Audio recording apps are a necessity for the 21st century student. Their versatility, ease of use and practical utility make them an ideal companion to other learning apps installed on your mobile device.
The App Store is teeming with all kinds of audio recording apps but you do not have to go through the piles. I did the legwork and compiled the list below. I only included the best audio recording apps in the market. I spent a long time digging, searching, reading reviews, and trying out several titles till I finally settled on the collection below.
If you are to ask me which one is my favorite in this list I would say Apple' s built-in Voice Memos app. It is free and comes pre-installed in your iOS device. I have been using it for few years now and I find it tremendously helpful. However, Voice Memos is very limited in terms of the features it provides which is why you may want to have another option handy.
The audio recording apps I included in this list will enable you to record audio, access live transcriptions, edit your audio by trimming and cutting parts, mix audio recordings, add textual notes, save your recordings to the cloud or share them via email or on social media websites and many more.
The apps differ in terms of the features they provide but will definitely live up to your expectation whether you are new to audio recording or you are an advanced user who want to use them for professional means.
Students can use these audio recording apps for a wide variety of purposes including to record lectures, meetings, memos, capture notes, record spontaneous ideas and many more. I invite you to check them out and share with us if you have other suggestions to consider for future review. For web tools, check out best online voice recording tools.
1- Voice Memos
Apple's built-in Voice Memos app is my favourite in this list. It comes pre-installed in iOS devices and is free to use. It does not offer advanced features like the apps below but for us in education (and also for personal use), the app is generous enough to be free.
Voice Memos lets you record audio, trim parts you do not like, add enhancements, and save your final recording to your phone. You can also share your audio recordings via AirDrop, text, email, and many more.
Age: 4+ /Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch / Price: Free
2- Voice Recorder & Audio Editor
Voice Recorder allows you to record audio for extended period of time. When your recording is over you can then edit it, trim it, protect it with a passcode and many more. It also allows you to add notes to your recordings and use speech to text feature to transcribe audio recordings to text. You can upload your final audio recording to cloud storage service of your choice (e.g, Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, iCloud Drive, OneDrive, etc) and share it with others via email or social media websites.
Age: 9+ /Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac / Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
3- Voice Recorder & Memos Pro
Voice Recorder & Memos Pro is another good voice recorder app that enable you to record and edit your recordings the way you want. The app offers various recording modes including preset time recording mode, mix recording mode, voice-activated mode, Bluetooth headset recording mode, and the normal recording mode. Each of these modes offer specific services.
For instance, the voice activated mode records your voice but automatically stops when your voice is below specified decibel. The mix recording mode lets you mix recordings with the audio of your choice. As for the editing features, the app allows you to crop audio, adjust pitch, speed, and volume; insert audio; delete blanks; reduce noise; add markers; transcribe audio; passcode protect recordings and more. Final recording can be shared via email, AirDrop, iTunes, and on social media websites.
Age: 4+ /Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac / Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
4- Voice Record Pro
Voice Record Pro supports audio recordings in various formats including AAC, MP3, and WAV. It also allows users to easily convert recordings to the format of their liking. Some of the interesting features provided by this app include the ability to add photos and notes to your recordings, mix recordings, split a record into various sections, add bookmarks to records, apply effects to recordings, trim and passcode protect recordings. You can also use Voice Record Pro to import or export audio recordings from/to Google Drive, iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, and many more.
Age: 9+ /Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac / Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
5- Easy Voice Recorder
Easy Voice Recorder lets you record audio and sound in simple and easy ways. It resembles Apple Voice Memos. The app supports various audio formats including PCM, MP4 and AAC. Besides cropping audio parts, you can also convert your recordings to text with transcription. The app lets you review your recordings by listening to them at high speed. When your recording is finalized you can then share it via email or to the app of your choice.
Age: 9+ /Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac / Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
6- Otter
Otter is another powerful audio recording app to use on your iOS devices. Otter allows you to record and transcribe your Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams meetings. It also supports real-time transcription allowing you to instantly access textual versions of your notes. Other helpful features provided by Otter include the ability to follow along the highlighted word as the audio is playing, edit transcribed text, invite collaborators to edit and work on your recording, import audio and video files, start/stop recording with Siri, record via AirPods, and many more. Otter Pro offers way more features including 6000 minutes of transcription per month, bulk export, and more.
Age: 9+ /Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac / Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
7- SuperNote Notes Recorder
SuperNote is a great app for recording audio notes. You can use it to record audio while simultaneously take textual notes. Recordings are built into your typed notes and can even be played back while typing. You can also add photos to your notes and capture photos while recording or typing. Other features provided by SuperNote include set reminders on notes, protect notes using passcodes, send notes to Dropbox or download to computer, share notes via email, and more.
Age: 9+ /Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac / Price: $27.99
8- Just Press Record
Just Press Record is an audio recording app that offers both recording and transcription services. You can start recording audio using either the built-in mic of your device, AirPods or external microphone. Record as long as you want and when done use the app editor to edit your audio and transcription. You can trim and cut out portions you don't want. You can also edit your transcribed text. For instance, you can correct errors, add new text, etc. Your recorded audio can be saved on the cloud or to your local device. You can also share it with others via email or social networking websites.
Age: 9+ /Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac / Price: $4.99
