What You Should Know About Audio Message Transcripts in iOS 17

Introduction to Audio Message Transcripts

iOS 17, released by Apple on Sept. 18, brought numerous new features to iPhones, including Live Stickers, offline maps, and transcriptions of audio messages. Audio messages have become a popular way to communicate, with a survey showing that 62% of Americans have sent an audio message, and around 30% use them weekly.

Using Audio Message Transcriptions

Audio message transcriptions are automatically enabled after downloading iOS 17, and the transcript will appear below the audio bars. For longer messages, there is an arrow to tap that leads to a new screen with the full transcript.

Testing Results of Audio Message Transcripts

Testing the transcription feature revealed that it worked well in some cases, accurately transcribing messages. However, there were also instances where the transcriptions were inaccurate, especially with uncommon words or names. Background noise, such as music, did not significantly affect the transcriptions.

Limitations and Recommendations

It is important to note that proper nouns can pose difficulties for the transcription feature, and speaking too quickly can result in words being transformed or combined strangely. Additionally, the feature currently only supports English, with limited success in transcribing messages in other languages. Speaking slowly and enunciating clearly can improve transcription accuracy. Apple could enhance the feature by expanding language support.

Source: iOS 17: What You Should Know About Audio Message Transcripts – CNET