The lack of a recording app built into Google’s Pixel phone has presented a problem for users for years, forcing them to download third-party applications from the Google Play Store. However, the latest Pixel 4 has finally brought an official voice recording app that’s also compatible with older Pixel models (2 and up).
Apart from allowing you to record and save audio, the Recorder app can also turn speech into searchable text (even while offline) and it’s compatible with the newest Google Assistant on Pixel 4 phones. Here’s how to use the Recorder app:
Table of Contents
Creating and deleting a recording
- Open the Recorder app on your Pixel phone.
- Tap the Record icon (white circle inside a red circle) to record audio. The app will show a “Currently recording” message in your notifications while recording, and it will continue to record even if the screen goes to sleep.
- After you’re done recording audio, press Pause (red circle with two white lines).
- Then, choose whether to Save or Delete your recording.
- If you want to name your recording, press Add Title.
Saving, sharing and backing up a recording
All of your recordings will be stored in your Pixel phone, unless you share your files with other people, or save them in another place, such as Google Drive. Here’s how to do it:
Saving or sharing a recording or transcript
- Open the Recorder app on your Pixel phone.
- Press and hold a specific recording you’d like to save or share.
- Next, press the Share icon in the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Here, you can choose whether you want to Save or Share your recording as an audio file, text file (transcript) or even both.
- Finally, choose an app to share your file, such as social media, or a file storage app to save, like Google Drive.
Directly saving a transcript
- Open the Recorder app on your Pixel phone.
- Tap the audio recording of your choice.
- Next, tap Transcript near the bottom.
- Press More (three vertical lines).
- Finally, choose whether you’d like to Save text to Google Docs or Save to Google Drive.
Using the Recorder app with Google Assistant (Pixel 4 & English only)
On Pixel 4 phones, you have the ability to start, stop, save, and search your recordings using the newest version of Google Assistant. Just say the following phrases:
- “Start a voice recording.”
- “Stop voice recording.”
- “Save voice recording with title” and then say your title.
- “Search voice recording for” and then say your keyword.
While the Recorder app is incredibly convenient and simple to use, make sure to follow rules and regulations, and get permissions from other people while recording audio, for the best and safest experience.