Meeting notes in Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil and other Indian languages, on Mac and iPhone
Alcove records a meeting on a Mac, iPhone or iPad and transcribes it on the device in 14 Indian languages, including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali. Apple's speech recognition returns these languages in English letters; Alcove writes them back in their own script, so a Malayalam meeting reads in Malayalam. In a meeting that mixes English with an Indian language, whole English sentences stay in English. It needs macOS 26 or iOS and iPadOS 26.
Most transcription apps treat Indian languages as an afterthought. Some don't offer them at all, others send the recording to a server, and many hand back a Malayalam or Hindi meeting spelled out in English letters, which is slow to read and hard to search.
Alcove's meeting notes transcribe a meeting on your device, in 14 Indian languages, and write the transcript in the language's own script. Record a meeting in Malayalam and the note reads in Malayalam; record one in Hindi and it reads in Devanagari.
Meeting notes need macOS 26 or later on the Mac, and iOS or iPadOS 26 or later on iPhone and iPad.
The languages
| Language | Script in the note |
|---|---|
| Hindi | Devanagari |
| Malayalam | Malayalam |
| Tamil | Tamil |
| Telugu | Telugu |
| Kannada | Kannada |
| Bengali | Bengali |
| Marathi | Devanagari |
| Gujarati | Gujarati |
| Punjabi | Gurmukhi |
| Urdu | Urdu (Perso-Arabic) |
| Odia | Odia |
| Nepali | Devanagari |
| Maithili | Devanagari |
| Kashmiri | Perso-Arabic |
Which of them you can pick depends on what Apple's speech recognition offers on your Mac, iPhone or iPad.
How to record a meeting in an Indian language
- Start a meeting. Click Record in Alcove's menu bar card on the Mac, or tap the microphone in Notes on iPhone and iPad.
- Pick the language. Choose Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil or another language before you start. Alcove remembers it for next time.
- For a mixed meeting, choose Indian languages, mixed with English, then pick the script under Written in. Whole English sentences stay in English, and everything else is written in that script.
- Stop when it ends. You get a note with the recording and the transcript, with each turn labelled by who spoke. Name the speakers, or keep Person 1 and Person 2.
On the Mac, Alcove hears your microphone and the call, so this works with any call app, with no bot joining. On iPhone and iPad it records the room, which suits in-person meetings, classes and interviews.
Why the script matters
Apple's speech recognition writes Indian languages in English letters: a Malayalam sentence comes back as something like "nale meeting undu". That is readable if you speak the language, but slow, and searching for a word means guessing how it was spelled.
Alcove converts each line back into its script on your device, with an open model trained for Indian languages, as the recording is transcribed. The note then searches, copies and reads like anything else written in that language.
What stays on your device
- The transcript. Apple's speech recognition runs on your Mac, iPhone or iPad.
- The script. The conversion runs on your device too.
- The speakers. Voices are told apart on your device, and voice memory, if you turn it on, stays there.
- The note. It's an ordinary Alcove note, and it syncs only through your own iCloud when sync is on.
Summaries and action items
The summary, the decisions and the action items come from Apple Intelligence, so they appear when the meeting's language is one Apple Intelligence supports. For other languages the note still has the full recording and the transcript, which you can search, edit and turn into tasks line by line.
For everything else about meeting notes, see meeting notes on Mac and iPhone.
Questions people ask
Which Indian languages can Alcove transcribe?
Fourteen. Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu, Odia, Nepali, Maithili and Kashmiri, as far as Apple's speech recognition on your device offers each one.
Why does the transcript come out in my language's script?
Apple's on-device speech recognition writes these languages in English letters. Alcove turns them back into Malayalam, Devanagari, Tamil and the other scripts on your device, with an open model made for Indian languages, so the note reads the way you would write it.
What about meetings that mix English and Malayalam or Hindi?
Choose Indian languages, mixed with English, when you start, and pick the script under Written in. Whole English sentences stay in English, and the rest is written in the script you chose.
Does my meeting leave my device?
No. The recording is transcribed on your device, the script is converted on your device, and people are told apart on your device. The note syncs only through your own iCloud, if you have sync turned on.
Do I get a summary in Malayalam or Hindi?
The summary and action items come from Apple Intelligence, so they need a language it supports. In any other language you still get the recording and the full transcript, with who said what.
Is it free?
Your first three meeting recordings are free, in any of the languages. Alcove Unlock, a one-time purchase for Mac, iPhone and iPad, records as many as you like, and you can try it free for 14 days.
Which devices does it need?
A Mac with macOS 26 or later, or an iPhone or iPad with iOS or iPadOS 26 or later.