In iOS 17.4, which is now available, Apple has added audio transcripts to the Podcasts app for iPhone, meaning you can now read along to your favorite podcasts as they are spoken.

In iOS 17.4, Apple has added support for auto-generated transcripts in its Podcasts app, offering users another way to enjoy podcast content rather than simply listening to what is being said. (To update your iPhone, open the Settings app and select General ➝ Software Update.)

If you're familiar with lyrics in Apple Music, it's very similar. When playing a podcast, simply tap the speech bubble icon at the bottom-left corner of the fullscreen media playback screen.

Tap the auto-generated transcript that appears to make it fill the screen. The transcript automatically scrolls and highlights the text currently being spoken as the episode plays, or you can scroll through the transcript manually, and even tap on a sentence to jump to that point in the podcast. Text selections can also be highlighted for copying and pasting elsewhere.

In addition, a Search button at the bottom of the screen lets you search the transcript for specific words or phrases and jump to that point in the transcript, where you can then tap to skip to the audio track.

Transcripts can also be accessed from the Up Next section in the Home tab. Simply press and hold a podcast episode to reveal the View Transcript option in the dropdown menu. And if you're on the episode details page, tap the ellipsis (three dots) button top-right to reveal the same option.

As of writing, not all podcast episodes have transcripts right now, but Apple says that transcripts for back catalog episodes are being added over time. Transcripts are available in English, French, German, and Spanish, and podcast hosts also have the option to upload their own transcripts rather than using the automatically generated version.

The transcripts feature is part of Apple's iOS 17.4 update, which is available to the public now.