Every so often I will get a request for something like, “Isn’t there a way to quickly easily put my recordings on my computer?” The short answer to that is yes! In this article you will learn about one way you can do just that, because… There’s an app for that! ⏺

RecUp

Irradiated Software has created an app called RecUp. Before I get into the details of the app, I just have to say that I don’t think you’ll find a simpler recording app out there. The app is very easy to use. Once it is set up, you only have two buttons, Record, and Settings. If you use VoiceOver, you are automatically placed on the Record button when you open the app. This means that all you need to do is double tap to begin your recording session.

Before I go any further here, you must have a free Dropbox account to use this app. If you don’t already have a Dropbox account, you can use the link above to get 500 megabytes of extra storage for free. I’ll get the same here too. Discussing Dropbox and all it entails is beyond the scope of this article. However, I will just say that Dropbox is personal storage space online. Many people refer to storage online as cloud storage. Once you have your files on Dropbox, you can access them from any device, including on the web.

Now back to RecUp. I love the name of this developer, Irradiated Software. Below is the description of the app taken directly from the Apple App Store.

Description

Start recording. Double-tap to pause or single-tap to stop. Uploads to Dropbox automatically. It’s that simple.

• Universal app, running equally well on iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad.
• MP3 audio files sound great while saving bandwidth and Dropbox storage.
• Accessible with VoiceOver for the visually impaired.

Imagine if your digital camera stopped and asked you to name each photo after you took it or popped up a file system for you to choose where to save it. This is how most voice recorders work on iOS; always getting in your way.

RecUp is streamlined to record and upload voice memos to Dropbox; there’s no need to name files or choose where to send them. If you need more control, RecUp might not be right for you.

Ready to Record

After you download the app and launch it, you will need to give it access to the microphone and to your Dropbox account.

Once that’s done, all you need to do to record is open the app and double tap the screen to begin recording. Of course, if you’re not using VoiceOver, just tap the record button. You will hear a soft beep as recording begins. When you’re done recording, just double tap again to stop. You may or may not hear two soft beeps, depending on whether you have VoiceOver sounds enabled which might mask the beeps. The recording will be instantly uploaded to Dropbox, and you will hear three ascending tones to confirm this.

RecUp Settings

RecUp has a few settings that you may want to change. I will briefly outline them below. Just find settings and open it to follow along

• Play indicator sounds: This turns on or off the sounds you hear when starting/stopping recording.
• Record in background: This allows you to continue recording even if you leave the RecUp app by either going back to the home screen or locking your device.
• Record in higher quality: this allows you to improve the quality of your recordings. This will take up more space, but your recordings will sound better. If you are just recording notes for yourself this setting isn’t needed.
• Record on launch: If you do not want to have to double tap the record button to start recordings you can turn this on and make RecUp start the recording as soon as you open the app. You will not need to do anything to begin recording.
• Choose upload folder: This allows you to change the Dropbox folder where RecUp stores your recordings.
• Unlink from Dropbox: Warning ⚠ this will disconnect Dropbox from the app and you will need to reconnect your Dropbox account in order for this app to work properly again.
• Help: brings up the user guide and frequently asked questions, (FAQs) for RecUp.

Conclusion

RecUp is an extremely simple app to use. Because of this, you cannot name/rename files or listen to files in RecUp. You must do these tasks via Dropbox. This can be done on a computer, on an iPhone/iPad in the Dropbox app, or on the Dropbox website. Because the files are recorded in the universal MP3 format, they are playable on anything. If you would like a bit more control when recording audio, consider the Voice Memo app from Apple.

Qapla!