News and journalism
View a Transcript of Audio Messages
iPhone Life, iPhone Life, 2023
Read the originalRead on October 17, 2026
- What it is
- A how-to guide that explains how iPhone Messages shows a transcript under audio messages from iOS 17 onward, and what both people in a conversation need to have for it to work.
- How much weight it carries
- Secondhand, and not an Apple document. The copy read has no byline date; the 2023 year is inferred from the iOS 17 release. Apple's own Messages pages did not show the transcript wording when fetched, so check Apple's current support pages before relying on the details.
Facts taken from this source
- From iOS 17, Messages on iPhone shows a transcript under audio messages automatically.
“Starting with iOS 17, iMessage will now automatically display a transcription underneath audio messages.” (System Requirements section)
- Both the sender and the recipient need iOS 17 for audio message transcripts to appear in Messages.
“The catch is that both the sender and recipient need to be on iOS 17.” (System Requirements section)
- The iPhone Life guide says you do not need to enable any special settings to see transcripts of audio messages in Messages, because the feature works automatically.
“You don’t need to enable any special settings, as this feature works automatically.” (How to Transcribe Voice Messages on iPhone)