We Put AI Transcription to the Test on iPhone, Galaxy, and Pixel—Here’s Who Nailed It

From phone calls to notes, email summaries to real-time recordings—this showdown reveals which AI assistant actually saves your time

Transcribing used to be the kind of tedious task you’d avoid like doing taxes. But now, thanks to AI baked right into our smartphones, it’s as easy as hitting “Record.” Or is it?

Turns out, not all phones handle transcription and summarization equally. We tested the best from Apple, Google, and Samsung to figure out who’s really ahead—and who’s just coasting on hype.

Real-time phone call transcriptions: Google leads, Apple lags

Phone call transcription used to be taboo—then it became a feature.

On the iPhone 15 Pro, you can now record and transcribe calls, but only if you use a third-party app. Apple still doesn’t offer native call recording in its default Phone app. Privacy concerns? Maybe. Inconvenience? Absolutely.

Google Pixel 9, however, is a different beast. It offers built-in call recording (where legal) and real-time transcription that feels natural, fast, and even editable afterward. That’s hard to beat.

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Plus? It splits the difference. Samsung’s “Transcript Assist” now works during calls, but it requires toggling on a few options. Once you get through the setup maze, it does work—but not as smoothly as Google’s.

Just one sentence here: Google nailed the phone call test.

Voice memos and single-speaker dictation: Apple strikes back

Apple may not lead with phone calls, but it sure redeems itself with voice memos.

The iPhone 15 Pro’s built-in Voice Memos app is now powered by Apple Intelligence. Recordings are transcribed almost instantly and, in typical Apple fashion, the formatting is clean. You can copy, export, and even summarize with a tap.

Google’s Recorder app, found on Pixel 9, has long been the gold standard. It transcribes live with shocking accuracy—even offline—and tags speakers in multi-speaker recordings. But for single-speaker dictation, it’s on par with Apple now.

Samsung’s app trails again here. The Galaxy S25 Plus has voice transcription, but it often stumbles with punctuation, grammar, and longer sessions. You’ll spend time fixing things that Pixel and iPhone get right the first time.

Sometimes simple wins.

Multi-speaker recordings: Pixel’s smart labeling puts it in first place

Here’s where things got interesting. We ran a recorded panel discussion with three speakers and background noise.

Pixel 9 was the only one that automatically labeled different voices (Speaker 1, Speaker 2, etc.) with decent accuracy. That’s a life-saver for journalists, students, and, well, anyone trying to remember who said what in a messy conversation.

Apple? It transcribed the session fine but lumped everyone into one stream of text—no labels, no breaks. Same for Samsung, though it did pick up fewer false positives in background noise.

Here’s what stuck out:

• Pixel 9 offered real-time multi-speaker separation.

• iPhone 15 Pro kept things clean but too generic.

• Galaxy S25 Plus tried but couldn’t quite keep up.

Summarizing web articles and emails: Samsung surprises everyone

So let’s talk about the fluff. Not all AI tools are about transcription. These phones now also summarize your inbox, web pages, and even notes.

Google’s Pixel 9 uses Gemini to generate brief recaps of emails and articles. It’s helpful but limited—only certain apps support the feature. Apple’s new Safari Reader View can summarize articles too, but you’ll need to enable developer options or wait for a full rollout in iOS 18.

Samsung shocked us here. Galaxy AI can generate quick summaries of emails and web content inside Samsung’s own browser and email app. And it’s not half-bad. It gives concise bullet-point recaps and even lets you tap to expand sections.

Here’s a quick comparison:

One-sentence note: Samsung finally got something very, very right.

Summarizing notes and memos: Apple catches up, but Google still owns it

We took a 15-minute voice note, transcribed it, and asked each phone to summarize the text. All three did it—but some better than others.

Pixel 9’s Gemini was fast, formatted the summary in bullet points, and even added context that wasn’t directly stated—impressive. Apple gave us a “TL;DR” paragraph, which was accurate but a bit bland.

Samsung’s Galaxy S25? It generated a summary too—but lacked nuance. Some lines felt robotic, and important ideas got reduced to vague phrases.

Still, all three are useful now.

That said, only Google lets you fine-tune the tone—want it formal, casual, or even snarky? Gemini’s got you.

The final verdict: Pixel takes the crown, Apple inches closer, Samsung surprises

If you’re buying a phone based on AI transcription and summarization, the Pixel 9 should be your go-to. It’s the most consistent across all categories. Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro holds its own—and could soon catch up if all the Apple Intelligence features roll out fully. Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Plus, though? Not as bad as you’d expect. In fact, in some corners, it was… actually kinda great.

But if we had to hand out medals:

• 🥇 Google Pixel 9 — Best across the board

• 🥈 iPhone 15 Pro — Clean design, solid voice tools

• 🥉 Galaxy S25 Plus — Big gains, but needs polish

One more thing: the future looks bright. All three phones are adding new AI features almost monthly. And as long as they keep pushing updates, you might not even need a transcription service ever again.