Pixel 4 Recorder App Automatically Transcribes Voice Recordings, Leak Reveals

Google’s Pixel 4 smartphone appears to be one of the worst-kept secrets the company ever had. A new leak, however, reveals one feature that might be one of the best in any smartphone.

According to The Verge, Google’s upcoming Pixel 4 smartphone has a new “Recorder” app that does more than just record voices and sounds around the device. The new app automatically transcribes audio recordings, and will allow users to search for specific words and “audio events” in the recordings.

According to 9To5Google, the Recorder app looks and feels just like any other voice recorder app on Android. It has a very simple interface featuring nothing but a blank white screen with a record button at the bottom of the app. This changes when the button is pressed and recording begins.

The app shows some animation while sounds are being recorded. Recording can be paused and resumed at any time. A prompt allowing users to give the recording a name can be found on top, and a check mark used to save the recording can be found at the bottom right of the screen when the recording is paused or stopped.

All that makes the Recorder app seem similar to other voice recording apps on the Play Store. The magic, however, begins after the app gets updated. XDA Developers shared the Recorder app’s new welcome screen, which only appeared after it got updated.

The new welcome screen has a line on top that says “Welcome to a new kind of recorder,” followed by a few blurbs below it. Each blurb reveals the app’s new features: “Auto transcription,” “Audio Search” and “Works offline.”

Auto transcription works decently, though it can’t be expected to transcribe all voice recordings perfectly. XDA Developers’ Mishaal Rahman discovered this after the Recorder app mistook his name for “Michelle Ramon” and added several periods to what he actually said.

Audio search allows users to look for words in every transcript. With this feature, users won’t have to spend a lot of time looking for a specific word in a 100-minute recording. They can simply request the app to locate it for them.

The audio search feature can also be used to look for “audio events” in every recording. These “events” include “applause,” “bird,” “cat,” “dog,” “knock,” “laughter,” “rooster,” “phone,” and “whistling.” The app makes it easier to look for easy-to-remember audio cues like the neighbor’s barking dog.

Lastly, the audio transcription works offline, which means it is done on-device and without the need for data or Wi-Fi connection. Users can also do audio search offline as well.