How do I transcribe a lecture on my iPhone, even without Wi-Fi?
Open Transcribe, tap record, and the transcript appears as the lecturer speaks. It runs on your iPhone, so after a one-time language download it works with no Wi-Fi, in airplane mode too. If you only need plain text from a lecture on a recent iPhone in a supported language, Apple's built-in Voice Memos can also do that.
Download Transcribe on the App Store
How the options compare
- Voice Memos (built in): Apple says Voice Memos can transcribe recordings on iPhone 12 or later, in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Chinese, and that it is not available in every country or region. It is free and already on your phone. Choose it if that covers you and you only need the text.
- Otter (cloud service): Otter's pricing page lists 30 minutes per conversation on its free Basic plan, which many lectures exceed, plus 300 transcription minutes a month and 3 lifetime file imports. Plans change, so check the current page. Otter's privacy policy says audio you provide is collected and that it uses cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services.
- Handwritten or typed notes: No setup and no battery cost for the transcript, but you cannot listen and write everything down, and you cannot search a recording afterward.
Where Transcribe fits
Transcribe is built for recording a whole class. Recording has no time limit, there is a live transcript while you record, and every recording is transcribed on the device. Search finds a word across all your recorded lectures, and playback highlights each word as it is spoken.
Free covers unlimited recordings and transcription in your device's language, plus the Coverage Checklist, where you list the topics to cover and tick them off as the lecturer reaches them. On an iPhone with Apple Intelligence, Pro adds summaries with key points and chapters for long recordings. Pro also adds PDF and subtitle export and more transcription languages.
Honest limits: the first time you use a language, your iPhone downloads its speech model, which needs internet once. Transcribe does not label different speakers, and a transcript of a noisy room will have mistakes, so sit close or keep the phone near the speaker. Ask permission before recording a class.
What it costs
Transcribe is free to download. Unlimited recordings, with no time limit, and full on-device transcription are free. Pro adds export, encrypted backup, marking moments, more transcription languages and, on Apple Intelligence devices, AI summaries, action items and Ask AI. Plans and prices are shown in the app and on the App Store page, and vary by region. Prices from the US App Store, checked 2026-11-04; they vary by region.
Quick answers
Does Transcribe work in airplane mode?
Yes, once the language has been downloaded. Recording and transcription then need no connection.
Is there a time limit on a lecture recording?
No. Recordings are unlimited with no time limit.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no account, and recordings and transcripts stay on your device.
Do summaries work on every iPhone?
No. Summaries, action items and chapters need Pro and an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence, with it turned on. Recording and transcription work on any iPhone running iOS 26 or later.
More questions about Transcribe
- What is the best way to turn voice memos into text on an iPhone?
- How can I transcribe a meeting privately, without uploading the audio?
- What is the best way to record and transcribe an interview on iPhone?
- Is there an iPhone app that summarizes meetings and lists the to-dos?
- How do I transcribe the audio of a video on my iPhone?
- Is there a transcription app that never uploads my audio and works offline?
Full details: Transcribe app page · all answers