[Review] Call recording is standard, summaries done effortlessly... Even Apple fans give A.Dot a thumbs up

AI Personal Assistant Service 'A.Dot'

The market response to SK Telecom's artificial intelligence (AI) personal assistant service, 'A.Dot,' is heating up. As soon as it was officially launched, it topped the Apple App Store download charts, and the number of users is increasing. The previously impossible iPhone call recording has become possible through A.Dot, establishing it as an 'essential app for iPhone.'

On the 16th, I tried using the iPhone call recording feature of A.Dot, which has recently become a hot topic. First, to use this feature, you need to either download the A.Dot application (app) anew or update the existing app. Only then will the 'A.Dot Call' tab, which allows call recording within the app, be added.

After completing the update and launching 'A.Dot Call,' a popup appeared first, requesting agreement to the A.Dot call service terms. Only users who agree to the collection and use of personal information can use the service. This showed SKT's efforts to comply with Apple's privacy policy.

Due to Apple's privacy policy, iPhone users have not been able to record calls until now because some states in the U.S. have deemed call recording illegal. A.Dot Call uses SKT's communication network with 'HD Voice' technology instead of the default iPhone phone app. HD Voice refers to voice calls made over the LTE internet network. Because it uses SKT's communication network, it was able to bypass Apple's policy.

Once the name card setup is complete, the registration process is finished. The name card is a profile used in A.Dot Call, visible only to people who have saved your contact information.

The first time I encountered the user interface (UI) of A.Dot Call, it felt very familiar. Thinking about why, the 'T Phone' app came to mind. T Phone is also an app made by SKT, including call recording and spam blocking features. Call recording is possible on Android but not on iPhone.

I made a call to an acquaintance using A.Dot Call. The call quality was almost the same as a regular phone call. After having a casual conversation and ending the call, a recording file was created shortly afterward. Pressing the play button played back the call content.

Chat-style text using STT (Speech to Text) technology was also provided. You can search for specific keywords within the converted call content and tap on specific speech bubbles to listen to only that segment of the audio. This feature reminded me of Naver's recording app, 'Clova Note.'

The AI-powered call summary service was also quite high quality. I wondered how well it could capture the key points in everyday conversations, but it caught core details like lunch menus and meeting places and included them in the summary. Additionally, with features like one-line overall topic summaries, detailed paragraph-by-paragraph summaries, and representative tags per call, it was easy to find the content you wanted to review again.

While exploring various features within the app, I suddenly worried about what would happen if call content were stored in the cloud or on servers and got hacked. When I inquired with SKT, they explained that call recordings are stored on the user's device as app data, so there is no need to worry about such concerns. They also added that recording files are automatically deleted after one year, and they disappear when the app is deleted, the user withdraws, terms are revoked, or call summaries are deleted. In other words, SKT servers do not store users' voices.

One downside is that A.Dot Call is still difficult to use on Apple wearable devices. While you can receive A.Dot Call notifications on the Apple Watch, you cannot answer calls. This is a disappointing aspect for users who use the iPhone and Apple Watch in tandem.

Overseas roaming services are also not supported. SKT explained, "Because the data underlying the service is based in Korea, we are currently unable to provide overseas-related services."