Kate Mills 
Feb 01, 2024
In the iOS 17.4 update, the tech giant Apple is introducing a new feature to its Podcasts app.
Releasing specifically for beta testers, the transcripts feature will enable iPhone users to also read the content of their favourite podcasts while it's being spoken.
By supporting the auto-generated transcripts in its Podcasts app, Apple has extended an additional way for users' to enjoy podcasts, going an extra mile to offer something out of the podcast-listening box.
Read more: iOS 18 could be 'biggest' update in iPhone's history — Here's why
The upcoming transcripts feature for Apple Podcasts bears great resemblance to another music app by the company: Apple Music, which also displays the lyrics of the song being played. To use this feature, Apple Music users can simply tap the speech bubble icon at the bottom-left corner of the fullscreen media playback screen on Apple Music app, according to Mac Rumors.
Click on the automatically generated transcript to expand it to full screen. The transcript will automatically scroll and highlight the text as the episode plays, or you can manually scroll through it. You can also tap on a sentence to jump to that point in the podcast, and select text for copying and pasting.
There is a Search button at the bottom of the screen for searching specific words or phrases in the transcript. You can then tap to skip to the audio track at that point.
Transcripts can also be accessed from the Up Next section in the Home tab by pressing and holding a podcast episode to reveal the View Transcript option in the dropdown menu. On the episode details page, you can tap the ellipsis (three dots) button top-right to reveal the same option.
Currently, not all podcast episodes have transcripts, but Apple is adding transcripts for back catalogue episodes over time. Transcripts are available in English, French, German, and Spanish, and podcast hosts can choose to upload their own transcripts instead of using the automatically generated version.
The transcripts feature is part of Apple's iOS 17.4 update, which is currently available to developers. Apple plans to release it to the public in March.
