iOS SOFTWARE
Record, sync, transcribe, repeat
Record audio, zip up files, and improve drag and drop in iOS 11
£4.99 FROM Open Planet Software, openplanetsoftware.com NEEDS iOS 11 or later
You can approach Just Press Record from two angles. On Apple Watch, it’s the memos app Apple never bothered to make. Prod a button to kick off audio capture (or record from the app’s complication). Recent recordings remain on your Apple Watch for perusal, and you can revel in the fun of using your wrist in a way that would have been the envy of characters in sci-fi movies a few decades ago.
On iPhone, the app’s a mite more involved, but not complicated. Apple Watch recordings are transferred across via iCloud and then live in the Watch tab, but you can also record using your iPhone, by way of its own microphone or external kit. For pro-level recording, you can ramp up capture quality from AAC to 96kHz/24-bit.
Individual recordings can be renamed, shared, and played back at various speeds. You’ll also notice when firing up a recording that Just Press Record will have transcribed everything (assuming permissions were granted). This means recordings are searchable by date and file name, and by content. Transcriptions aren’t always accurate, but we’d prefer to start with a pretty good first attempt we can later tidy up on the Mac, rather than type out every word ourselves. It’s very useful.