Apple Podcasts Adds Audio Transcript and I Love It

If you listen to podcasts, chances are that you rely on third-party podcast players like Overcast and Pocket Casts. However, if you have not used the native Apple Podcasts app in a while, we recommend you try it again. Apple has added several new features to the Apple Podcasts app, with the latest being, support for AI-generated podcast transcripts. 

With the latest iOS 17.4 update, the Apple Podcasts app now supports transcripts, allowing you to read along with your favorite podcasts. The transcript is synced with audio and allows you to search for any part of the podcast. Here’s how you can use this feature. 

• Listen to podcasts a lot? Check out our favorite open-ear wireless earbuds that you can use for hours without discomfort.

View audio transcripts in Apple Podcasts

When you are on the podcast player screen, just hit the transcript button in the bottom-left corner, and it will show you the transcript. The transcript syncs with the spoken audio and automatically scrolls to keep the current sentence in view. It also highlights the spoken sentence to make it easy to follow. 

You can also scroll up to view the full transcript. I love that you can tap on any part of the transcript to jump the audio player to that location. You will notice that there’s a search button. You can tap on it to search the transcripts for keywords and tap the result to move the player to that location. 

If you want to copy a part of the transcript to save to a note, you can do that. Open the three-dot menu in the top-right corner and tap the View Transcript button. You can scroll to find the text you are looking for or use the search icon in the top-right corner. Once you find the information you want to save, long-press and drag the handlebars to select it. Now, tap the Copy button to add it to your iPhone’s clipboard. Now, you can paste this into your note-taking app. 

I love this addition to the Apple Podcasts app. Despite being AI-generated, I find the transcripts to be quite accurate. Now, you can easily take notes on podcasts without using any third-party apps.