The upcoming iOS update from Apple is set to introduce native transcripts to its Podcasts app. This feature, leveraging automatic transcription technology, will be for podcasts in English, French, German, and Spanish across more than 170 countries and regions.
With this new functionality, users will be able to easily locate and jump to specific segments of a podcast. The transcripts allow for searchable keywords and phrases, enabling listeners to directly navigate to relevant parts of an episode.
The feature will include a read-along option, where words are highlighted in real-time as they are spoken during the podcast.
Apple will allow podcast creators to submit their own transcripts or to edit and re-upload the automatically generated versions. However, it’s noted that the transcripts will focus on spoken content, excluding music lyrics. The company also plans to gradually incorporate transcripts for older podcast episodes over time.
The iOS 17.4 update is expected to be released by March.
