Transcription
Every word, transcribed on your phone
1B Recorder turns speech into text in 21 languages with punctuation and timestamps. It runs on your phone, with no minute limits — the app doesn't even have permission to use the Internet.
Included in every copy of 1B Recorder, not part of Pro.
What it is
Speech recognition runs with open models made for phones: Parakeet v3 for the European languages and Whisper small for the rest. Each language is a model you install once, from Google Play or from a file.
While you record, live text can appear as you speak if your phone is fast enough. Afterwards the whole recording is transcribed in pieces, so a long meeting can be interrupted and resumed without starting over.
- 21 languages
- No minute limits
- Punctuation and timestamps
- Measured quality per language
How it works
- Step 1
Choose your languages
The app suggests your phone's language and shows each model with its size and measured quality. Models arrive through Google Play, or from a .1bmodel file.
- Step 2
Record or import
Record with the screen off, with pause and markers, or share audio and video to the app: WhatsApp voice notes, Telegram, audio files, videos and your phone's call recordings.
- Step 3
Read along
The transcript appears with times and, with Pro, speakers. Tap any sentence to hear it; the current sentence is highlighted as it plays.
- Step 4
Search and export
One search across all your transcripts takes you to the exact second. Export to TXT, Markdown, SRT or VTT, or keep the original audio.
Screenshots of the real app with made-up sample data.
Quality measured, not promised
Error rate per language with the app's own pipeline (lower is better). Beta languages are labelled as such.
| Language | Model | Error | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Parakeet v3 | WER 6.4 % | Very good |
| Español | Parakeet v3 | WER 5.8 % | Very good |
| Deutsch | Parakeet v3 | WER 2.6 % | Very good |
| Français | Parakeet v3 | WER 12.2 % | Good |
| Italiano | Parakeet v3 | WER 3.4 % | Very good |
| Português | Parakeet v3 | WER 8.0 % | Very good |
| Polski | Parakeet v3 | WER 14.3 % | Good |
| Română | Parakeet v3 | WER 18.2 % | Good |
| Русский | Parakeet v3 | WER 4.6 % | Very good |
| Türkçe | Whisper small | WER 23.2 % | Fair |
| Tiếng Việt | Whisper small | WER 32.5 % | Fair |
| 日本語 | Whisper small | CER 34.8 % | Fair |
| 中文 | Whisper small | CER 42.1 % | Fair |
| Dansk | Parakeet v3 | WER 41.6 % | Beta |
| Svenska | Parakeet v3 | WER 33.7 % | Beta |
| Norsk bokmål | Whisper small | WER 32.2 % | Beta |
| 한국어 | Whisper small | WER 60.6 % | Beta |
| हिन्दी | Whisper small | WER 94.2 % | Beta |
Error = WER (share of words wrong) or CER (share of characters wrong, for Japanese and Chinese), on read speech from the FLEURS set, 5 sentences per language, on high- and mid-range phones. Indicative figures, not a guarantee. Very good: up to 10%; good: up to 20%.
Who it's for
Long meetings
An hour or more, transcribed without counting minutes.
Several languages
Install the models you need; each recording keeps its own language.
Places without signal
On a plane or in a basement: it works the same.
Good to know
- Quality depends on the language, the microphone and the room; the table shows our measurements on read speech.
- Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Korean and Hindi are in beta.
- On older phones, transcription can take longer than the recording itself; the app tells you its estimate.
Questions about this feature
Does it really work without Internet?
Yes. The app has no Internet permission at all; models are installed through Google Play or from a file. Put your phone in airplane mode and try it.
How long does an hour take?
It depends on the phone. On a recent phone, a few minutes; the app shows an estimate before it starts.
Can I correct the text?
Yes. Edit any sentence; the original is kept underneath in case you want it back.
Which audio files can I import?
m4a, mp3, wav, ogg/opus (WhatsApp), amr, flac and the audio of mp4 videos.
Examples
See what you get from a recording
- Example
Microeconomics · Lecture 6: price elasticity
A lecture turned into key points, students' questions, homework and chapters you can jump through.
See the example - Example
Interview: beekeeping on city rooftops
A journalist's interview with the main statements, questions to follow up and every quote a tap away.
See the example - Example
Discovery call: coffee service for a design studio
An imported call recording: the client's needs, budget, objections and the follow-up, linked to each moment.
See the example
Try it yourself
Write to us and we will invite you as soon as the closed test opens. No Google Play link yet.