Your Mobile's Microphone
Mobile phone microphones are unidirectional, meaning they will record sound only from one direction and a very close distance (around a few metres away). When speaking, you could still get a good-quality recording by having the phone close to you.
The big disadvantage of using a mobile phone to record long dictation sessions is that it can burn through the battery if not plugged in.
If you are speaking directly into the microphone from a short distance, the built-in microphone can be fine.
Tip
If your only option is to use your in-built microphone, try positioning the in-built microphone as close as possible to the source of the recording.
Using a headphone jack microphone
Using a microphone like the Andrea SG-110M, which is unidirectional (picking up in a single direction) helps you control the quality of your audio a lot better. It works by simply plugging into your headphone jack and recording and is compatible with iPhones and Android devices.
As with laptop microphones, the closer you sit to the source of the recording and point the microphone directly towards them, the better the sound quality will be.
They are compact and lightweight for easy transportability.
We do recommend using a unidirectional headphone jack microphone when recording via your mobile phone, as this should generate the best captions possible for you.