Podcasts are the savior of commuters everywhere, but it’s not always convenient to find a specific part of a recording if you lose your place. Some apps offer transcription services that make it easier to search and find information, but Apple’s native Podcasts app doesn’t have that function. That’s changing with the upcoming iOS 17.4 update, which will bring transcripts to the app with support for several languages.
9to5Mac reported that the feature will be available via a “quote” icon at the bottom of the app screen. Like karaoke, the transcripts highlight the words as they are spoken. Users can read the transcription without listening to the audio by tapping and holding the desired episode and selecting the view transcript option.
The company’s documentation states that it automatically generates the transcript when an episode is published, saying, “Your episode will be available for listening right away, and the transcript will be available shortly afterwards. There will be a short delay while we process your transcript. If portions of your episode change with dynamically inserted audio, Apple Podcasts will not display the segments of the audio that have changed since the original transcription. Music lyrics are also not displayed in the transcript.”
Publishers can also choose to upload their own transcripts, though there are some hoops to jump through, and not all hosting providers support transcripts. Apple Podcasts will offer English, French, German, and Spanish transcription, and the service will be available in more than 170 countries worldwide.