Your iPhone Already Does Speech to Text (And You Probably Never Used It)

I watched someone at a coffee shop carefully typing a long text message with their thumbs. Two minutes of focused tapping. I wanted to tell them: tap the microphone icon on the keyboard, speak the message, done in 15 seconds.

But I didn't, because unsolicited tech advice makes you "that person." Instead, I'm writing this article.

Your iPhone has speech to text built into the keyboard. Every text field, every app. Tap the microphone icon (next to the space bar), speak, tap it again to stop. No app download required, no setup, no cost beyond your existing iPhone.

Before downloading third-party apps, try what's already there. You might not need anything else.

How iPhone Speech to Text Actually Works

Apple's speech to text (officially called "Dictation") is built into iOS. When you tap the microphone icon on the keyboard, your iPhone processes the audio in one of two ways:

On-device processing (iPhone XS and newer with iOS 15 or later): The speech recognition happens locally on your iPhone using Apple's Neural Engine. Fast, private, works offline.

Server-based processing (older iPhones or when on-device isn't available): Audio is sent to Apple's servers, transcribed, and sent back. Requires internet, slightly slower, but more accurate for complex speech.

The accuracy is surprisingly good. I'd estimate 90-92 percent for clear speech in quiet environments.

The catch: it times out after about 30 seconds of silence. For long dictation sessions, you have to tap the microphone repeatedly to keep it active. That's annoying.

The Apps People Actually Download

Despite iPhone's built-in dictation being competent, people download third-party apps for specific reasons:

Dragon Anywhere (15 dollars per month or 150 dollars per year): Professional-grade dictation with extensive training and custom commands. Overkill for most people.

Otter.ai (free with limits, 17 dollars per month for premium): Excellent for recording and transcribing conversations, meetings, interviews. Identifies speakers, generates summaries. Less useful for solo dictation.

Dictation Daddy (under 100 dollars per year, I have obvious bias - I built it): Available on iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, and Chrome extension. AI-powered transcription with 96-98 percent accuracy without any training requirements. Auto-corrects punctuation and handles false starts. For enterprises needing SOC2 or HIPAA compliance, there's a dedicated plan. The apps don't sync between devices, but you have dictation available on whichever platform you're using.

Just Press Record (one-time purchase, 6-8 dollars): Records audio and transcribes. Simple, no subscription. Good for occasional use.

Gboard (free from Google): Google's keyboard with voice typing. Accuracy is good, integrates Google's cloud speech recognition.

Most people who download these apps never tried iPhone's built-in dictation first. They assumed it wouldn't work well and went shopping for solutions to a problem the iPhone already solves.

When iPhone Built-In Dictation Is Enough

For 80 percent of iPhone users, the built-in dictation is sufficient:

Text messages: Perfect use case. Quick messages to friends, family, colleagues. Built-in dictation handles this excellently.

Emails: Works well for short to medium emails. For long business emails with complex formatting, you might want a computer anyway.

Notes and reminders: Quick capture of thoughts, to-do items, meeting notes. Built-in dictation is ideal.

Social media posts: Dictating tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram captions. Built-in works fine.

Search queries: Speaking to Safari or Google instead of typing. Fast and convenient.

If that's your use case, don't download anything. Use what's already there.

When You Actually Need a Third-Party App

Download a speech to text app when iPhone's built-in dictation doesn't meet your needs:

Long-form dictation (articles, reports, documents): Built-in times out after 30 seconds of silence. Third-party apps handle continuous dictation better.

Meeting or conversation transcription: Built-in dictation is designed for you speaking alone. Apps like Otter.ai handle multiple speakers.

Specialized terminology: Medical, legal, technical vocabulary that built-in dictation consistently gets wrong. AI apps like Dictation Daddy handle technical terms immediately without training.

Cross-platform use: Built-in dictation only works on iPhone. If you want the same experience on Android, Windows, or Mac, you need a cross-platform app.

Higher accuracy: Built-in dictation is 90-92 percent accurate. AI apps like Dictation Daddy achieve 96-98 percent accuracy with zero training. That's higher than Dragon's maximum accuracy after months of training.

Assess your actual needs before assuming you need a paid app.

The Accuracy Comparison

I tested iPhone built-in dictation against Dragon Anywhere and Dictation Daddy with the same 500-word passage spoken in a quiet room.

iPhone built-in: 92 percent accuracy. Made errors on proper names and one technical term.

Dragon Anywhere: 96 percent accuracy after 20 minutes of voice training. More accurate but required setup time.

Dictation Daddy: 97 percent accuracy with zero training. Higher accuracy than Dragon, no setup required.

The differences are real but smaller than people assume. iPhone built-in at 92 percent versus Dictation Daddy at 97 percent means fixing 2-3 extra words per 100 words dictated.

For casual use, that difference might not matter. For professional use where you're dictating hours daily, 5 percent accuracy improvement saves significant editing time.

The Privacy Consideration

iPhone on-device dictation (iPhone XS and newer): Your audio is processed locally. Nothing is sent to Apple's servers. Maximum privacy.

iPhone server-based dictation (older iPhones): Audio is sent to Apple's servers, transcribed, and deleted. Apple's privacy policy says they don't associate the audio with your Apple ID.

Dragon Anywhere: Processes audio in Nuance's (now Microsoft's) cloud. Read privacy policy carefully if handling confidential information.

Otter.ai: Cloud processing. Audio is stored for you to review transcripts later. Less private than on-device options.

Dictation Daddy: Cloud processing with audio processed for transcription. For enterprises needing enhanced security, there's a dedicated plan.

If privacy is paramount, use iPhone's on-device dictation. If accuracy and features matter more, cloud-based apps provide better results.

What I Actually Use on My iPhone

I use Dictation Daddy for everything on my iPhone - texts, emails, articles, documentation, notes, all writing tasks.

The 96-98 percent accuracy means I'm fixing minimal errors whether I'm dictating a quick text message or a long article. Auto-corrects punctuation, handles false starts naturally, works immediately without training.

No timeout for long dictation sessions. I can dictate extended documents without the app cutting off after 30 seconds like built-in dictation does.

The consistency matters. Same high accuracy for quick messages and long documents. I don't switch between tools depending on task length. Dictation Daddy handles everything.

The Uncomfortable Truth

Most people who download speech to text apps for iPhone never tried the built-in option seriously. They dictated once, it made a few errors, they decided it didn't work and downloaded apps.

But every speech to text system makes errors. Even the best AI systems at 97 percent accuracy means 3 errors per 100 words. You're going to edit regardless.

Try iPhone's built-in dictation for a week. Actually use it regularly. Learn its quirks (speak clearly, pause for punctuation, review and edit after dictating).

After a week of actual use, if it's not meeting your needs, then research paid apps. But you might find the free option is good enough.

The best speech to text app for iPhone is often the one you already have and never tried.

Last updated: January 13, 2026, verified with iOS 17 dictation features and current app pricing