Can I change mode in the middle of a recording?

No — the format is fixed when the take starts. Save what you have and start a new one.

Why does Meetings mode use a lower sample rate?

Speech lives below 8 kHz. Recording a meeting at 48 kHz stores the room, not the voice, and makes the file four times bigger for no gain in clarity.

Which mode gives the smallest files?

Meetings & lectures, at about 28 MB per hour. Standard is roughly 56 MB per hour, and WAV stereo at 48 kHz is about 350 MB per hour.

Recording modes explained: Standard, Meetings, Music and Custom

The cards on the home screen are not decoration — each one loads a different capture setup. Picking the right one is the difference between a clear meeting and an hour of room hum.

Standard

M4A, 44.1 kHz, 128 kbps, mono. Compatible with anything, and small enough that a long take does not eat your storage. Gentle automatic gain keeps a quiet voice audible. Use it for notes, ideas and interviews.

Meetings & lectures

M4A, 22.05 kHz, 64 kbps, mono, with the voice-processing chain on: noise suppression, echo cancellation and automatic gain. It throws away the frequencies speech does not use, which is exactly why a voice in a large room comes out clearer. A file is roughly a quarter the size of Standard.

Music & raw sound

WAV, 48 kHz, stereo, with every kind of processing off. Nothing is compressed and nothing is cleaned up, so quiet parts stay quiet and loud parts stay loud. Use it for music, room tone, field recording — anything you plan to edit later. WAV is big: budget around 350 MB per hour.

Custom

Your own settings, kept between takes: M4A or WAV, 8 / 22.05 / 44.1 / 48 kHz, 64 to 320 kbps, mono or stereo. Set it in Settings › Recording › Audio quality.

Picking in one line

A voice across a table — Standard.
A voice across a room, or a call on speaker — Meetings & lectures.
Anything musical, or anything you will edit — Music & raw sound.
A specific format someone else asked for — Custom.

FAQ

Can I change mode in the middle of a recording?: No — the format is fixed when the take starts. Save what you have and start a new one.
Why does Meetings mode use a lower sample rate?: Speech lives below 8 kHz. Recording a meeting at 48 kHz stores the room, not the voice, and makes the file four times bigger for no gain in clarity.
Which mode gives the smallest files?: Meetings & lectures, at about 28 MB per hour. Standard is roughly 56 MB per hour, and WAV stereo at 48 kHz is about 350 MB per hour.

Record it properly next time

Voice Recorder — Novaz records meetings, lectures and ideas in M4A or WAV, marks the moments that matter, trims and merges, and turns speech into searchable text — all on your iPhone.

Download on the App Store