Proposed New Playback Options in "VoiceMemos" App

I have just discovered that if you want to record a note that is purely an audio recording, then "VoiceMemo" is a far better app to use than Notes. It has much better features than Notes like editing the voice recording, but has all of the Notes features when audio is used (e.g. transcription, which is essential for me).


One of the great things about "VoiceMemo" is the "options" menu that allows you to configure some playback options like "skip silence" and "enhanced recording". These options are very focused on voice as the medium and takes account of possible defects in the original recording like gaps of silence because you stop all the time to gather your thoughts and it is nice to play it back as if you had the thoughts coming out smoothly without gaps in the first place.


In this vein, it would be nice if Apple could add some more voice playback options that account for defects in the voice presentation when it is recording. One of those common defects is saying "uh" or "um" because as you record your thoughts you cannot think fast enough ahead of time as to what your next thought will be and the "uh" or "um" is just a bad vocal habit to cover the pause. However, it is worse than a mere pause (corrected by "skip silence") because it is very distracting on playback. Also it clutters up the transcription, which more desirably should be free of the "uh" and "um".


So I would recommend Apple adding an option to skip the "uh" and "um". I hope the AI voice technology behind the app is smart enough to detect most speakers' "uh"'s and "um"'s and distinguish these from the similar sounds, but embedded in a word to effect its proper pronunciation (e.g. pronouncing the word "mother" that has the "uh" sound in the first syllable).


iPhone 16e, iOS 18

Posted on Oct 7, 2025 3:50 PM

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Posted on Oct 8, 2025 6:57 AM

CallMeAllen wrote:


In this vein, it would be nice if Apple could add some more voice playback options that account for defects in the voice presentation when it is recording. One of those common defects is saying "uh" or "um" because as you record your thoughts you cannot think fast enough ahead of time as to what your next thought will be and the "uh" or "um" is just a bad vocal habit to cover the pause. However, it is worse than a mere pause (corrected by "skip silence") because it is very distracting on playback. Also it clutters up the transcription, which more desirably should be free of the "uh" and "um".

So I would recommend Apple adding an option to skip the "uh" and "um". I hope the AI voice technology behind the app is smart enough to detect most speakers' "uh"'s and "um"'s and distinguish these from the similar sounds, but embedded in a word to effect its proper pronunciation (e.g. pronouncing the word "mother" that has the "uh" sound in the first syllable).

Apple doesn't read here for feedback or suggestions. You can, however, let them know your thoughts here:


Product Feedback - Apple


Meanwhile, the market is awash with AI voice recorders, both hardware and software, right now. While they aren't free, they have a lot of features.


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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 8, 2025 6:57 AM in response to CallMeAllen

CallMeAllen wrote:


In this vein, it would be nice if Apple could add some more voice playback options that account for defects in the voice presentation when it is recording. One of those common defects is saying "uh" or "um" because as you record your thoughts you cannot think fast enough ahead of time as to what your next thought will be and the "uh" or "um" is just a bad vocal habit to cover the pause. However, it is worse than a mere pause (corrected by "skip silence") because it is very distracting on playback. Also it clutters up the transcription, which more desirably should be free of the "uh" and "um".

So I would recommend Apple adding an option to skip the "uh" and "um". I hope the AI voice technology behind the app is smart enough to detect most speakers' "uh"'s and "um"'s and distinguish these from the similar sounds, but embedded in a word to effect its proper pronunciation (e.g. pronouncing the word "mother" that has the "uh" sound in the first syllable).

Apple doesn't read here for feedback or suggestions. You can, however, let them know your thoughts here:


Product Feedback - Apple


Meanwhile, the market is awash with AI voice recorders, both hardware and software, right now. While they aren't free, they have a lot of features.


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Proposed New Playback Options in "VoiceMemos" App

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