Apps to Watch: Just Press Record
One of the most useful apps mysteriously missing from Apple Watch is a built-in voice recorder app. There is an iOS version that comes with every iPhone, so quite why Apple didn’t include one on Apple Watch is anyone’s guess.
In today’s Apps to Watch post, we’ll take a quick look at Just Press Record, a handy little app that fills the void for a decent voice recording app.
Just Press Record for Apple Watch
Sometimes the simplest implementation is the best. That’s true with Just Press Record, which on iOS has a fairly basic interface and a red microphone button to start a new recording. Each recording you make is saved as an MPEG-4 audio file with a .m4a extension, with the time of the recording indicated as part of the filename. The m4a format is widely supported on mobile and desktop devices, so you’ll have no trouble importing them into other apps such as iMovie or just playing them on a PC.
The UI also has controls for playback in addition to (only on iOS) a share button to send the files to other compatible apps. Just Press Record is thankfully a native watchOS 2 app (as opposed to watchOS 1 apps which offloaded most of the processing to a connected iPhone), so it can access the mic on the watch directly and play back files via the speaker. All recorded files are automatically synchronised with your iPhone, but you can also use it when not connected (handy when you’re on a plane, for instance) as those files are sync’d the next time your watch and iPhone connect.
In terms of storage, the app uses iCloud Drive with files stored in separate folders based on the date. The latest version also adds a Glance (swipe up and left/right on the watch) and a watch face Complication so you can start recording with even fewer taps.
Just Press Record does exactly what it says on the tin: it’s a no-frills voice recorder that lets you record high quality audio on your Apple watch and share the files with your other Apple devices. Despite its simplicity, it’s one of those apps that can be indispensable for many people.
Just Press Record is available on the App Store for £2.29.
