Comparison

Stenographer vs The Design Ethos

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Stenographer

This app offers on-device audio recording and transcription, ensuring complete privacy as your data never leaves your device. It utilizes advanced AI for accurate speech processing, summarization, and multilingual support, with a one-time purchase for unlimited use.

Highlights
  • 100% on-device processing
  • No subscriptions, one-time purchase
  • Discreet background recording
  • AI-powered transcription and summarization
  • Intelligent search and tagging
  • Multilingual transcription and translation
  • Cross-device synchronization
Features
Read full description

Your conversations are valuable. They should also stay private. Stenographer records, transcribes, identifies speakers, summarizes, and organizes audio directly on your iPhone or iPad. Capture from your phone or Apple Watch, then turn hours of audio into a readable, searchable record without sending your conversations to a transcription service. NEW IN STENOGRAPHER 2.0 • Seamless Transcript Read recordings as one continuous, newspaper-like conversation. Stenographer hides file splits and processing chunks while preserving the original audio behind every turn. • Know who said what Private, on-device speaker diarization separates conversations into natural speaker turns. Name a speaker and Stenographer can use an on-device voice profile to recognize that person in other recordings when there’s a confident match. • Private AI summaries On supported devices, summaries and labels use Apple’s on-device Foundation Models. An optional downloadable local fallback is available, and your transcripts remain on your device. • Record from your wrist Start recording from Apple Watch when reaching for your phone would interrupt the moment. Finished recordings remain queued on Apple Watch and retry until iPhone safely receives them for private transcription and analysis. MORE WAYS TO WORK • Continue recording in the background from iPhone or Apple Watch • Import existing audio files • Automatically detect supported languages • Transcribe speech or translate supported languages into English • Search across transcripts, summaries, and labels • Add labels and optional timestamps • Select exact transcript turns to share • Merge recordings and export all transcripts as JSON • Customize transcript fonts, speaker display, processing concurrency, and recording limits • Return to the classic per-recording layout at any time PRIVATE BY DESIGN Transcription, speaker identification, summaries, and labels run on your device whenever available. Nothing is uploaded unless you explicitly choose to share it. Speaker and optional fallback models may download when needed; your audio and transcripts are not uploaded for processing. ONE PURCHASE. NO SUBSCRIPTION. Record and transcribe without monthly fees, usage quotas, or cloud transcription charges. Ideal for meetings, lectures, interviews, research, personal notes, and private lifelogging. App icon designed by aaatelier.ch.

About

The Design Ethos

Features
Read full description

The Design Ethos is a structured practice platform built for next-generation designers. Most designers consume content. Few build proof of work. The Design Ethos bridges that gap by combining guided learning, structured feedback, and portfolio visibility inside one focused system. Why The Design Ethos? Because creative growth doesn’t come from watching tutorials. It comes from practicing consistently, receiving meaningful critique, and building real, outcome-driven projects. What you can do inside the app: • Practice with guided design exercises • Upload your work and receive structured feedback • Improve through actionable critique • Build portfolio-ready case studies • Showcase your proof of work • Track your creative growth • Become discoverable through validated projects Our Core System Practice Loop Join → Learn → Build proof Feedback Loop Feedback → Improvement → Retention Opportunity Loop Portfolio → Visibility → Hiring validation Who is this for? • Aspiring designers • UI/UX learners • Design students • Early-career creatives • Self-taught designers building credibility Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.thedesignethos.com/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Stenographer4 screens
The Design Ethos4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: The Design Ethos at Free against Stenographer's $4.99. The Design Ethos also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.5). Stenographer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ads (none vs shown). On update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

The Design Ethos is free to download; Stenographer costs $4.99 up front. The Design Ethos sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Stenographer asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stenographer ships an update every 5 days, The Design Ethos weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Stenographer versus The Design Ethos: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStenographerThe Design Ethos
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews87.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterWeekly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#171 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.515.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size575 MB79 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCaleb PhillipsThe Design Ethos

In-app purchases

None

Stenographer

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

The Design Ethos

One-time10
  • book_researchdesign$0.99
  • Prototyping in detail$1.99
  • video_scrum$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Designing for Accessibility$1.99
  • Participatory design$1.99
  • IoT & UX$1.99
  • video_segmentation$1.99
  • localisation$1.99
  • Researchmethodogies$4.99
  • conversationalux$49.99

Questions

Is Stenographer free?
Stenographer costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Design Ethos free?
The Design Ethos is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Stenographer or The Design Ethos have ads?
The Design Ethos shows ads; Stenographer does not.
Which is updated more often, Stenographer or The Design Ethos?
Stenographer ships an update every 5 days, and The Design Ethos weekly. Most recently, Stenographer was updated on October 8, 2026 and The Design Ethos on October 14, 2026.

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