Dictation
This page covers dictating into Wispen notes. For other apps, see the Wispen Keyboard on iPhone and iPad, and Wispen on Mac.
Record into a note
- Start a dictation:
- On iPhone and iPad, tap the microphone in the top-right corner of the home screen. Wispen creates a new note in the project you used last and starts recording.
- In an open note, tap Record at the bottom of the screen.
- On the Mac or an iPad with a keyboard, press ⌘K and choose Start Dictation.
- Speak naturally. The words appear in the note as you talk.
- Use the controls at the bottom while you record:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Pause / Resume | Holds the recording without ending it. |
| Cancel | Discards this dictation and puts the note back the way it was. |
| Stop | Ends the recording and keeps the text. |
When you stop, Wispen waits a moment for your last words, applies text cleanup and your dictation mode, and saves the note.
Where the text goes
Dictation goes where your cursor is in the note. If you selected text first, the dictation replaces it. With no cursor, it's added to the end. Wispen adjusts spacing and capitals so the new text fits the sentence around it.
After you stop, the cursor sits right after the new text, ready for the next dictation or edit.
First use of a model
The first few times a Whisper or Parakeet model loads, the bar shows Preparing model for this device… with "First run only — this can take a few minutes." Later loads are faster. You can tap Cancel while it loads.
Keep recording in the background
On iPhone and iPad, a dictation keeps recording if you lock the screen or switch apps.
Dictation modes
A dictation mode shapes the finished text. Choose the default in Settings › Dictation › Mode. You can also switch modes from the command palette (⌘K), the Wispen Keyboard, and the dictation bar and menu bar on the Mac.
| Mode | Result |
|---|---|
| Writing | Your text as spoken, cleaned up. |
| Chat | Your text as spoken, cleaned up. |
| A "Subject:" line from your first sentence, then "Hi," the rest as the body, and "Best regards,". | |
| Tasks | Each line becomes a Markdown checkbox (- [ ]). Say "new task" to start the next one. |
| Notes | Each line becomes a bullet (- ). Say "new bullet" to start the next one. |
| Code | The text is wrapped in a code block. Say "open bracket" and "close bracket" for { and }, and "semicolon" for ;. |
Language
Choose the language you speak in Settings › Dictation › Language: Automatic, English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese or Korean. The same setting is used for imported audio.
Some speech models only understand English, and Parakeet Ultra doesn't cover Japanese, Chinese or Korean. If your model doesn't support the language you picked, the Dictation page tells you and suggests a model that does. See Speech Models.
Whisper Mode
For dictating quietly, turn on Settings › Dictation › Whisper Mode. It boosts the microphone and picks up softer speech. You can also turn it on or off from the command palette and, on the Mac, the menu bar.
Hands-free: stop when you stop talking
Turn on Settings › Dictation › Stop When I Stop Talking to end the recording after a pause, without pressing stop. Then choose a Pause Length: 1.5, 2, 2.5 (default), 3 or 5 seconds.
You can also say "Hey Wispen, stop" to finish. See Voice Commands.
The As Spoken and Current views
When cleanup or your edits have changed a dictated note, a toggle appears under the title:
- As Spoken shows the text as it was first transcribed.
- Current shows the note as it is now.
To replace the note with the original transcript, choose Revert to Original Speech from the note's menu (iPhone and iPad) or the wand menu in the toolbar (Mac). The current text is saved to History first.
Command palette
On the Mac, and on iPad with a keyboard, press ⌘K to open the command palette. Search or filter by Notes, Actions, Modes and Models to:
- Create a new note or start dictation.
- Turn the hands-free auto-stop or Whisper Mode on or off.
- Open Insights, What's New or Settings.
- Switch dictation mode or speech model (downloaded models only).
- Jump to any note.
On the Mac you can also click the ⌘K button next to the search field. The palette marks commands as beta.