Record your calls

For most of my career I’ve worked as a reporter, and while my iPhone helped in many ways with my job, it also presented a huge problem.

It refused to record phone calls — an essential feature for a reporter.

For each and every story, I needed an accurate record of what people told me. This is especially critical for quotes, of course, which are literally word-for-word transcriptions of what someone said.

Luckily, I know Teeline shorthand, so I’d take contemporaneous notes. My iPhone was useless!

That’s about to change. With the release of iOS 18.1, which will likely be public next Monday, you will be bale to record phone calls directly, plus get a transcription of the call (if you sign up for Apple Intelligence on a compatible device).

This will prove very handy, I think, in a bunch of situations — not just reporting. You’ll be able to record conference call meetings, for example, with easy-to-email recaps for everyone on the call, or anyone who missed it. Here’s all you need to know about iPhone call recording.

Also in today’s newsletter:

• It’s a big day for Apple news. Tons of stories dropped today, including the genuine shocker that’s Apple’s been fined for shady practices surrounding Apple Card. Cupertino marketed Apple Card as the most consumer-friendly credit card ever. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau disagreed!

• The new M4 Mac mini — which is rumored to be super mini — may launch as soon as this week.

• A bunch of new Apple Intelligence features just rolled out: Image Playground, Genmoji, and more. For beta testers, that is.

• The new iPad mini just hit store shelves. If you pick one up, here’s the very first thing to do.

• Despite Tim Cook saying Vision Pro is a hit with early-adopters, Apple is reportedly ending production of the headset. Apple presumably has enough units stocked up to meet demand until the replacement comes along.

• Here’s a non surprise. The new trailer for hit Apple TV+ show Severance is as weird as the show itself.

• Todays’ the day in Apple history that the iPod was launched. I remember it was not long after 9/11, and I was working as a tech editor for Wired.com. We sent a reporter to cover the event, and he was given an iPod, which he didn't want because he couldn't connect it to his Windows PC (the first model had FireWire). So I traded it with him for a Tivo DVR that I won — no kidding — in a poetry competition. That’s how I got my first iPod. I still have it, and it still charges up! Talk about a transformative product. The iPod was a huge hit. It transformed Apple into a giant, and laid the groundwork for iPhone and more. Here's a roundup of the massive impact the iPod had on Apple, music, and our culture.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

^{A message from Cult of Mac Deals team}

^{A message from Cult of Mac Deals team}

Tweets of the day

Wallpaper of the day

One more thing ...

Today’s poll

Results from yesterday’s poll: How maddening do you find iPhone autocorrect?

Best reader comments

Subscribe to The Weekender — Get the week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.