The Recording Screen
The recording screen in 12scribe is built for simplicity during live sessions. When you start a recording, you see three main elements: a timer showing elapsed time, a waveform that gives visual confirmation audio is being captured, and the marker panel where you can tag important moments with a single tap.
Everything is designed for one-handed operation. You can place your device on a desk, glance at the waveform to confirm audio levels are good, and then focus entirely on the speaker. The recording continues reliably even when you lock the screen or switch to another app, making 12scribe ideal as a lecture recording app or meeting recorder where you need hands-free operation.
The waveform visualization is not just decorative — it provides real-time feedback about audio levels. Tall peaks indicate clear audio capture, while a flat line usually means the microphone is blocked, muted, or the environment is completely silent. A quick glance at the waveform tells you everything you need to know about recording quality.
Start Recording
To begin a new recording, open any project and tap the red Record button. The app requests microphone permission on first use — grant it once and the prompt will not appear again. Once recording starts, the timer begins counting and the waveform reacts to ambient audio levels in real time.
If you are recording a lecture, place your iPhone face-down on the desk near the speaker for the best audio quality. The built-in microphone is sensitive enough to pick up speech clearly from several meters away in a reasonably quiet room. For noisy environments — crowded lecture halls, conference rooms with HVAC noise — position the device as close to the speaker as possible.
You can start recording from any project type — Lecture, Meeting, or Other. The recording process is identical regardless of project type. The type only affects how AI processes the recording later when generating Smart Notes.
During Recording
While recording is active, you have several controls and feedback elements available on screen:
- Add Marker — tap the marker button to bookmark an important moment. You can choose between Flag, Favorite, or Fire marker types to create a priority hierarchy. Each marker automatically captures audio from before your tap thanks to the rolling audio buffer — by default, 30 seconds of preceding audio. This means you never miss a thought, even if you react five or ten seconds late. The buffer has you covered. Learn more about adding markers while recording and customizing the buffer duration.
- Pause — tap Pause to temporarily stop recording without ending the session. The timer freezes and the waveform goes flat. This is useful during lecture breaks, meeting intermissions, or when you step away. See Pause, Resume, and Multiple Sessions for the full workflow.
- Monitor the waveform — keep an occasional eye on the waveform display to confirm audio is being captured properly. A flat line during active speech means something is wrong — check that no other app has taken microphone control.
- View marker list — markers you add appear in a scrollable list on the recording screen, with the most recent at the top. This lets you verify your markers are being placed and see a running tally of how many you have added.
You can also switch to other apps while recording. 12scribe continues capturing audio in the background and displays a red indicator in the iOS status bar to remind you that recording is active. Background recording works reliably for hours — there is no time limit imposed by the app.
Stop and Save
When your session is complete, tap Stop. The recording is saved automatically inside the current project — there is no manual save step and no risk of losing audio if you forget to save. The app also auto-saves periodically during recording, so even unexpected interruptions (low battery, incoming phone call) preserve most of your audio.
After stopping, your recording appears as a session in the project with its duration, start timestamp, and all the markers you added. You now have several options for what to do next:
- Tap Transcribe to convert the audio to searchable text — the process takes 2-5 minutes for a one-hour recording
- Review and edit your markers — rename them, adjust timestamps, add descriptions while your memory is fresh
- Start a new recording session in the same project — it becomes the next session with continuous timestamps
- Adjust buffer settings before your next session if you found the default buffer too short or too long