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The biggest mistake when using an iPad for Google Meet is treating 'meeting' as 'note-taking'
Last semester I took a remote course where the professor taught entirely via Google Meet. My thinking was simple: the iPad has a large screen and Apple Pencil is great for writing, so listening and taking notes during Meet should be perfect.
But I spent the whole class fighting the interface. When I wanted to jot down key points, the slides had already turned; when I wanted to go back and confirm what the professor just said, I had to drag the timeline from the beginning. By the end of the semester, I had over twenty unorganized meeting recordings on my iPad, and I didn't want to open any of them when studying for exams.
Later I realized: Google Meet is responsible for 'bringing people together,' it was never responsible for 'keeping the content.' On an iPad, you can join meetings from the Meet app, Google Calendar, or Gmail, and Google officially recommends using the Meet app for the best experience, but these only solve 'getting into the meeting room,' not 'what you have left after the meeting.'
The real need is: after the meeting ends, you need a document that can be searched, queried, and turned into notes. That's the key to finding a tool.
Before choosing a meeting note tool, understand these 4 key points
1. The recording method determines whether you'll be kicked out of the meeting room. A common approach is to have a meeting bot join as a participant, but teachers or clients usually aren't happy to see an unfamiliar account on the list. Another approach is for the tool to directly capture the computer's system audio, which doesn't take up a participant slot and is much friendlier for online classes.
2. For Chinese and mixed Chinese-English recognition, look at real recordings, not promotional numbers. Classrooms have air conditioning noise, classmates interrupting, and professors mixing Chinese and English. Performance under these conditions is what you need. It's best to test with a recording of your own class, not just look at ads.
3. Can it be used directly after the meeting? A transcript alone isn't enough—you need summaries, chapters, to-dos, and the ability to ask questions like 'How many times did the professor mention the final report this semester?'
4. Is the free quota enough for students? Students have limited pocket money. First confirm whether the free version can last a semester before deciding whether to pay.
Tinrec—the one I've been using for a semester and still use
Tinrec is an AI meeting note and collaboration tool for individuals and teams, supporting iOS, Android, and web. What made me keep it wasn't 'turning sound into text,' but that after transcription, it's still usable.
Group discussions, on-site interviews: Open the app and record while getting a transcript. When the discussion ends, summaries, chapters, and to-dos are automatically generated, making it clear who is responsible for what and what to submit next time. I used to take notes on paper, and they never matched up afterward.
Google Meet on computer: The Tinrec desktop version directly captures system audio, without adding a meeting bot to the room. It works with Google Meet, Zoom, Teams, and Webex, and no unfamiliar account appears on the participant list.
Already recorded files: Class recordings on iPad, lecture videos from professors—upload them and they can be transcribed without re-listening.
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The most noticeable difference from other tools is AI conversational query. After recording, you can directly ask 'Who was responsible for collecting data for the final report last time?' It gives you an answer based on semantics, not a bunch of keywords for you to sift through. Output is also complete: transcript, summary, chapters, to-dos, mind map, and export to Notion, Google Docs, OneNote, Dropbox.
To be honest about limitations: actual transcription quality is affected by recording quality, noise, accents, and multiple people speaking at once. For important content, it's recommended to replay with timestamps. The free version offers basic quota; if you have several classes to record every week, you'll need to consider the Pro monthly or annual plan. Also, for long-term multi-person collaboration like graduation projects or club leadership, the Tinrec team version can centralize meeting data in a shared team space, manage members, seats, and usage. Annual payment is about USD 16.58/month, with a 7-day, 1 free seat trial.
Besides Tinrec, what other options are there?
Google Meet built-in transcription: If your school account is already Google Workspace, Meet itself has meeting transcription capabilities, and the transcribed text stays in the Google ecosystem. The problem is that the data is tied to the account; class recordings, club meetings, and professor's audio files can't be stored in the same database. After graduation, when the school account is reclaimed, you have to figure out how to move the data yourself. Moreover, it only handles meetings in Meet, and can't help with on-site discussions recorded via iPad microphone.
Otter.ai: A veteran tool for English meeting notes. The free version offers 300 minutes per month, which is generous, and English transcripts are stable. But its main focus is English business meetings; Chinese and mixed Chinese-English are not its strengths. If your remote course is all English and you don't need post-meeting queries, Otter.ai's free version is actually sufficient—this is one of the few situations in this article where we recommend directly using a competitor.
Granola: Also takes the bot-free desktop meeting note approach, focusing on combining your handwritten notes with AI summaries. Basic is free. But it doesn't support uploading already recorded audio files, nor does it retain meeting audio—students who need to go back and verify the professor's exact words should pay special attention.
Pitfall guide: 3 most common mistakes students make when choosing meeting note tools
Pitfall 1: Thinking 'having a transcript' equals 'having notes.' A transcript is just a bunch of text. What really saves time is summaries, chapters, and to-dos. When choosing a tool, look directly at what it gives you after the meeting, not just transcription accuracy.
Pitfall 2: Ignoring Chinese and mixed Chinese-English. Many tools are strong in English but average in Chinese. If your entire semester is taught in Chinese with occasional English terms, first confirm whether it can handle this.
Pitfall 3: Only looking at free minutes, not single-session limits. Some free plans can only process a few minutes per file, so a two-hour class won't fit. Check the limits before deciding.
Conclusion: Which one should you choose?
Need to get Chinese transcripts after iPad classes or group discussions, and want to use AI to query key points → Tinrec.
Using Google Meet on computer, don't want a bot to join the meeting room → Tinrec desktop version.
Already have recordings, historical audio to organize → Tinrec (supports file import).
All-English course, zero budget → Otter.ai free version.
Graduation project, club, long-term multi-person collaboration → Tinrec team version.
It's recommended to start with the free version, record your next group meeting or a remote class, and see if the transcript and summary quality meet your needs before deciding whether to upgrade. For students, a tool that lasts the entire semester is worth paying for.
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