How I use dictation

Testing dictation software for Wirecutter was a revelation. I went into the project assuming that Apple's built-in dictation was good enough for most people, Google's dictation would be similar on Android, few would want to use something other than the built-in dictation on their phones, and that Dragon Dictate would be clearly better but also expensive enough to relegate it to niche use-cases. Queue my surprise when it turned out that Microsoft Word's built-in dictation was so much better than the competition that it clearly stood out as the best dictation software (for now, at least—OpenAI's Whisper is as good or better, only it doesn't let you dictate punctuation. Easy to imagine that limitation going away in the near future). That's the value of side-by-side, systematic testing: You remove bias and come away with a clear-eyed view of capabilities.

My bias towards Apple dictation, though, was from near-daily use. As I wrote in a followup article for Wirecutter, I use dictation to reply to text messages on my phone all the time, and find it easier if not faster than typing. And it's reasonably accurate, even with names and locations I type frequently.

And that feels like something of a new normal. Typing is here, forever, but it's also increasingly supplemented by more human interactions with devices. Witness high schoolers handwriting notes on iPads then searching though and editing the text, with OCR making handwriting more accessible than ever. Witness people sending audio messages as soon as plane wheels hit the tarmac, or video calls in stores to ensure you're getting exactly what your spouse wanted. And—for me and other casual dictation users—witness dictating notes and text messages instead of typing.

Maybe, in our AI-augmented world, more natural device interactions will replace our more mechanical, key-and-mouse-driven computer interactions. The computer in your pocket is more powerful than the one that put a man on the moon; might as well put all of that spare computing power to use.

→ Continue reading on the New York Times | Wirecutter: Dictation Keeps Me a Bit More Grounded in the Real World, a Bit Less Glued to My Phone

Continue reading at https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/dictation-tools-review/

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