iOS 12: new features of the Dictaphone app | iGeneration

The Dictaphone app hadn't really evolved since the complete overhaul provided with iOS 7. With iOS 12, Apple is offering a new version that is finally coming out of the iPhone and brings some new features, starting with a new icon. That of iOS 7 in black and white was very simple and a little sad too, the new version plays on the same idea, but with a touch of color which does not hurt.

This is far from being the most important new feature of this update, however. Here's a quick overview of everything that's changing with iOS 12 for Voice Recorder.

A reverse interface on the iPhone

On the iPhone, the Dictaphone app has not changed fundamentally, but its interface has been redesigned. The biggest change concerns the position of the block dedicated to a recording in progress: it was at the top on iOS 11, it goes down on iOS 12.

This change matches Apple's new aesthetic, with a big bold title at the top of the screen and more accessible controls at the bottom. The Dictaphone app had not been updated at the same time as the other Apple apps and this version is catching up, so to speak.

Beyond the interface, the ergonomics have been reviewed and the app is easier to use. For example, you do not need to confirm the end of a recording by validating a name as was the case before. As soon as you stop a recording, the file is automatically saved and added to the list, with a default name (we'll come back to this). You can thus immediately start another recording, after having stopped the previous one.

This is great for quick recording, but not if you need to pause and resume later. This option is still available, however it is not immediately visible on iOS 12. Touch the white line at the top of the area dedicated to recording to display the complete interface and you will find the pause button which avoids multiplying the files.

An app for the iPad and even for the Mac

Long reserved for iPhone and iPod touch, the Dictaphone app is finally available on the iPad with iOS 12. Apple has created a fairly simple interface, but one that makes good use of the available space. On the left, the list of voice memos already recorded; on the right, a currently playing recording that displays an overview and a large detailed view of the audio waveform. This is very practical for finding your way around the file and precisely selecting a specific location, for example where a loud noise is clearly visible.

Oddly, the Dictaphone app in the iPad version cannot share its screen with another app. It can be superimposed in “slide-over”, but it is temporary and it cannot be associated with an app in fixed screen sharing. An amazing choice, especially for an app that can run in the background to record audio while doing other things. It would also be practical to be able to keep control of the reading if you want to transcribe a speech, to take another example.

Hopefully this is just an oversight from the current beta and that Apple fixes it by the final release. In the meantime, the iPad version of the Dictaphone app served as the basis for the macOS version which is integrated into macOS Mojave. We find the same presentation, whether for the main screen with saved recordings or the screen dedicated to a recording in progress.

This similar presentation makes sense, Apple used code from the iPad app to create this macOS version. It's one of the new features in macOS Mojave, although third-party developers won't be able to use it until next year.

Additional settings and functions

In addition to these ergonomic changes, the Dictaphone app is enriched with new settings and additional functions. On the settings side, everything is done in the Settings app, where a section dedicated to the Voice Recorder has been added to the long list. On macOS, these preferences are found in the app's internal settings, available via the "Dictaphone" menu or the usual keyboard shortcut ⌘, .

These settings modify three points which are all new in iOS 12:

On the functions side, Apple has inflated the modification capabilities of the Dictaphone app. The previous version allowed you to shorten a recording or delete an item, and you could replace the audio with a new recording. With iOS 12, we find all these functions, but we can also insert an additional recording in the middle of an existing file.

To finish on this chapter, note the addition of shortcuts to move forward or back 15 seconds during playback. In addition, some of the functions are no longer visible directly on the iPhone, you have to touch the three points on the side to display them all. This makes several additional actions to share a file, but in return we gain a new function to duplicate a voice memo.

iCloud sync

Finally, the Dictaphone synchronizes its recordings from one device to another via iCloud. It is active by default, but you can deactivate this function in the settings dedicated to the service. Remember that you can also find out what storage space is used by the app in the iCloud settings.

In current betas, iCloud syncing isn't quite there yet. The macOS version recovers all the recordings made on my iPhone, but not the other way around. And my iPad seems to be in trouble, it only displayed the audio recordings made on the tablet during my tests. But again, these are betas and not everything works properly is expected.