Apple Notes transcription on a Mac: what it needs, the languages, summaries and limits

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Notes on a Mac can record audio inside a note and transcribe it as you speak. Apple's guide says the transcript needs a Mac with M1 or later and a device language from a short list: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese or Traditional Chinese. It transcribes recordings you make in Notes. Apple's guide does not describe transcribing an audio or video file you already have.

The Notes facts here come from Apple's Notes User Guide for macOS 27, read on October 11, 2026. I built YapToText, a free dictation app for the Mac, and I point to it only where Notes stops.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

On this page: 8 sections
  1. Record and see the live transcript
  2. The Macs and languages it works with
  3. Read, search and copy the transcript
  4. Summaries with Apple Intelligence
  5. What Notes transcription does not do
  6. If the transcript does not show
  7. The short version
  8. Questions

Record and see the live transcript

  1. Open a note in the Notes app.
  2. Click the attachment button in the toolbar, then Record Audio.
  3. Click the record button and talk. You can keep typing in the note while it records.
  4. Click the transcript button to watch the words appear live.
  5. Click the Pause button, then Done, when you finish. The recording stays in the body of the note.

Apple's note on that step: spoken words in supported languages are transcribed automatically, and if you do not see the transcript button, your Mac does not meet the minimum requirements or did not detect a supported language.

The Macs and languages it works with

From Apple's guide Record and transcribe audio in Notes on Mac, for macOS 27, read October 11, 2026.

RequirementWhat Apple's guide says
MacM1 or later
Device languageEnglish localized for Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK or the United States, plus Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese
AccountAll Notes features in the guide are available with iCloud notes. Some are not with accounts from other providers
RegionsAudio transcription is not available in all languages and regions

Apple ties the feature to the device language, the one your Mac is set to, and not only to the language you speak. The Mac dictation languages page lists what Apple supports for dictation, which is a longer list.

Read, search and copy the transcript

  • Open it. Double-click the recording in the note, then click the transcript button.
  • Jump. Click any text to play the audio from that point.
  • Search. Click the More button, then Find in Transcript.
  • Copy. Click the More button, then Add Transcript to Note or Copy Transcript.
  • Rename. Click the boldfaced title, type a name, and press Return.
  • Add on. Open the recording, go to the end, and record again to extend it.

Deleting the audio recording also deletes the transcript, so copy the words into the note first if you want to keep them.

Summaries with Apple Intelligence

Open a note with a recording, double-click the recording, and click Summary. Apple Intelligence generates a summary of the transcript, which you can copy or share. Apple adds two cautions: Apple Intelligence is not available in every language or region and usage limits may apply, and some languages that support summaries are not available for audio transcription. So a language can have one without the other.

What Notes transcription does not do

  • Files you already have. The guide covers recordings made in Notes. For a voice memo, a recording from your phone or a video file, use something that reads files.
  • Other languages. Outside the device languages listed above there is no transcript.
  • Intel Macs. The transcript needs M1 or later.
  • A transcript without the audio. The transcript belongs to the recording, and is deleted with it unless you copy it out.

For a file you already have, YapToText's Transcribe a file card takes any audio or video file macOS can decode and returns plain text, on an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later, in 29 languages. It is free. Paste the text into a note, or click Insert to type it there. Transcribe Voice Memos on a Mac and transcribe an audio file for free cover those cases, and speech to text in Notes covers dictating straight into a note.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

If the transcript does not show

  1. Check the Mac. It has to be M1 or later.
  2. Check the device language in System Settings, General, Language and Region, against Apple's list.
  3. Check the account. The note should be in iCloud, not in an account from another provider.
  4. Check the speech. Apple says the button is missing when no supported language was detected.

Voice Memos transcription not working covers the same kind of problem in Voice Memos.

The short version

  • Needs. M1 or later, and a device language on Apple's list.
  • Record. Attachment button, Record Audio.
  • Keep the words. Add Transcript to Note, before deleting the audio.
  • Summary. Double-click the recording, then Summary.
  • Existing files. Not in Notes. Use a file transcriber.

If Apple changes these steps, open an issue on GitHub and I will update this page. Every one gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

Can Apple Notes transcribe audio on a Mac?

Yes. Notes records audio in a note and transcribes it, on a Mac with M1 or later when the device language is one Apple lists.

What languages does Apple Notes transcription support?

Apple's guide lists English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese as device languages.

Can Apple Notes transcribe a video or an existing recording?

Apple's guide describes transcribing recordings you make in Notes. For an existing audio or video file, use a file transcriber such as YapToText.

How do I get a summary of a recording in Notes?

Double-click the recording and click Summary. It uses Apple Intelligence, which is not available in every language or region.

Why is there no transcript in my Notes recording?

Apple says the transcript button is missing when the Mac does not meet the minimum requirements or no supported language was detected.