Google Pixel 4: New Recorder app will take on Otter.AI with auto transcription, new features

Google Pixel 4 is coming soon. The upcoming Google flagship smartphone is set to be the biggest hardware launch by the company in the recent years. While we already know about the air gesture-enabling Soli radar chip and other key components, a new leak has now revealed an updated voice recording app. Dubbed as Recorder, the voice recorder app comes with automatic audio transcription and easy sharing features.

Spotted by 9to5Google, the Recorder app is very simple to use. Tap on the recording button, record your audio, and share it with your contacts or other apps. Automatic audio transcription, however, is the biggest update. Right now, there aren't many quality audio transcription applications other than the popular Otter.ai. These audio transcription apps also struggle with Indian English accent. XDA Developers in its review of the app pointed out similar shortcomings in Google's updated Recorder app.

As far as the updated Recorder app goes, some of the interesting features include ability to search for a word within the text of the recording. The app also adds time codes to recordings for an easier search. Google is also baking its machine learning algorithms into the new Recorder app as it will allow users to search for audio using keywords such as "laughter", "rooster", and "whistling" among others. Google may also include more new languages support in the Recorder app.

The new leak comes after Google updated its apps such as Live Transcribe with live transcription capabilities and even ability to convert an entire podcast audio into text.

Google is expected to unveil the new software capabilities at its October 15 event where it will showcase Google Pixel 4 series. The next flagship series will come with bold design changes including upgraded cameras and unique display - with thicker top bezel to house a faster FaceID-like facial recognition feature. The upgraded cameras are also expected to offer up to 8X zoom and come with additional camera sensors. The display could also offer OnePlus 7T-like 90Hz display.