It only took the iPhone 17 years to support call recording

Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

Yesterday, Apple released iOS 18.1 developer beta 1 to enrolled iPhone 15 Pro users, giving them an early look at some of the upcoming Apple Intelligence features. With the newly introduced AI goods stealing the spotlight, a long-overdue feature has silently slipped through. The latest iteration of iOS 18 finally brings call recording and transcription to the iPhone.

After updating to iOS 18.1, iPhone users will find a new audio recording option at the top-left corner of the call screen. When clicked, iOS audibly announces that the call is being recorded to alert the other parties. After the call ends, the recording is automatically saved in the built-in Notes app, along with an automatically generated transcript.

Notably, call recording on iOS 18.1 beta 1 doesn’t require Apple Intelligence to function. We were able to use the feature normally before enabling the new AI features. The tool also works offline, as it utilizes the on-device Neural Engine. So, personal data isn’t processed in Apple or third-party clouds. Summarizing the generated transcript, however, requires Apple Intelligence to be active, as it’s not part of the base feature.

iOS 18.1 with call recording support is currently limited to iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max users enrolled in Apple’s developer program. Public testers can expect the respective beta to become available in the coming weeks. Otherwise, those who prefer waiting for the stable release can expect the final iOS 18.1 build to debut in October.

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