How to Transcribe Voice Memos on iPhone

Your iPhone already transcribes voice memos. On an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18 or later, open the recording in Voice Memos, tap the More button, then choose View Transcript to read and copy part of it, or Copy Transcript to copy all of it (Apple Support). It works in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, and isn't available in every country or region. For any other language, an older iPhone, or when you need speaker names, timestamps or a subtitle file, share the recording as an .m4a file and upload it to a transcription tool.

Steps checked against Apple's iPhone User Guide for iOS 27 on September 30, 2026.

What you need for built-in transcripts

Source for everything after the first row: Apple Support.

Method 1: Get the transcript in Voice Memos

Copy the transcript of a saved recording

1. Open the Voice Memos app. Apple keeps it in the Utilities folder.
2. Tap the recording you want.
3. Tap the More button, then choose one:
   • View Transcript, then select the text you want and tap Copy, to copy part of it.
   • Copy Transcript, to copy the whole thing.
4. Paste it wherever you need it: Notes, Mail, a document or a message.

These are Apple's steps for iOS 27 (Apple Support). On iOS 18 the same button is labelled More Actions (Apple, iOS 18 guide).

Watch the transcript while you record

1. In Voice Memos, tap Record.
2. Swipe up from the top of the waveform, then tap the Transcription button.
3. The live transcript replaces the waveform and highlights the current word. Tap the button again to go back to the waveform.
4. Tap Pause to pause and Resume to continue, then Done to save.

Search every memo by what was said

Tap the Search button and type a word. Voice Memos lists only the recordings with that text in the title or the transcript. When you select a term in a transcript, the playhead jumps to that point in the audio (Apple Support). This is useful when you have hundreds of memos and remember a phrase but not the date.

Summarise it with Apple Intelligence

With Apple Intelligence, you can use Writing Tools to summarise a transcript, proofread it or change its tone. On iOS 27, Apple Intelligence needs an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max or an iPhone 16 model or later. It isn't available in all languages or regions, and usage limits may apply (Apple Support).

Method 2: Record in the Notes app instead

If you want the transcript to live inside a note, record there. In a note, tap the Attachments button, tap Record Audio, then tap Record. Tap the Transcription button to see the live transcript. Afterwards, tap the recording, tap the Transcription button, then use the More button to Find in Transcript, Add Transcript to Note or Copy Transcript (Apple Support).

Notes has the same iPhone 12 and language requirements, with one difference: Apple says it works "when the device language is set to" one of the supported languages. If you don't see the Transcription button, Apple says your iPhone either doesn't meet the requirements or doesn't detect a supported language. On Apple Intelligence devices, you can also tap Summary to get a summary of the recording.

Phone calls: in some countries and regions you can record a call in the Phone app, and in select regions and languages the transcript appears in the Call Recordings folder in Notes, with the speaker of each statement identified. Both people hear a notice that the call is being recorded. Call recording isn't available in several places, including the European Union (Apple Support).

Method 3: Export the .m4a and use a transcription tool

Apple's transcripts are fine for notes to self. Use a separate tool when:

• the memo is in a language Apple doesn't transcribe, such as Hindi, Arabic or Tamil;
• your iPhone is older than an iPhone 12;
• you need speaker labels, timestamps, or a Word, SRT or VTT file;
• it's an interview or meeting you'll quote from, and you want to edit the transcript against the audio.

Step 1: Get the file off your iPhone

1. In Voice Memos, tap the recording, then tap the More button.
2. Tap Share, then Options, and choose Rendered. That gives you a single .m4a file with any effects and layers mixed in. (Editable shares a file that someone with a compatible device can use to adjust the effects and layers.)
3. Send it by AirDrop, Mail or Messages, or scroll down and tap Save to Files (Apple Support: share, Apple Support: export).

To share several memos at once, tap Select above the list, pick the recordings, then tap the Share button. If Voice Memos is turned on in iCloud, your recordings also appear on your iPad and Mac signed in to the same Apple Account (Apple Support), which is often the easiest way to get them onto a computer.

Step 2: Upload the .m4a

Most transcription tools accept M4A. In Exemplary AI (our product), upload the file to the audio-to-text tool, pick the spoken language from 99 options, and you get a transcript with speaker labels that you can edit while listening. Export it as a Word or text file with speaker names and timestamps, or as SRT or VTT subtitles. The free plan takes files up to 500 MB and 30 minutes long; see pricing for longer recordings.

Other options: our comparison of transcription software covers Otter, Rev, Descript and others, and if the audio mustn't leave your computer, OpenAI's Whisper runs locally for free.

Tips for a cleaner transcript

• Turn on Voice Isolation. With Voice Memos open, open Control Center, tap Voice Memos at the top, and select Voice Isolation to filter out background sound (Apple Support).
• Get close to the speaker. Apple's advice for adjusting the recording level is to move the microphone closer to or farther from what you're recording.
• Name recordings as you go. Tap the name and type a new one. Search covers titles as well as transcripts.
• Check names and numbers before you rely on the text. Apple's own advice for call transcripts applies to any automatic transcript: "Verify the accuracy of a transcription before relying on it" (Apple Support).

If you don't see a transcript

Work through Apple's requirements in order: an iPhone 12 or later, iOS 18 or later, a recording in one of the supported languages, and a country or region where the feature is offered. If any of those don't hold, export the recording (Method 3).

Once you have the text, you can do more with it: turn a voice note into an email, or, for longer recordings, follow our interview transcription workflow.

FAQ

Can iPhone transcribe voice memos automatically?

Yes. On an iPhone 12 or later with iOS 18 or later, Voice Memos transcribes speech in supported languages, and recordings made in iOS 17 or earlier are transcribed when you open them (Apple Support).

How do I copy a voice memo transcript?

Tap the recording, tap the More button, then choose Copy Transcript for the whole text, or View Transcript to select and copy part of it.

Can I transcribe a voice memo in Hindi or another unsupported language?

Not in Voice Memos. Apple lists English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Simplified and Traditional Chinese. For other languages, export the .m4a and use a transcription tool that supports your language.

Does the Voice Memos transcript include timestamps or speaker names?

Apple's Voice Memos guide doesn't mention either. Call recordings transcribed in Notes identify the speaker of each statement. For a transcript with speaker labels and timestamps, use a transcription tool.

How do I transcribe voice memos on a Mac?

Turn on Voice Memos in iCloud so your iPhone recordings appear on the Mac. In Voice Memos on the Mac, click the recording, then click the Transcription button to view it. Select the text, Control-click it and choose Copy (Apple Support).