iOS 18.1 beta: How to record a phone call on iPhone

For a long time, iPhone users worldwide have anticipated a native call-recording functionality. Although late, Apple has finally listened to the users’ demands and added the on-device call recording feature with iOS 18.1 beta on all Apple Intelligence-supported iPhones.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to record a call on an iPhone running on iOS 18.1 beta 1, then access and listen to the recordings afterward.

How to record phone calls in iOS 18.1 on an iPhone

Introduced at WWDC 2024, the new call recording feature is a part of Apple Intelligence (Apple’s take on artificial intelligence). It lets you natively record and transcribe phone calls on your iPhone 15 Pro series, running on iOS 18.1.

Here are the steps to record a phone call on an iPhone using iOS’s new call-recording feature:

1. Open the Phone app on your iPhone and make a call.
2. Once the call connects, tap the little Record button in the top-left corner of the screen to start recording the call.
   
   

You’ll now hear the “This Call Will Be Recorded” message being played for both parties on the call. This is to protect the recipient’s privacy so they can decide whether they are okay with their conversation being recorded.

As the call progresses, the audio is recorded and saved in the Notes app simultaneously. You can even add notes to the audio being recorded while the call progresses.

How to listen and transcript calls in iOS 18.1 beta 1

Similar to how the Math Notes feature in iOS 18 saves your calculations in the iOS Notes app, the call recording feature also automatically saves all your recorded calls in Notes. That way, you can re-listen a recording, view its complete transcript, or get a summary without having to listen to the complete recording.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open the Notes app.
2. Tap on the Call Recordings folder at the top.
3. Here, select the call recording you want to listen to and tap the Play button.
   
   
4. If you want to view transcription of the recorded call, tap on the call recording, and you’ll see the entire transcript.
   
   
5. If you don’t want to read the whole transcription, you can opt for the summary instead. Just tap on Summary, and you’ll see a short summary of your recorded conversation on your screen.
   
   

How to share call recordings from an iPhone

While the call recordings aren’t going anywhere from the Notes app, you can share the audio file directly to other apps or save it to the Files if you want to transfer it to your PC or a portable drive.

1. With the call recording open, tap the three-dot button in the top-right corner of the app.
2. Select Share Audio from the menu, then select the app on the Share Sheet using which you want to share the recorded file.
3. Alternatively, tap on Save Audio to Files and follow the on-screen instructions to save the recorded audio to the Files app.
   
   

Video: iOS 18.1 Call Recording Feature: How to RECORD Phone Calls

Signing off…

The introduction of the call recording feature is a welcome step that every iPhone user will surely cherish. Also, it’s good that Apple kept the focus on user privacy and added the warning dialogue before the recording starts. However, as the feature is currently in beta, you might experience a few bugs here and there.

What do you think about the new call recording feature? Do share your thoughts in the comments.

Read more on iOS 18:

• Best iOS 18 features you should check out
• iOS 18 lets you remove objects from photos using the Clean Up tool
• What is Genmoji in iOS 18 and how to use it?