Use case · Interviews
Every quote, attributed.
An interview you can’t transcribe accurately is an interview you can’t use. Get back a transcript where the questions are yours, the answers are theirs, and nothing is lost in between.
Built for people who quote people
Journalists, researchers, podcasters, hiring managers, UX teams — anyone whose work depends on what someone actually said. Record the conversation on your iPhone and transcription happens on its own, returning text where every line is labelled by speaker. Pull quotes with confidence; the attribution is already there.
- Speaker A What made you take the risk when everyone advised against it?
- Speaker B Honestly? We had nothing left to lose — and that was freeing.
- Speaker A Can I quote you on that?
- Speaker B You can. It’s the truest thing I’ll say today.
Questions yours, answers theirs — attribution built into the transcript.
The three ways to transcribe an interview
| Method | Cost | Time | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type it yourself | Free | Roughly 4–6 hours per hour of audio | Your evening, gone — and typos land in quotes |
| Human transcription service | Typically $1–2.50 per audio-minute | Hours to days of turnaround | Cost adds up fast; audio leaves your custody |
| Record and transcribe in one app | 3 free, then Pro from $2.99/mo | Minutes, automatic | AI transcription — proof-read quotes before publication |
That last row’s catch is stated on purpose: no automatic transcript, ours included, should be published unchecked. What the app removes is the hours of typing and the who-said-what puzzle — the speaker labels come from the audio itself.
The interview you can’t re-schedule is safe
Sources give you an hour once. Audio is written to disk as you speak, in checksummed segments — a locked screen, a phone call, or a dying battery can stop the microphone, but it cannot erase what was already said. And your material stays private: audio remains on your device until processed, and is deleted after transcription unless you keep it.
How do you transcribe an interview on iPhone?
- Get consent on the record. Ask, then start recording — the answer is then part of the file.
- Record the conversation, not the platform. Phone on the table between you, or the Apple Watch app for walking interviews. Audio is saved to disk continuously, so an interruption can stop the mic but can’t erase what was said.
- Let transcription run. There is no upload step — the memo returns as text with each speaker identified from the audio itself.
- Work the transcript. Search for the phrase you remember, copy the exchange that makes the story, share the full text to your drafting app.
From recording to written piece
With Recorder Pro, a structured summary highlights the key moments of sessions up to 90 minutes — a fast first pass before your close read. Researchers running a full academic workload get the same pipeline for every spoken source: interviews, focus groups, supervision meetings.
Frequently asked questions
Are quotes attributed to the right person?
Every line of the transcript carries a speaker label generated from the audio itself, so your questions and the interviewee’s answers stay cleanly separated — essential when you’re quoting someone on the record.
How long can an interview run?
Recorder Pro handles single recordings up to 90 minutes. Longer sessions can simply be split into parts — each comes back as its own labelled transcript.
Can I record an interview from my Apple Watch?
Yes. The watch app records durably on the wrist and syncs to your iPhone for transcription — useful for walking interviews or when a phone on the table feels intrusive.
What about consent?
Always ask before recording an interview. Beyond being law in many places, on-the-record consent protects you and your source — and the visible act of starting a recorder is part of that.
Does it work for research and dissertation interviews?
Yes. Qualitative researchers get the same speaker-labelled transcripts, which makes coding and quoting participants straightforward. Follow your institution’s ethics and consent process, and note that audio stays on your device and is deleted after transcription unless you keep it.
Get the quote right.
Free to start — 3 transcriptions included, no card needed. Apple Watch app comes with it.