Google Pixel 4’s Recorder App Is Coming to Older Pixel Phones

The Pixel 4’s recorder app doesn’t rely on Internet connectivity to transcribe audio

Google Pixel 4 duo's launch was marked by the debut of a more capable Google Assistant, new camera tools, and a few new apps. Among them was the awesome Recorder app that can record as well as transcribe audio in real-time, and also offers a nifty search feature. The Recorder app was thought to be a Pixel 4 exclusive, but Google has now confirmed that it plans to bring the app to older Pixel smartphones as well, but there is no official timeline as to when that will happen.

Responding to a user's query regarding the absence of Recorder app on previous-gen Pixels, an official Google account on Reddit by the name ‘Pixel Community' revealed that the company plans to bring the app to older Pixel phones as well. “Thanks for expressing interest in the Recorder app. We plan to roll it out to older Pixel devices in a future software update”, the Google account wrote on Reddit.

However, it is not clear which older Pixel models will get support for the Recorder app. Earlier it was thought that the Recorder app will remain exclusive to the Pixel 4, since it relies on the in-built Neural Core chip for on-device processing to record audio and transcribe it. While Google is yet to confirm its model-wise availability on older Pixels, it appears that the Pixel 2 ₹ 41,999 and Pixel 3 pair might get the Recorder app after all, since they too come equipped with the dedicated Visual Core chip, albeit for image processing.

As for the first-gen Pixel and Pixel XL, they are already nearing the end of official security support from Google, so it is highly unlikely that Google will bring the Recorder app on the three-year-old phones. Talking about features, the Recorder app can transcribe audio from lectures, meetings, and interviews in real-time without requiring an active Internet connection, since all that is done on-device. There is also a handy search feature that lets users search for any particular sound, words, or phrases from their existing recordings.