WhatsApp continues to innovate and introduce valuable features for its users. The latest development which many of its users are waiting for, is the ability to transcribe voice notes into text.
As reported by WABetaInfo, this new feature is currently under development and will soon be available in beta form. This feature is already offered by some competitors, although it may only be available in the paid version.
The team behind WhatsApp is developing their own solution, rather than relying on existing apps for transcription. In September 2021, there were reports that WhatsApp was testing the feature on iOS devices. And the transcription is using Apple services, not Facebook or Meta.
However, the development of the feature was temporarily on hold for unknown reasons. This is not uncommon. As many preliminary functions don’t make it to the final release due to testing processes that sometimes don’t pass.
Now, the development of the voice memo transcription has been available in the latest WhatsApp beta update for iOS, version 23.3.0.73. The introduction screen for the new feature will explain the cases in which the transcription will not be available, such as when the words are not recognized or are in a different language than what is installed within the app.
It is important to note that the transcripts will be generate on the device, meaning locally. WhatsApp and Apple will not receive it. Users will have to download the necessary language packs to use the feature. WABetaInfo suggests that this feature may only be available on newer versions of iOS.
In the meantime, we will have to wait for the feature’s public release, which will take place soon. As is typical, it will first available in public beta and then move to the stable version if all goes well.
