Apple Dictation not enough? What AI dictation adds on Mac

Apple Dictation is free, already on your Mac and iPhone, and for a quick message it is fine. Many people never need anything else. But if you dictate every day, you probably know the moment it falls short: the filler words are still there, the punctuation is a guess, you switch languages and it gets lost, and the text stops where you stop. This page explains what Apple's built-in dictation does well, where it runs out, and what an AI dictation app adds. For the wider field, see our list of the best dictation apps for Mac.

A note on sources: Apple's support site and two of the news pages below could not be opened from our writing session, so the Apple facts here come from search summaries of those pages. Check Apple's own documentation for your macOS and iOS version before you decide.

What Apple Dictation does well

• It costs nothing and needs no install. On a Mac you start it from a keyboard shortcut (the Fn key pressed twice is the common default, and you can change it in Keyboard settings). On iPhone you tap the microphone on the keyboard.
• It can work offline. According to Apple's help page, on Apple silicon Macs dictation for supported languages is processed on the device. On an Intel Mac, or in a language without on-device support, what you say is sent to Apple to be processed. That is useful to know if you handle private material.
• It lets you keep typing. On Apple silicon you can type and dictate in the same field.
• It is getting better. At WWDC in June 2026 Apple announced a systemwide dictation that fixes spelling, punctuation and capitalisation, according to TechCrunch. MacRumors reported that in the first iOS 27 beta it was not switched on by default. Coverage disagrees about which devices get the improved version, so look at Apple's feature availability page for your model and language.

Where it runs out

These are the gaps people most often describe. Some may close as Apple's new model rolls out, so test on your own device.

• Raw speech, lightly polished. Before the new model, Tom's Guide found that iOS 26 dictation turned filler sounds into real words. Even with better punctuation, "um, let's move it to Wednesday, no, Thursday" is a different job from producing the sentence you meant.
• It stops. Apple says dictation ends after 30 seconds without speech. Fine for a message, annoying when you are thinking aloud.
• Language coverage varies. The best features tend to launch in English first. If you dictate Russian, Polish or Ukrainian, or mix them with English in one sentence, check the language list carefully. Apple's own help page points to a feature availability page for exactly this reason.
• Names and terms. If it spells a client's name wrong, you fix it by hand every time.
• No memory. The text lands in the field and that is the end of it. There is no day page, no summary, no record of what you said.
• No calls. Dictation does not record a meeting and tell you who said what.

What AI dictation adds

Tiho is an AI dictation app for Mac and iPhone. It is not trying to beat Apple at being free. It does a different job:

• Finished text, not a transcript. On the Mac you hold the right Option key, talk, and let go. Tiho drops filler words, handles mid-sentence corrections and pastes clean text into whatever app has the cursor. If the field changed meanwhile, the text waits in a small pill with a Copy button, so nothing is lost.
• Edit by voice. Select text, hold the key and say "make it shorter and more businesslike". You review the changes before replacing.
• Languages. It dictates in Russian, English, Polish, Ukrainian, Spanish and more, including several in one sentence, and can translate selected text with a shortcut.
• A dictionary that learns. Fix a name once and Tiho remembers the spelling. Snippets expand a short phrase into a paragraph you write often.
• A journal. Dictations, notes and conversations land in one place with day pages, summaries with tasks and the original audio. On Mac, calls are recorded and summarised; see how to record and transcribe calls on Mac.
• Offline fallback. Without internet, an on-device model takes over. For how that works, read why voice typing now works even offline.

What Tiho does not do: it is Mac and iPhone only, and the iPhone app is currently in closed testing, so you request an invitation. It needs macOS 15 or newer. If Apple's free dictation already gives you clean text in your language, you may not need to pay for anything.

Price

Tiho gives 2,000 free words every week, shared across devices, with no card. Paid plans are Tiho at $9.99 a month and Tiho Pro at $19 a month, with a discount for yearly billing; see the pricing section. Dictation on both paid plans is practically unlimited under a fair-use ceiling.

A fair test

1. Dictate the same five things in Apple Dictation and in Tiho: a work email, a message with a name that is hard to spell, a paragraph where you change your mind, something in your second language, and two minutes of rambling thought.
2. Count how many edits each result needs.
3. If Apple is enough, stay. If you are still fixing text by hand, the free 2,000 words are enough to see the difference.

FAQ

Is Apple Dictation private?

On Apple silicon Macs, dictation for supported languages is processed on the device, per Apple's help page. On Intel Macs and for languages without on-device support, your speech is sent to Apple. Check the feature availability page for your language.

Does Apple Dictation remove filler words?

Not reliably. Apple announced a model that improves spelling, punctuation and capitalisation, and availability depends on your device, OS version and language. Test it with your own voice before relying on it.

Can I keep Apple Dictation and use Tiho too?

Yes. Use different shortcuts so they do not clash, and keep Apple Dictation for quick one-liners if you like.

Does Tiho work on Windows or Android?

No. Tiho is for Mac and iPhone only. On other platforms, look at tools built for them.