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Apple's iPads and iPhones are great for listening to streaming audio, but they've not been great at recording it. They still aren't, but there are ways to make certain types of recordings that can be useful. This is not about recording tracks from Apple Music the way some of us used to use audio cassettes to record the Billboard Top 100 off the radio. However, it is about the ways you can record streaming audio, and even phone calls, when you're researching a topic or interviewing someone. We're still at the stage where this is effectively a workaround, though, and there are privacy reasons why Apple will probably forever block the ability to record FaceTime calls, at least without the other person knowing. Still, when you're trying to learn something from a webinar or a company group call, when you've got five minutes on the phone with an expert on a topic you're researching, this is what you do. You're going to find exceptions to this, so you must test it out before you rely on it completely. Broadly speaking, if audio is playing on a website, you can record it on your iPad or iPhone. The very certain exceptions are services like YouTube and Netflix, which block recordings whether you're watching via their apps or Safari.
Yet, Apple's live stream of keynotes and financial earnings reports are fine, you can record them. There can be legal issues to do with making recordings or using them, but technically it all works if you do the following.
You'll get a notification saying the screen recording has been saved to your Camera roll. And there it is, a video of everything that was on your screen during the recording — and all of the audio too. If the site blocks you, though, you'll know it right away because the recording ends and you get that notification immediately. You have just recorded a video of your screen and we're only interested in the audio. For once in this audio workaround, though, it's to your advantage being on iOS. You could AirDrop the video over to your Mac and open it in something like QuickTime Player. If you then went to File and Export As, you'd find an option called Audio Only.
That would do it, but even without AirDropping, it's an extra step where the iPad can do it in one — if you have an app called Ferrite installed. Ferrite is a basic recording studio for the iPad and it has the advantage that it can import video from your Camera roll, and discard the video. For the safest results, record your screen this way in chunks of just a few minutes each time. In our experience, you can record one half-hour webinar's audio fine and the next will suddenly cut off. Sometimes as you listen to it being recorded, you'll hear the audio cut out, but sometimes you won't know until you come to play it all back. So as inconvenient as it is, start and restart the screen recording at intervals. The benefit of using Ferrite, and working with audio streamed over a website, is that this audio will be broadcast quality — or at least, it will be as high a quality as your connection, your app and your call can provide. If you're just concerned with getting down what someone is saying, then you still want the highest quality recording you can because it will make transcribing easier. You're just not always going to get that chance. Speakerphones were invented so that we could put our iPhones in front of them and use Apple's Voice Memos app.
At least the iPad is good for recording audio this way. As well as Voice Memos, you have Ferrite, and you also have GarageBand. Although GarageBand is expecting you to be singing lyrics so getting it to record more than three minutes, without a metronome, takes a little learning. It's good that the iPad and iPhone won't let nefarious people record your phone calls or FaceTime, but it stops all of us. We can't ever expect Apple to relax security, but we can hope for it to become an option. And in the meantime, these iPhones and iPads of ours are great audio research-gathering tools. So, you’re looking for the best guide to recording audio on your iPhone? Congratulations, you’ve found it! Whether you’re recording an important meeting, a lecture, a conversation with friends or a lightning bolt idea, this article will get you up and running quickly. In this article, we’ll cover:
How to record audio on iPhone with the Voice Memos app
Editing in Voice Memos
Enhance, Skip Silence & Export
How to organise your recordingsVoice Memos lets you organise your recordings into folders and add ‘Favourites’, which make it easier to find them: To mark a recording as a Favourite:
Organize your recordings into folders
Additional Voice Memos tips & tricksEnable Lossless recording:To ensure that Voice Memos records at the maximum resolution of 24-bit/48 kHz. Head into Settings—>Music—>Audio Quality—>Lossless Audio. Add Voice Memos to Control Centre. Tap Settings—>Control Centre—> and add it from the More Controls section. Voice Memos will be available in ‘Control Centre’ simply by swiping down from the top right of your screen or (if you have an older iPhone) up from the bottom. Delete a Voice Memo:Tap ‘Edit’ on the ‘All Recordings’, select the file, and tap the ‘Trash icon at the bottom right of the screen. You can recover deleted files in Voice Memos by heading to the ‘Recently Deleted’ folder. Visit the ‘All Recordings’ page. Tap the arrow in the top left corner to arrive at the Voice Memos home screen. Tips to record conversation on iPhone
5 Best third-party apps to record audio on iPhoneIn addition to Apple’s Voice Memo apps, hundreds of third-party apps will let you record audio on your iPhone. So, whether you want to record a conversation, a meeting, your music ideas or anything else, there’s an app perfectly suited for you. So here are five of the best to get you started! 1. Voice Record ProBest For - Musicians and those looking for FX and lots of export options. This free recording app is one of the best ways to record audio on your iPhone. With a classic valve amp look, a vast range of input and output options, bookmarks, 15 effects and advanced waveform editing, this is an excellent choice if you’re looking for something with more features than Voice Memos. Download: Link 2. Hindenburg - Field RecorderBest For - Journalists and professionals who need a straightforward mobile audio workhorse. This app is designed with radio journalism in mind, but Hindenburg Field Recorder is perfect for almost any audio recording. Easy to use, with clear metering, built-in compression and straightforward editing, this is an excellent alternative to Voice Memos. It’s one of the more expensive mobile audio recording apps. But, if you’re looking to record a conversation on the iPhone, it’s a top-notch tool for the job. Download: Link 3. Voice Recorder & Audio EditorBest For - Minimalists who want a simple, clean audio & call recorder. With a distinctly retro feel, this app is super simple to use and carries just enough features to be valuable. Record for as long as you have device storage space and upload to the cloud. Call recording is well integrated (with a subscription) and allows recording incoming and outgoing calls. The ability to secure recording with a passcode is an excellent security bonus. Download: Link 4. EvernoteBest For - Office workers, productivity enthusiasts & busy information gatherers. Evernote is a swiss-army knife for document and media file management. Flexible features, powerful search, sharing, clipping and tagging make it a valuable work and productivity space. Record audio directly into your documents. Connect it to your text, photos, schedules, links and calendars. It’s free, powerful, and incredibly useful. Download: Link 5. NottaBest For - Professionals, seeking high-quality transcription, & recording Notta uses AI to remove the pain of manual transcription. Letting you create a voice to text transcription of any conversation. You can upload audio or video files and have them turned into full-text transcriptions within minutes. Timestamps and search allow you to find the essential parts. The app can also translate text into 42 different languages. You can record Skype and Zoom and share the results immediately. The app also syncs your recordings, transcripts and Google Calendar events across your devices, creating an effective and versatile audio productivity tool. Download: Link How to record audio on iPhone with NottaUsing Notta to turn an audio recording into text could not be easier:
Additional tipsWhile recording, you can add an image in real-time to add context or to illustrate a relevant point:
To listen to any single moment or portion of the recording:
How to Merge audio sections in Notta
Sharing clips with Notta on iPhone Another incredibly innovative aspect of Notta is the ability to share specific sections of an audio transcript with other users:
FAQ’sHow long can I record audio on my iPhone?As a rule of thumb, 101 minutes of uncompressed stereo audio recorded at a standard of 44.1KHZ requires around 1GB of storage space. So the more storage space you have available on your device, the longer you can record. Using a compressed format will result in the audio taking up less space on your device, but this will also mean the audio is of lower quality. If you’re low on storage, following the tips in this guide will help. How do I record internal audio on my iPhone?
How do I record external audio on my iPhone?
References & ResourcesHere’s a list of the most valuable reference material we unearthed whilst researching for this article: Apple’s Voice Memo’s guide. Hindenburg Field Recorder video guide Notta user guide. Voice Record Pro guide Evernote audio guide YouTube: 7 best iPhone external microphones in 2022 YouTube: The best microphone for iPhone and Android smartphones iMore article on best external iPhone microphones ConclusionAll of the apps featured in this article fit their particular audience exceptionally well.
So, there you have it! The best way to record high-quality audio on your iPhone in 2022. Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed this article, please feel free to give it a share! |