For the most part, smartwatches have always been marketed as devices that can track your health and fitness activities, along with providing you with a vivid, addictive, and interactive interface. Basically, it all started with fitness tracking, and entertainment features branched out from there.
A device that could efficiently monitor your heart rate can now hold hundreds of your favourite songs, along with several entertainment features like backgrounds and animations that look incredible on AMOLED screens.
One of the features (frequently found on iPhones and Android phones) that travels under the radar is audio recording. Smartwatches that do or do not have this feature aren’t affected in consumer sales, so it’s often unspoken.
Can A Smartwatch Record Audio?
Smartwatches that use Android or Apple are both capable of recording audio, so long as the device comes with a microphone. Some Garmin Devices and Fitbit devices are capable also, so long as they have a microphone and they have a stock app or can install third-party recording apps from an app store.
Some smartwatches are certainly better than others for recording audio and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is one of the better ones. It even has a speech-to-text feature on the Samsung Voice Recorder app that could come in handy if you have something to write out. And any voice recordings you make will be automatically backed up to your Samsung phone.
Some Fitbit smartwatch models include audio recording, so long as you’re using a third-party app. If your smartwatch comes with voice recording capabilities, you will typically find the audio recording app in the main menu somewhere or possibly on the home screen.
It’s hard to say exactly, since smartwatches, depending on brand and model, are vastly different from one another. Some smartwatches will require a third-party app for audio recording and some lesser-known smartwatches may not have access to an app store.
Most smartwatches include a microphone for voice calls and virtual assistants, such as Siri or Google Assistant. This is why you have to go after a third-party app to get the ball rolling on audio recording.
You should also keep in mind that although smartwatches are getting better with storage size, too much voice recording will eat through your storage pretty rapidly, especially if you accidentally leave it on. It can also drain the battery pretty fast.
Related Article: Can An Apple Watch Have Its Own Phone Number? (Explained)
Benefits of Using Audio Recording on a Smartwatch
Writers and podcasters have the most to gain out of the audio recording features in a smartwatch. Writers tend to come up with creative ideas all the time and when you have the ability to record your audio, it’s extremely convenient.
Podcasters can record entire segments when they are out and about and splice them into their podcasts later on, including interviews or analysis when immediately in the situation. It’s not just writers and podcasters who can take advantage of audio recording either.
It can be used for daily notes, observations, analysis, reminder alerts, or even voice messages to send to friends or family on the fly. Most smartwatches can link up with cloud storage options as well, so you can save everything and delete it from your smartwatch to save storage.
Bottom Line
Some smartwatches are capable of recording audio. Others require a third-party app that takes advantage of the built-in microphone. Those without a mic are obviously incapable of any kind of audio recording capability.
If you’re in the market for a smartwatch that is capable of audio recording, be sure that it comes with a built-in microphone and that it either has its own app or there is an available third-party app.
