iPhone, Pixel and Samsung Galaxy can record a phone call, transcribe it as you talk and hand you a transcript and some can do a summary with the next steps, right on the phone. Nothing to install, nothing to pay. The legal pad by the phone is officially retired. Steps below.

iPhone (iOS 18.1 and up)

On a call, tap the waveform icon in the top-left corner. A voice tells everyone, “This call is being recorded.” Hang up, and the audio and a full transcript are waiting in Notes. On an iPhone 15 Pro or newer with Apple Intelligence, tap the note for a summary.

In-person meeting? Open Notes, tap the paper clip, tap Record Audio. Same transcript, same summary.

Pixel 9 and 10 (not the A models)

Turn it on once. Phone app > three dots > Settings > Call Notes. On a call, tap Call Notes. The other side hears a notice. Afterward, you get the recording, a transcript and a summary with action items, and Google says all of it stays on your phone.

For meetings, the Recorder app transcribes live and summarizes on Pixel 8 and up.

Samsung Galaxy (One UI 7 and up)

On a call, three dots > Record call. Both sides get the announcement. When you hang up, open Phone > Recents, tap the call, then View recording and transcript. Samsung’s Voice Recorder app does the same for a meeting in the room.

Older Android? The free Google Recorder app transcribes meetings, but it won’t record calls. Put the call on speaker next to it, and you’re close enough.

The legal part

Twelve states require everyone on the call to agree to the recording: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington. The rest allow it if one person on the call (you) knows, like here in Arizona.

Here’s why the built-in tools matter: They all play that announcement, and they won’t let you shut it off. If the other person stays on the line after hearing it, that’s consent. If they say no, stop. 

And if you’re calling into one of those 12 states, the strict rule applies no matter where you’re sitting. Don’t use a third-party app that skips the announcement. That’s how people end up on the wrong side of a wiretap law over a plumber’s quote.