Haptic Feedback please!
T
Thomas Woody
I just wanted to feed back a small but recurring issue I’ve been having with transcription on Heidi Health.
Quite often the transcription seems to stop or cut off without it being obvious, and I only realise afterwards that parts of the consultation haven’t been captured. It may be part of how the app manages recording, but in practice it does mean important bits can get missed. If it notified me discreetly I could change gears during the consultation. Or perhaps add the app to the apple watch to have a visual prompt?
It would be really helpful to have some sort of haptic feedback so you know what’s going on without having to keep checking the screen. Something simple like a short buzz when it stops, a quick double buzz when it restarts, and maybe a longer one if it cuts out unexpectedly.
At the moment I find myself constantly checking it’s still recording, which is a bit distracting during a consultation. When it works, it’s genuinely brilliant, so this kind of feedback would make a big difference day to day.
Heidi Team
Thanks for taking the time to write this up — and for the super practical suggestion. Totally get how distracting it is to keep checking the screen, especially when missing a snippet can matter.
Haptic alerts for recording/transcription state changes (stop/restart/unexpected cut-out) makes a lot of sense, and the “single/double/long buzz” pattern is a really clear idea. I’ll share this with the team.
A couple quick questions so we can scope it properly:
1) When it “stops,” do you notice any pattern (e.g., screen locked, switching apps, incoming call, Bluetooth headset connected/disconnected, low power mode)?
2) Are you mainly wanting haptics for
recording stopped
, transcription stalled
, or both?3) Would a discreet in-app notification/banner be enough, or do you specifically want Apple Watch haptics as the primary signal?
If you’re able to share a short screen recording or screenshot of what you see when it cuts out (even just the transcription view/indicator), that’d help a lot too.
T
Thomas Woody
Hi, thanks. To answer the questions…
1. I haven’t noticed a clear trigger. It’s happened with the screen on and off and feels a bit random. Some days it’s frequent, other days barely at all. Some times I have it out and look for it and still it happens..My gut feeling is it might be the phone processes are interrupting in the background rather than the app itself.
2. Ideally both. Recording stopping matters, but transcription stalling is probably the bigger issue for me as it can look like it’s still working when it isn’t. Having different haptic patterns for each would be really helpful. If it briefly stops and restarts on its own, that’s less of a problem as long as it still captures everything. A subtle buzz would just give reassurance without needing to check.
3. Haptics would be the most useful, Ideally I’d prefer not to have my phone out at all while using it. Set the name.. tap and go