Glossary
Enhanced Dictation
Enhanced Dictation was a Mac option, available from OS X Mavericks, that lets you dictate without an internet connection after a download. Apple's help for macOS Mojave describes it, but Apple's later Dictation pages do not mention it.
Updated October 16, 20264 cited facts, each traced to its source
Also called offline dictation (OS X).
Enhanced Dictation was an option in the Dictation pane of Keyboard settings that let you dictate text even when your Mac is offline. Apple's Mac Help for macOS Mojave 10.14 says that turning it on makes that possible, and that you can deselect it to use server-based dictation instead 1. It is the offline form of Apple Dictation, and it is also called offline dictation on OS X.
Enhanced Dictation downloaded the speech software
To use Enhanced Dictation, your Mac downloads the software it needs, after which speech is interpreted on the Mac. If you do not want that download, you can use server-based dictation. Apple's Mojave page says that with server-based dictation, your words are sent to Apple servers to be analyzed using the latest language data 2. So the choice is between a download that works offline and a connection that sends your speech to Apple.
Enhanced Dictation removed a 30-second limit
Before it arrived, standard Mac dictation stopped after 30 seconds. Enhanced Dictation, available in OS X Mavericks, removed that limit and worked offline 3. The 30-second figure comes from a 2014 Engadget article on the feature, not from an Apple page, so treat it as history rather than a current rule.
Example: dictating on a plane
Suppose you are on a plane with no connection, and you want to draft a document by voice. With Enhanced Dictation turned on in a macOS version that offers it, you could dictate text without a connection. Without it, the same dictation would need server-based processing. Check your own version first, because the option does not appear in the Dictation pages Apple published for macOS 12 Monterey or macOS 26 Tahoe.
Why it matters for typing
Offline dictation matters for two reasons: it works where the connection is poor, and it keeps your speech off remote servers while you work. Today, Apple's newer pages describe whether general text Dictation is processed on the device, and you can check that setting yourself 4. The guide to Mac dictation by macOS version explains which changes came with each release, and the offline dictation page for Mac is the place to compare the options available now.
Related terms
- Apple Dictation: the standard Mac feature that Enhanced Dictation extended.
- Cloud dictation: dictation where the speech is processed on a remote server, the opposite of an offline option.
- Microphone key (dictation key): the key that starts Dictation on a Mac keyboard.
Guides that cover it
Evidence
Every number on this page, with where it comes from. Open a fact to see the exact words in its source.
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- 2.Apple's Mac Help for macOS Mojave 10.14 says that with server-based dictation, your words are sent to Apple servers to be analyzed using the latest language data, and that the converted text appears after you end dictation.
Apple Inc., Apple Support, Mac Help, macOS Mojave 10.14 version, n.d. · Original
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- 4.
Related terms
- Mac Dictation: How to Dictate and Control a Mac by VoiceThe topic this term belongs to
- Accessibility permission (macOS)Accessibility permission is a macOS setting that lets a specific app read and control other apps through the system's accessibility features. macOS keeps it under Privacy & Security, and an app gets no access until you allow it there.
- Apple DictationApple Dictation is the free, built-in feature that types what you say into any text field on a Mac. Apple also calls it Mac Dictation, macOS Dictation or keyboard dictation.
- Apple IntelligenceApple Intelligence is the name Apple gives to its AI features across its devices. Its on-device models can improve Dictation on newer Macs, and Apple says apps can use the same models.
- Apple siliconApple silicon is the family of chips Apple designs for its own computers, starting with certain Macs in late 2020. Each chip puts several computer components on one piece of silicon, which Apple calls a system on a chip.
- Globe key (Fn key)The Globe key, also called the Fn key or function key, is a modifier on Apple keyboards. In Keyboard settings you choose what a press does, such as switching input source, starting Dictation or doing nothing.
- Improve Siri & DictationImprove Siri & Dictation is the Mac setting that controls whether Apple may store and review audio from your Siri and Dictation requests. When you first turn on Dictation, the same choice is labeled Share Audio Recordings.
- Microphone key (dictation key)The Microphone key is a key on some Mac keyboards that starts Apple Dictation when you press and release it. Pressing and holding it activates Siri instead, if Siri is turned on.
- Neural EngineThe Apple Neural Engine (ANE) is a block of hardware inside Apple's chips that runs machine learning models efficiently. Speech models can run on it, and Apple uses it for on-device machine learning inference.
- SiriSiri is Apple's built-in voice assistant. You speak a request and it answers or carries out an action, while Dictation types what you say into a text field instead.
- Speech framework (Apple)The Speech framework is Apple's developer toolkit for turning audio into text inside an app. It includes the older SFSpeechRecognizer class and the newer SpeechAnalyzer, which Apple says transcribes entirely on the device once its models are downloaded.
- Voice Control (Apple)Voice Control is Apple's feature for controlling a Mac with spoken commands, including opening apps, clicking items and editing text. When it is on, it also handles dictation, so standard macOS Dictation is not available.
- VoiceOverVoiceOver is the screen reader built into macOS, which speaks what is on the screen so you can use the Mac without seeing it. It does the reverse of dictation: it reads text aloud rather than writing your speech.