Devices
Record with Sudo, Dex or Glyph, and the Italic app on your iPhone turns each recording into a Clip or a Memo.
Three recording devices work with Italic. Each one saves what you say on the device itself. The Italic app on your iPhone then brings the recording over, turns it into text and files it on Home.
The devices
- Sudo is a ring. Press and hold it to record a quick thought, then let go. Tap gestures can record longer Memos.
- Dex is a recording card. Press its record button to start, and press it again to stop and save.
- Glyph is an e-ink device with buttons for Clips and Memos. Glyph isn't available to customers yet.
Battery and recording
| Device | Battery life | One recording | Charging |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sudo | About 2 to 3 days of everyday use | No time limit | Under 1½ hours |
| Dex | Up to 28 hours | 1 hour out of the box (up to 4), then a new one starts | About 1½ hours |
These are estimates. Each device's page has the details: Sudo and Dex. Glyph's figures will be added once they've been measured.
How recordings reach Italic
Only the Italic app on iPhone talks to your devices, over Bluetooth. You don't need the iPhone in your hand while you record: the device saves the recording, and the next time your iPhone is nearby, the Italic app:
- copies the recording from the device;
- transcribes it on your iPhone;
- files it as a Clip or a Memo;
- syncs the text to your account, so it appears in the web app and Italic for Mac too.
Audio isn't uploaded. A Memo's audio stays on your iPhone, and a Clip's audio is deleted once its text is saved. Italic sends a notification when a recording from a device is ready. To turn this off, turn off New clips and memos in Profile → Notifications.
Devices are listed in sections: Italic for these three, Custom for devices you bring and connect yourself, and External for other makers' hardware that runs firmware Italic provides.
External devices
External is for other makers' hardware that Italic provides firmware for, so it records into Italic like Sudo, Dex and Glyph do, with nothing to build. The first is the FoloToy Passport, an open wearable with a microphone and a screen. Once Italic's installer is released, Add device lists it and shows the steps: you plug the Passport into a computer over USB-C, run the installer in Chrome or Edge, then pair it with your iPhone. Until then, App 341 and later leave it out of Add device, and a Passport you've already paired keeps its page and keeps recording. In earlier builds, a Passport that already runs Italic's firmware pairs from Add device: choose it nearby; there is no code to enter. Hold B on the Passport, the middle of its three keys, for a Clip of up to five minutes, or tap B for a Memo of any length and tap again to stop. With App 322 and later a recording also finishes and saves after your iPhone locks; with earlier builds, keep it unlocked until a recording has finished. The audio streams over Bluetooth, nothing is saved on the Passport, and the words are transcribed on your iPhone like any other recording. With Passport 1.6.4 and App 323 or later, the Passport says CLIP SAVED, MEMO SAVED, TOO SHORT or NOT SAVED under its clock after each recording.
Passport 1.7.0, a development build, dims its screen after 20 seconds without a key press and turns it off after a minute. Any key wakes it and still does its usual job; a recording keeps the screen visible at the dim brightness. It also shows a charging bolt when connected to a computer over USB, and Charging or Charged in Settings. Power-only chargers can't be detected. The matching iPhone charging display isn't installed yet. Battery-life savings haven't been measured.
Passport 1.8.0, on our test Passport, shows recent Chat messages together. Press A to scroll up and C to scroll down; hold either to change tabs. B still asks a question. Your questions appear alongside the answers with the matching iPhone update, not installed yet. Messages on the Passport clear when it disconnects or restarts; your iPhone keeps the conversation.
Can't find a paired Passport? Use Find my Passport on its page. Walk slowly: the page pulses and says Warmer or Colder as its Bluetooth signal gets stronger or weaker. It has to be on and within Bluetooth range, and the page can't show where it is or make it beep.
Add a device
In App 342 and later, a new account's Home also shows an Add a device card; its Add opens the same list as these steps.
Open Profile
In the Italic app, open the Profile tab, the one with your photo. Your saved devices are listed below the settings, with Add device under them.
Choose your device
Tap Add device, then choose Sudo, Dex or Glyph. For a device of your own, choose Custom device instead, and see Custom devices.
You can also connect a device during the Italic app's first-time setup. Each saved device has its own page, with its battery, sync status, recording settings and Activity log.
Clip or Memo
Every recording is one or the other:
- A Clip is a quick thought, kept as text only. Its audio is deleted once the text is saved.
- A Memo is a longer thought, with a title, a summary and the transcript. Its audio stays on your iPhone, so you can play it back.
Each way of starting a recording has a type out of the box. On Sudo, Dex and the Passport, you can change it on the device's page. Glyph's mic button sets the type itself:
| Device | Input | Out of the box |
|---|---|---|
| Sudo | Press and hold | Clip |
| Sudo | Double tap, Triple tap | Off until you turn them on |
| Dex | Record button | Memo |
| Glyph | Hold the mic button | Clip |
| Glyph | Triple-click the mic button | Memo |
| Passport | Hold B | Clip |
| Passport | Tap B, and tap again to stop | Memo |
A change applies to new recordings only. Recordings you already have keep their type. You can move a recording between Clip and Memo later, but a Clip's audio can't be recovered. For developers, the same choices are available through the API: Device settings.
Short recordings
Each device page has Auto-delete shorter than, which discards accidental recordings. It's 2 seconds out of the box. Choose Off to keep everything, or a cutoff from 0.5 to 5 seconds. It applies to new recordings only.
Your devices follow your account
Your saved devices and their names belong to your Italic account, not to one iPhone. This works while Cloud Sync is on: Profile → Personalization → Cloud Sync → Sync to your account, which is on by default.
- Rename a device with the pencil button on its page. The new name shows on your other iPhones and on the web app's Devices page, and on the recordings that device made.
- On the web, open Devices in the sidebar to see the same list. To remove a device, open it and choose ⋯ → Remove from account…. It leaves your iPhone's list too, and its recordings stay on Home.
- A device you remove moves to Removed devices, a row below your devices that opens a page of its own, on iPhone and on the web. Its recordings keep its name. Open it there and choose Save to account again to bring it back.
- If you rename a device on two phones while one is offline, the iPhone asks whether to Keep my name or Use account version.
On a new iPhone
Sign in to the Italic app on the new iPhone. Your devices are already listed on the Profile tab, each with Connect on this iPhone. Keep the device nearby and tap it. You don't need your old phone. The Bluetooth connection is set up on each iPhone, so a device you haven't connected yet shows no battery or live status. Each device page explains the details: Sudo, Dex and Glyph.