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Top Tools and Methods for Apple Speech Recognition in 2025

Andrew Murray
Andrew Murray updated Mar 05, 25
11 min(s)

In this era of artificial intelligence, a number of things have been made easy for computer users, one of which is speech recognition. Typing isn't easy or even possible for everyone, which is why you might prefer to talk. Speech-to-text software, also sometimes called dictation software, makes it possible by turning what you say into typed text. You also get help with basic tasks like writing simple notes and creating video subtitles.

If you have an Apple device, you don't need to install software to dictate text to your Macbook, iPad, or iPhone because they come with a built-in function for speech recognition. However, they support other tools with this feature enabled should you need to do more with a speech-to-text tool than the built-in options offer. In this article, we’ll explain how to set up Apple's speech recognition and rank the best voice recognition tools for Apple devices.

woman speaking into a phone
In this article
  1. How to Setup Apple Speech Recognition Across iOS Devices
  2. Best Additional Apple Speech Recognition Software For Different Use Cases

Part 1: How to Setup Apple Speech Recognition Across iOS Devices

Apple has built-in speech recognition tools for iPhones, Macs, and iPads, which are free and do not require the internet to use. Below, we are going to look at how to set up the different iOS speech recognition tools, which are voice control, dictation, and text-to-speech.

How to Setup Apple Speech Recognition on iPhones

To set up the voice control Apple voice recognition software using voice control, follow the steps below:

  • Step 1: Open the Settings app.
  • iphone settings
  • Step 2: Scroll down and select Accessibility from the options available.
  • iphone accessibility
  • Step 3: Select Voice Control from the accessibility options.
  • iphone voice control
  • Step 4: Now, at the top of your screen, toggle on Voice Control.
  • toggle voice control

    After you complete these steps, a blue microphone will appear in your device's status bar, indicating whether Voice Control is listening or not.

    Aside from voice control in the Settings app, you can set up Apple speech recognition using the Dictation feature. Follow the steps below:

  • Step 1: From the Settings app, click on General among the options.
  • iphone general control
  • Step 2: Select Keyboard and toggle on the Enable Dictation. If this feature is set up correctly, the toggle button should go from grey to green.
  • enable dictation control
  • Step 3: A prompt to enable dictation will come up. Tap on Enable Dictation to add the microphone feature to your keyboard.
  • enable dictation prompt

    Once dictation is set up, you can access the microphone(Speech-to-Text) feature on your iPhone. Follow the steps below to do it:

  • Step 1: Tap in the text field to place the insertion point where you want to begin dictating text.
  • typing cursor
  • Step 2: Tap the microphone icon on the onscreen keyboard (or in any text field where it appears).
  • microphone icon
  • Step 3: When the icon appears near the insertion point in the text field, begin to dictate your text.
  • sample text
  • Step 4: To insert an emoji or a punctuation mark or perform simple formatting tasks, simply say the word you want to type or describe the emoji you want to add to the text.
  • sample emoji

    When you’re done, tap the microphone icon icon to turn it off. Dictation stops automatically when you stop speaking for 30 seconds.

    How to Setup Apple Speech Recognition on Macbooks

    Macbooks, like other Apple devices, come with a speech recognition function. They sync well with your iPhones and iPads, too, letting you seamlessly transfer speech-derived notes across devices. Below are steps for setting up Apple voice recognition on Mac PCs using voice control, dictation, and speech-to-text:

    To set up Apple speech recognition on your Macbook using voice control, follow the steps below:

  • Step 1: From the Apple icon at the top left of your screen, tap on System Settings (or System Preferences).
  • system preferences
  • Step 2: Click on Accessibility from the setting options.
  • setting options
  • Step 3: In Accessibility settings, click Voice Control.
  • accessibility features
  • Step 4: To enable Voice Control, tap Enable Voice Control. If this is your first time using Voice Control, your Mac might complete a one-time download from Apple. After this, Voice Control becomes available as a microphone at the bottom of your screen.
  • enable voice control

    Next, you can use the Dictation tool from your settings to recognize and transcribe spoken words into text. To set up Apple voice recognition using Dictation on your Mac, follow the steps below:

  • Step 1: On your Mac, tap the Apple icon, go to System Preferences, then click Keyboard in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down to find this button.
  • macos keyboard
  • Step 2: Go to Dictation, then turn it on.
  • macos dictation
  • Step 3: When you turn on Dictation, you can adjust the language settings and add a shortcut for the Dictation tool.
  • dictation on

    Pro Tip: If you’re asked whether you want to improve Siri and Dictation, you can share audio recordings byclicking Share Audio Recordings. This allows Apple to store audio of your Siri and Dictation interactions from your Mac. Apple may review a sample of stored audio. To stop sharing these recordings, click Not Now.

    Finally, you can access speech recognition from your keyboard if dictation is already enabled on your Mac. To use Apple speech recognition via Speech-to-text on your Macbook, follow the steps below:

  • Step 1: In an app on your Mac, place the insertion point where you want to enter text.
  • cursor on macos
  • Step 2: Press the keyboard shortcut you set up in the dictation preparation. This would make the Microphone icon available on your Mac. Use the Dictation keyboard shortcut or choose Edit and Start Dictation to access the microphone.
  • macos start dictation
  • Step 3: When the icon appears above or below a highlighted cursor, or you hear the tone that signals your Mac is ready for dictation, dictate your text.
  • macos dictation


    Tips: Here are some additional functions you can perform using the speech-to-text feature:

    1. To insert an emoji or a punctuation mark or perform simple formatting tasks, do any of the following:
    • Say the name of an emoji, like “heart emoji” or “car emoji.”
    • Say the name of the punctuation mark, such as “exclamation mark.”
    • Say “new line” (equivalent to pressing the Return key once) or “new paragraph” (equivalent to pressing the Return key twice). The new line or new paragraph appears when you’re done dictating.

    You can dictate text of any length without a timeout. When you’re done, press the Escape key, the Microphone key (if available), or the Dictation keyboard shortcut. Dictation stops automatically when no speech is detected for 30 seconds.

    How to Setup Apple Speech Recognition on iPads

    With iOS sound recognition, you can navigate and interact with your iPad using only your voice instead of the traditional act of typing. Below are steps for setting up Apple speech recognition on your iPad using voice control, dictation, and speech-to-text:

    To set up Apple speech recognition on your iPad using voice control, follow the steps below:

  • Step 1: Go to Settings on your iPad. You can also view the accessibility options in the Control Center.
  • ipad settings
  • Step 2: Click on Accessibility and then Voice Control.
  • ipad accessibility
  • Step 3: Under Voice Control, select the Language option to your preferred language and customize the commands for your control.
  • voice control language
  • Step 4: You can also teach Voice Control to recognize new words and phrases by entering a word into a Vocabulary list and teaching the feature how to pronounce them.
  • voice control vocabulary

    Your iPad also gives you access to Dictation on your keyboard for iOS speech recognition. Here’s how to set it up:

  • Step 1: Go to the Settings app on your iPad.
  • ipad app display
  • Step 2: Scroll down and click on General.
  • ipad general settings
  • Step 3: Go to Keyboard, then turn on the Enable Dictation. Finally, accept the prompt to enable dictation and continue.
  • ipad keyboard options

    Once the Dictation feature is set up, you can access the Speech-to-text tool via the microphone on your iPad keyboard. Here’s how to use it for Apple speech recognition:

  • Step 1: Open an app on your iPad, such as your notes or even a messaging app.
  • text field
  • Step 2: Place the insertion point where you want to enter text. Press the Microphone icon on your keyboard and start talking once the straight line appears at the base of your screen.
  • voice transcription
  • Step 3: To stop the dictation, you can simply press the Microphone icon again.
  • ipad keyboard and microphone

    Part 2: Best Additional Apple Speech Recognition Software For Different Use Cases

    It is important to note that basic Apple speech recognition with voice control, dictation, or text-to-speech might not be able to meet your needs completely. This is why you need additional tools enabled for speech recognition on Apple devices. In this section, we will rank 3 of the best voice recognition software suited for Apple devices so it's easy for you to make a pick depending on your needs:

    1. Wondershare Filmora: Best for Speech Recognition Enabled Video Editing

    Wondershare Filmora is an advanced video editor that is packed with many powerful features, including Speaker detection and Speech Editing features. With these, your video gets to be transcribed automatically, and you can also edit what has been transcribed.

    filmora speech functions

    The speaker detection feature, similar to iOS voice recognition, listens to audio input from your videos and converts them to written text. This feature is exclusive to mobile versions of Filmora so that you can access it from your iPhone easily. For Macs, however, you can use the Speech-to-Text feature, which actively listens to and transcribes your video’s audio captions to text.

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    How to Setup and Use Speech Recognition Tools on Filmora

    To use the Speaker detection feature on your iPhone, follow the steps below:

  • Step 1: Launch Filmora on your iPhone and Click on New Project.
  • ai captions
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  • Step 2: Select the video you want to edit and click import.
  • import video
  • Step 3: Toggle on Speaker Detection. If the feature is on, the button will light up.
  • speaker detection
  • Step 4: Tap Add Captions and wait for the platform to transcribe the audio to text.
  • generating captions

    To access the Speaker edit feature, you have to edit your already transcribed video. Here’s how to do it:

  • Step 1: After generating your video captions from the audio, click on Project Editing.
  • project editing
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  • Step 2: From the options at the base of the screen, select Edit Speech.
  • edit speech
  • Step 3: Now, you can edit the transcribed text to fix any wording errors or adjust the caption to your preference. Then, tap Update Speech to save your edits.
  • update speech
  • Step 4: Click on export at the top of your screen to save your transcribed video.
  • export options

    2. Transcribe: Best for Speech-to-Text Functions

    Transcribe is an Apple voice recognition and transcription tool accessible on Mac from the App Store, but you can also use it from the official website. It is basically your assistant for note-taking and recording using audio input with access to over 120 languages. It also offers Transcribe Pro and Transcribe Business, which are available to fit your more advanced needs.

    How to Setup and Use Transcribe

    After downloading the tool, to set up and use Transcribe on your Apple device, follow the steps below:

  • Step 1: Download the Transcribe app from the App Store. Suppose you’re using the web version, Sign In or Create an account.
  • transcribe app home
  • Step 2: You can sign in with Apple, Email, or Google
  • sign in options
  • Step 3: Click on Ok on the next page and then tap Add Audio File.
  • add audio file
  • Step 4: You can either select a file or insert an audio URL link to a video with audio content.
  • upload file
  • Step 5: Next, set your preferred language and tap Transcribe to convert the audio in the video to a text note.
  • transcribe audio

    3. Speechmatics: Best Speech Recognition API

    Speechmatics is an Apple speech recognition API that leverages advanced machine learning algorithms to transcribe spoken language into written text accurately. It can be integrated into your Macbook with over 50 languages for speech recognition. Its operations include audio input, speech detection, transcription, and output, which is the written text.

    How to Use Speechmatics

    To begin, go to the Speechmatics iOS speech recognition API. Then, you can set up and use Speechmatics on your device by following the steps below:

  • Step 1: Click on Try Free to create your account.
  • speechmatics home
  • Step 2: If you have a work email, sign in with it, or you can create an account with Google.
  • sign in
  • Step 3: Sign in and continue. Then, on the next page, select Start Session.
  • start session
  • Step 5: You need your microphone connected, so click on Allow while visiting the site.
  • allow permissions
  • Step 6: At this point, the tool listens to any audio input from your device’s microphone and turns it into notes.
  • speechmatics transcription

    Conclusion

    Apple voice recognition technology has undoubtedly revolutionized accessibility on iOS devices. From Voice Control to Dictation and Speech-to-Text, it's never been easier to convert your speech into written text, and you can do so directly from your iPads, MacBooks, and iPhones without using the internet.

    However, if you want to use speech recognition for a more specific purpose, you should consider using a third-party tool like Filmora, which is great for incorporating speech recognition into videos with the Speaker Detection and Speech Edit features. You can try them both out by downloading the app on your iPhone to begin.

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