My wife and I have a collection of audio recording apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. They range from Notability at the high end to eXtra Voice Recorder to the dirt cheap and poorly named Lecture Recorder.

What we want in a basic recording app is simple. Instant recording on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. The option to create notes along the way, which comes with eXtra and Notability are others, but it’s the convenience of audio recording which trumps all. Here’s the perfect example. Just. Press. Record.

Keep It Simple, Not Stupid

After having purchased a dozen Mac, iPhone, and iPad audio recording apps over the past few years, Jesse and I were surprised to read about this one and we’ve been using it since we first found it late last year. It’s called Just Press Record. As the name implies, you get audio recording simply by pressing the big red mic icon; Mac, iPhone, iPad. But even easier on Watch.

The app’s name is the description of what it takes to make a recording. There are no bells and whistles. Press the mic Record button and Just Press Record begins recording on whichever device you have. Press it again and the recording stops, and the audio file is saved, then synchronized with iCloud so you get the same audio on each device.

The Mac version also displays which microphone is selected in OS X.

Just Press Record is a quick and dirty, ultra simple audio recording tool. Just press the button and recording begins. Press it again and it stops recording, then syncs the file to iCloud automatically.

Open Just Press Record also has a Recordings button (lower left corner below the red mic) which displays synchronized recordings in the Finder. Easy peasy, right?

The following image will give you an idea of how Just Press Record works on iPhone and iPad, and the one feature that made it a must purchase for Carol and I.

Just Press Record for iOS looks and works much like the Mac version. Press the red mic button to record using the iPhone or iPad mic, press it again to stop, and all the recorded files get synced with iCloud.

The plus for us is the Watch version. Yes, there’s Just Press Record for Watch and it works as a standalone audio recorder (you don’t need your iPhone nearby), and the app has a complication so you can press the mic icon on the Watch screen, then press the big red record button on the Watch to begin audio recording. When your iPhone comes back into range the audio files will be synchronized again.

The Watch complication just makes it incredibly convenient to record audio. I set mine up as a complication on the Watch screen and in one tap to the mic icon you can begin recording (the Watch microphone is surprisingly decent, considering the size and location).

Just Press Record is simple, elegant, affordable, and it just works.