# PenPal: AI Voice Transcriber — Transcribe audio to text > Voice-first notetaking app that transcribes, summarizes, and organizes audio into actionable items. (iPhone/iPad app by Steven Bui.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penpal-ai-voice-transcriber/id6784370028 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Steven Bui](https://appshunter.io/developer/6784370030) - Category: Productivity, Utilities - Price: Free - Rating: 5.00/5 from 3 App Store ratings · 2 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 26.5 · 4 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2026-07-10 - Data updated: 2026-08-13 - Monetization: ad-supported - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penpal-ai-voice-transcriber/id6784370028/reviews.md ## What is PenPal? PenPal is your voice-first notetaking pal. Just talk — PenPal records, transcribes, and turns what you said into clean summaries, to-do items, and calendar events, automatically. Spend less time typing and organizing, and more time thinking out loud. TRANSCRIBE ANYTIME — EVEN LOCKED Tap once and start recording. PenPal transcribes live and keeps going in the background, so you never lose a word — even with your phone locked or while you switch apps. SUMMARIES AUTOMATED Every recording becomes a clean, time-stamped summary organized by topic. Skim a 30-minute conversation in seconds and jump straight to the part you need. YOUR TO-DOS AND MEETINGS, HANDLED PenPal pulls the action items and meetings out of what you said — with due dates and times. Review the suggestions, accept the ones you want, and they land in your to-do list and on your calendar. SYNC TO YOUR REAL CALENDAR Accepted events sync to your Apple Calendar — and onward to the Google, Outlook, or iCloud accounts you already use. No extra setup. ASK YOUR NOTES ANYTHING Chat with your entire library. Ask "what did I decide about the budget?" and PenPal answers, citing the exact notes it came from. STAY ORGANIZED Folders, tags, favorites, and search keep everything findable. Tap any line of a transcript to jump to that moment in the audio. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your notes live on your device. PenPal sends transcript text to its AI to generate summaries and answers — and never your audio. No ads, no tracking. Talk it out. PenPal does the rest. ## Key features - Live audio transcription - Automated summaries - To-do item extraction - Calendar event creation - Sync with Apple Calendar - Searchable notes - Private by design ## Recent user reviews (2 of 2) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penpal-ai-voice-transcriber/id6784370028/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Does so much more *2026-07-20* I downloaded this thinking it was just a transcript app that saved the text to read back. I was surprised that it was much more than that. Being able to summarize all the main points of the meetings helps to sift through all the fluff. It also gives questions to ask that could help with actionable steps after the meeting. I’m still getting familiar with the app but so far it has exceeded expectations. ### 5/5 — Love it *2026-07-17* Currently using for both daily work meetings, as well as with my private clients for personal training. Allows me to be hands-free while working with clients and keeps me from the distractions of note taking. Love the ability for it to create summaries for my hour long meetings into easy to digest material. Would definitely recommend giving this a try! ## Frequently asked questions about PenPal ### What is PenPal? PenPal is a voice-first notetaking app that records audio, transcribes it to text, and automatically generates summaries, to-do items, and calendar events. It aims to reduce the time spent typing and organizing notes. ### Can PenPal transcribe audio when my phone is locked? Yes, PenPal can transcribe audio live and in the background, even when your phone is locked or you switch to other apps. This ensures no words are lost during recording. ### How does PenPal handle to-dos and meetings? PenPal identifies action items and meetings from your recordings, suggesting them with due dates and times. You can review and accept these suggestions, which then appear in your to-do list and calendar. ### Does PenPal sync with my existing calendar? Accepted events from PenPal sync directly to your Apple Calendar and can then be shared with Google Calendar, Outlook, or iCloud accounts you already use, without requiring extra setup. ### Can I ask PenPal questions about my notes? Yes, you can chat with your entire library of notes in PenPal. For example, you can ask 'what did I decide about the budget?' and PenPal will provide an answer, citing the specific notes it came from. ### Is my data private with PenPal? PenPal is designed with privacy in mind. Your notes are stored on your device, and only the transcribed text is sent to the AI for processing summaries and answers, not your audio. It does not have ads or tracking. ### What devices does PenPal support? PenPal is available for iPhone and iPad devices, indicated by its support for iOS platforms. ### Does PenPal have ads? Yes, PenPal contains advertisements. As a free application, it utilizes ads to support its development and operation. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.7 — 2026-07-28 - Minor bug fixes ### 1.6 — 2026-07-24 - Updated UI with new styling, layout - Minor bug fixes ### 1.5 — 2026-07-21 - Updated style and design - Bug fixes for longer recordings dropping when device is locked ### 1.4 — 2026-07-16 - Added rerun transcription feature - Minor bug fixes ### 1.3 — 2026-07-15 Added onboarding tooltips for new users ## Related topics [penpal ai](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/penpal-ai) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-13.*