Safe way to make transcribed audio notes while I'm driving

November 8, 2024 9:39 AM

I often have thoughts or ideas when I'm in the car, but I have no easy way to capture them. I have an iPhone, but I don't want to fiddle with it while I'm driving. I'm seeking an app (or possibly a standalone device) that I can safely use while driving.

Is there some app that is voice-activated (i.e., without unlocking the phone) and will transcribe short memos? Ideally, I'd like those transcripts to be available in some cloud site, so I can access them via a web browser on my office computer or home computer.

I'd even consider buying a standalone recorder that I can activate just by pushing a button. I looked on Amazon, but I didn't really see anything that can make transcripts and upload them to a cloud site. Just the audio files might work, but it would be much better for me to have transcripts that I can easily access from a computer.

posted by akk2014 to Technology (11 answers total)

I just hit the siri button and asked her to take a note, then babbled some stuff and it made a note in the Notes app. All the text was pretty correct.

If your car has CarPlay, you may be able to start Siri from your steering wheel!
posted by advicepig at 9:45 AM on November 8

You don't even have to hit a button - you can say, "Hey Siri, record a voice memo" and it'll bring it up and start recording. At the end, say "Hey Siri, stop recording" and it will.
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:10 AM on November 8

That's true if you let Siri listen all the time. I have mine turned off so I have to hit the button.
posted by advicepig at 10:15 AM on November 8

I was going to suggest some kind of shortcut/automation that would take a voice memo and then transcribe it, but the suggestion above about asking Siri to take a note is a better answer.

I just tried it myself:
-Hit the button that activates Siri (if you don't have Siri set to listen all the time)
-Say "hey Siri, take a note"
-Siri responds "what do you want it to say?"
-You speak your note, and once you're done, Siri says "Ok, I've created a note. It's called "XX" where "XX" is the first few words of your note
-Open your Notes app, find the note, your content is there as text (not as an audio recording)

As long as you have your notes set up to sync to iCloud, this gives you exactly what you've described:
-Click one button, don't have to unlock the phone
-Voice-activated
-Transcription
-Stored in the cloud
-Accessible from a computer (either via the iCloud web app on Windows or via an iCloud sync on a Mac)
posted by okayokayigive at 10:22 AM on November 8

Is there an equivalent of this for Android, because I have thought about asking this as well?
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:26 AM on November 8

You can set Google Assistant to take notes into Google Keep. (In typical Google fashion the place it saves notes has changed multiple times so look for a more recent how-to if you need help getting this to work.)
posted by Wretch729 at 10:32 AM on November 8

As of iOS 18, the built-in voice memos app offers transcription. So use it with Siri if you want to keep the recording for reference.
posted by griseus at 10:36 AM on November 8

@jenfullmoon: Google Assistant can do that, but you have to have Assistant set to activate when your screen is locked. Search your settings for "Lock Screen" and you'll find a Lock Screen entry that references "Google Assistant". Make sure the toggle for "Assistant Responses on Lock Screen" under that entry is switched on.
posted by pdb at 11:25 AM on November 8

I dictate a lot of notes with my voice while driving, and have tried a lot of apps, and I’ve found the most happiness in using the bare-bones built-in iOS tools. I have a dedicated iPhone home screen with two big buttons for the shortcuts for turning Voice Control on and off, as this was the safest way for when I’m driving.

When it comes on, the apps on my home screens are overlayed with numbers, so I just say “16” or whatever is assigned to my notes app, and use the numbers to navigate to a new note. I don’t really care for using Siri in my car because my Bluetooth and mic setup in my older Volvo is subpar for voice-to-text, and the built-in Voice Control of iOS doesn’t use Bluetooth or Siri, which I love. Whatever I’m saying is picked up and transcribed with far fewer mistakes. Then when I’m done I just turn off Voice Control. I also like that I can use different note-taking apps and switch between them quickly and with ease while remaining hands-free.
posted by JLovebomb at 2:32 AM on November 9

I forgot to mention that you can unlock your phone with your voice while Voice Control is active as well, which is a bit of added safety. There’s even a process by which it will input your numeric passcode hands-free, if you’re using that. It’s easy to find on YouTube.
posted by JLovebomb at 2:39 AM on November 9

Somehow, I didn't know about the Notes app. It does what I want (and I don't have to touch the phone because I can use Siri), and it automatically emails me the transcript of each note. That's good enough for my purposes -- I can retrieve the text from the email message and don't need to accesss the cloud site.

Thank you!
posted by akk2014 at 12:56 PM on November 9