Interviews
Get the quote right.
Quern records an interview on your iPhone and writes it down as it's said, with each voice labelled. Every word stays tied to the moment it was spoken, so you can hear someone say it before you quote them. No transcription company ever gets a copy.
Free for 30 days, then £19.99 once. No subscription. Requires iPhone 15 Pro or later.
A quote you can check.
The words, who said them and the audio underneath, kept together from the moment you press record.
Exact words, or easy reading
Verbatim keeps every um, repeat and false start, for when exactly what was said matters. Clean hides them so you can read it straight through. The recording underneath is the same either way.
Hear it before you use it
Tap any word and the recording plays from there, each word lighting up as it's spoken. Every paragraph starts with its time, so a quote in your notes can point back to the minute it came from.
Both voices, told apart
Quern works out who is speaking. Name each person once and every line changes, and mark which voice is yours. When a name has been heard two ways, Quern asks which is right and fixes every one.
From the recording to your draft.
Exports keep the speaker names and the times, so nothing gets lost between the interview and the piece.
For writing
Markdown with the whole transcript, the summary and the audio beside it, ready for Obsidian or whatever you write in. Or a PDF to send to an editor.
- MDPengelly interview.md
- M4APengelly interview.m4a
- PDFPengelly interview.pdf
For audio and video
SRT and VTT subtitles, with the speaker's name on each caption, for a video edit or a podcast's transcript.
- SRTPengelly interview.srt
- VTTPengelly interview.vtt
Recorded it on something else? Share the audio to Quern, or import it from Files, and it's transcribed the same way.
Your source's words stay with you.
Send an interview to a cloud transcription service and it has a copy. Quern has no server, so there's nowhere for a copy to go. Once it's set up it works in Aeroplane Mode, and it can stay offline from the first question to the finished transcript.
- No account
- No upload
- Works offline
Quern for confidential workThe privacy policyFor research interviews
Before you press record.
Three habits that save you redoing a transcript later.
Say you're recording
Tell them, and get their agreement. The law where you are, your employer and your code may all expect it; the IPSO Editors' Code has a clause on hidden recording.
Choose the language
Quern transcribes in your iPhone's language. If the interview is in another, choose it in Quern before you start.
Check the names afterwards
Speech recognition gets names wrong more than anything else. When Quern hears one name two ways, it asks which spelling is right and changes every use.
Questions
Anything else: support, or [email protected]
How accurate is it?
As accurate as the audio lets it be. Quern uses Apple's on-device speech recognition, and a quiet room with the iPhone between you gives the best transcript. It will still get words wrong, names most of all, which is why every word takes you back to the recording.
Can it record a phone or video interview?
Not directly: Quern can't record a call, and it doesn't join Zoom or Teams. Put the call on speaker, or on a laptop beside you, and Quern hears both sides through the iPhone's microphone.
Which languages does it transcribe?
Your iPhone's language, or another you choose in Quern, wherever Apple's on-device speech recognition supports it. If an interview isn't in your iPhone's language, choose its language before you start.
Does it work with no signal?
Yes, once it's set up. The first time, iOS downloads speech recognition for your language. After that Quern works in Aeroplane Mode, for the interview and for the transcript.
Who else gets a copy?
Nobody, unless you export or share it. Quern has no server and no account. Your recordings are part of your iPhone's own data, so they're in its iCloud or computer backup if those are on; Quern for confidential work explains how to leave them out.
Can I record someone without them knowing?
No. While Quern records, the screen shows a light and a running timer, and iOS shows its own microphone indicator. It's made for recording openly.
What does it cost?
Everything works free for 30 days. After that it's £19.99, once, with no subscription and no limit on how much you record. It needs iPhone 15 Pro or later.
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