Explained · 29 September 2026
Can Apple Intelligence take meeting notes?
Partly. Notes and Voice Memos can record a meeting, write it down and, on an iPhone with Apple Intelligence, summarise it. What they don't do is tell you who said what, or turn the meeting into actions with names against them.
I make Quern, which is built on Apple Intelligence to do that part. What's said here about Apple's apps is from Apple's guide to recording in Notes.
What your iPhone does already.
No app to install. Both work in ten languages on iPhone 12 or later, and summarise on iPhone 15 Pro or later.
Notes
Add an audio recording to a note and it's transcribed as it records. You can type your own notes alongside, search the transcript, add it to the note or copy it out. With Apple Intelligence, it summarises the transcript, and you can copy and share the summary.
Voice Memos
Record, and the transcript appears as you go, with each word lit as it plays back. With Apple Intelligence, select the transcript and Writing Tools will summarise it. The text can be copied into another app.
How to record a meeting on iPhone has the steps for each.
Where meeting notes need more.
A summary of what was said isn't quite a record of the meeting. For that you need names against it.
| You need | Notes and Voice Memos | Quern |
|---|---|---|
| Record and transcribe | Yes, in Notes and Voice Memos (iPhone 12 or later) | Yes, as people speak |
| A summary | Yes, with Apple Intelligence | Yes, with Apple Intelligence |
| Who said what | No speaker labels | Speakers labelled and named |
| Decisions and actions | Whatever the summary picks out | Grouped into decided, still open and actions, each action with its owner |
| Check a point against the audio | Find it in the transcript yourself | The time beside each point; tap to hear it |
| Export | Copy or share the text | PDF, Markdown, SRT and VTT subtitles |
| Cost | Free | Free for 30 days, then £19.99 once |
The same Apple Intelligence, on the same iPhone.
Quern's summaries come from Apple's on-device model, the one Apple Intelligence runs on the phone. It never uses Apple's cloud servers, so a meeting is summarised in Aeroplane Mode as readily as on Wi-Fi. What Quern adds is around the model: the speaker labels, the grouping, the owners and the times.
That's also why Quern needs iPhone 15 Pro or later: without Apple Intelligence there's no summary to build on.
Questions
Anything else: support, or [email protected]
Which iPhones have Apple Intelligence?
iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPhone 16 or later, in a supported language and region. Transcription alone works on iPhone 12 or later.
Does it work for Zoom and Teams calls?
Not directly. Notes and Voice Memos record through the microphone, like Quern, so a call on speaker is heard. A phone or FaceTime call can be recorded in the Phone or FaceTime app, and its transcript appears in Notes.
Is Apple Intelligence private?
Apple runs some Apple Intelligence on the device and some on its Private Cloud Compute servers. Quern uses only the model on the iPhone, so a meeting's summary is written on the phone and nothing is sent anywhere.
Why pay for Quern if Notes can do this?
If one person speaks, or you only need the gist, don't: Notes is free and good. Quern is for meetings with several voices, where the notes need to say who said what and who is doing what, and you need to check it before it goes to other people.
Can Apple Intelligence write proper minutes?
It writes a summary, and it can be wrong, so treat it as a first draft. Minutes need names against decisions and actions, which is the part Quern adds. Check each point before you send it.
Free for 30 days.
Then £19.99, once.
Out 19 October on the App Store
- First 30 days
- Free, everything works
- Then
- £19.99, once
- Subscription
- None
- Family Sharing
- Included
- If you don't unlock it
- Your recordings stay yours to play, read and export