Recording on Apple Watch
The fastest path from thought to entry: tap to record, watch the waveform, tap to stop. Audio is encoded as M4A and queued for transfer.
Recording without your phone
Open Cairn on the watch, tap record, speak. The iPhone does not need to be nearby — the audio is encoded on the watch and queued. When the two devices are together again it transfers by itself and transcription runs on the phone.
What the waveform tells you
The moving line confirms the watch is hearing you, which matters when you cannot see a screen prompt mid-sentence. Recording stops on its own at thirty seconds, or when you tap again.
If an entry seems stuck
A queued recording waits for the phone. Bring them together, unlock the iPhone and open Cairn once; transfers do not always complete while the phone is locked. Nothing is lost in the meantime — the audio stays on the watch until it has been delivered.