Recording on your phone
Record with your phone
Step 1 of 10 · On the home screen, tap the blue record button at the bottom right.
The demo plays automatically. You can also tap the glowing spot on the phone, pick a step above, or use the left and right arrow keys.
Start recording
- Tap the record button in the bottom-right corner of the home screen to open the recording screen. The recording screen doesn't start recording on its own: the timer stays at 00:00:00 and the status is “Ready”.
- If needed, first tap the language pill in the top-right corner and choose the recording language: Auto detect, Chinese, English, or Cantonese. LATU remembers your last choice, and the transcript generated after recording uses this language too.
- Tap “Start Recording”. The first time you record, follow the system prompt to allow LATU to use the microphone.
- Once recording starts, a red dot appears before the title, the title changes to “Recording”, and the timer starts running.
You can tap back in the top-left corner at any time to return to the home screen, and recording doesn't stop. The record button on the home screen turns red and shows the timer; tap it to return to the recording screen.
What's on the recording screen
Top
- Language pill: The current recording language. It can't be changed while uploading.
- Audio source: Once recording starts, shows “Phone microphone” or “Recording card” (narrow screens show only the icon). When a recording card is connected, LATU records with the card automatically. To use the phone microphone, disconnect the card first.
- Location: Appears when “Profile → Recording & organizing → Record recording location” is on. Tap it to skip the location this time (“Skipped this time”); tap again to restore it.
Three tabs
- Audio: The waveform and timer.
- Live transcript: Text appears as you record, split into Speaker 1, Speaker 2, and so on. The partial sentence still being recognized is labeled “Recognizing”. It connects automatically when recording starts, and you don't need to wait for it to connect before recording. These live captions are just for following along in the moment. The final transcript is recognized again after the recording is uploaded, with speakers told apart.
- Notes: Each part you mark creates a card that captures what was said during that time. You can also add your own key points under “Write the key point…” at the bottom of the card.
Bottom buttons
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Flag | “Mark this part” starts a mark; tap again for “End mark”. Only available while recording, with up to 200 marks per recording |
| Red trash can | Discard this recording. You'll be asked to confirm first, and a discarded recording can't be recovered |
| Pause / Resume | While paused, the title shows “Paused” |
| Finish | Stop recording and upload automatically |
Finish and upload
When you tap “Finish”, the recording is first saved on your phone and then uploads automatically, with nothing else to tap:
- The recording screen shows “Uploading” and “Uploading, keep the app in front”.
- Once the upload succeeds, you'll see “Recording uploaded”, and LATU returns to the home screen with this recording at the top.
- The status on the home screen card changes in turn: Uploading → Processing → Transcribing → Analyzing, then shows “SI Minutes” when it's done. You'll get a notification when processing is finished. See Notifications and announcements.
If the upload fails (for example, because you're offline), the recording is still on your phone. You'll see “Upload failed (reason). It'll retry when you're back online”, and the main button on the recording screen changes to “Upload & transcribe” so you can upload it again manually.
Screen lock, background, and calls
- Recording continues when the screen is locked or LATU is in the background. On iPhone, a “Recording” notification appears when LATU goes to the background (unless Live Activities are on). On Android, a recording notification stays in the notification bar.
- Interruptions such as incoming calls: Recording pauses and shows “Recording interrupted, tap to resume”. When the interruption ends, recording resumes automatically, and an “Interrupted here for N seconds” card is added to your notes. If it can't resume automatically, you'll get the notification “Recording paused / Couldn't resume automatically after the interruption. Tap to continue”. On Android, detecting call interruptions requires Android 10 or later.
- If recording stops unexpectedly: Whatever was already recorded is saved and can be uploaded.
- Microphone in use by another app: You'll see “The microphone is in use by another app”. Close the app that's using the microphone, then tap “Try again”.
Live Activities in the Dynamic Island and on the Lock Screen (iPhone)
On iOS 16.1 and later, a Live Activity appears in the Dynamic Island and on the Lock Screen once you start recording:
- The status (Recording / Paused / Interrupted · resumes when the call ends), the audio source, and the timer.
- The line below shows the latest live transcript (the system hides this line while your phone is locked).
- On iOS 17 and later, there's a red “End” button. It works just like “Finish” on the recording screen: it stops, saves, and uploads the recording in the background, without opening LATU.
If you've turned off “Live Activities” for LATU in system Settings, no Live Activity appears, and you'll get a “Recording” notification instead.
Retrying uploads and recovering recordings
- After a failed upload, LATU tries again automatically when your network comes back or when you return to LATU. If several rounds in a row fail, you'll get the notification “Recording upload failed / The recording is still on this phone. Tap to retry”.
- On iPhone, uploads are handed off to the system to finish in the background, so they can complete even with the screen locked. When the upload is done, you'll get a “Recording uploaded” notification.
- The home screen card shows why the upload didn't go through. Tap “Upload now” to retry manually.
- If LATU was closed in the middle of an upload, you can recover the recording in “Profile → More settings → Recover unuploaded recordings”. See Recover unuploaded recordings.
Tips before you record
- Before your first recording, add names, product names, and terms you use often in “Profile → Preferences & permissions → ASR dictionary” to make transcripts more accurate. See ASR dictionary.
- To pick up sound on a meeting table, we recommend the AI recording card.