Audio

For lectures, speeches and interviews, follow these instructions to record the audio directly.

1. Tap Record.

2. When asked, choose Allow to allow Aiko to use your iPhone’s microphone.

3. A red microphone appears on the screen while recording. To pause or stop, select Be quiet at the bottom of the screen.

4. Aiko will start recording your audio. You can stop it at any time by clicking the button Wait button (purple square) in the upper right corner.

5. When it’s finished, a recorded sound will appear on the screen.

6. To save the recorded sound, select Share with each other at the bottom of the screen. Here, you can choose to share it with others or save it as Text with time stamps.

Using Aiko to Record Pre-recorded Audio

Aiko also supports writing pre-recorded audio. Here’s how to write a pre-recorded voice memo on your iPhone with Aiko.

1. Open the audio file when you first open Aiko by tapping Open. Alternatively, tap the button + (along with the sign) and select Upload File.

2. Select the audio file to be recorded.

3. Aiko will start recording your audio. You can stop it at any time by clicking the button Wait button (purple square) in the upper right corner.

Live Caption

Available in iOS 16 and later, Live Captions is Apple’s solution for real-time audio captioning. This role requires the primary language to be English (US) or English (Canada).

Although it’s still in beta, Live Caption shows some promise for an iPhone printing tool. Although it may change, the basic process should remain the same. Here’s how to turn on Live Caption on your iPhone:

1. Tap Settings.

2. Tap Access.

3. Select Live Captions.

4. The Live Captions window will appear at the bottom of your screen and automatically run on the device (for example, while watching a YouTube video or making a Facetime call). Click this window to view the entire article.