Getting Started

This page walks you through setup and your first dictation on iPhone, iPad and Mac. You don't need an account.

Setup

The first time you open Wispen, a short setup guide runs. You can open it again any time from Settings › Dictation › Setup Guide.

On the first page, tap Get Started. By continuing, you agree to the Odd Omens Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

iPhone and iPad

1. Allow Access: allow Microphone and Speech Recognition. Wispen needs both to hear and transcribe you.
2. Add the Wispen Keyboard: optional. Tap Open Settings and follow the steps to turn on the keyboard and Allow Full Access. See Wispen Keyboard.
3. Choose a Voice Model: pick Apple Speech (recommended, nothing to download), NVIDIA Parakeet (English) (570 MB download) or Whisper Large-v3 Turbo (632 MB download, best for many languages). You can change this later in Settings › Speech Models.
4. Tap Start Using Wispen.

Mac

1. Allow Access: allow Microphone and Speech Recognition.
2. Paste Into Any App: allow Accessibility. Wispen uses it to insert dictated text at your cursor in other apps. macOS opens System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility, where you turn on Wispen.
3. How You Dictate: choose how the dictation shortcut behaves and, if you like, a single key to hold while you talk. See Wispen on Mac.
4. Choose a Voice Model: the same choices as on iPhone.
5. Click Start Using Wispen.

TIP

If you skip a permission, you can turn it on later. On iPhone and iPad, go to the Settings app › Wispen. On the Mac, go to System Settings › Privacy & Security.

Your first dictation

In a note (all platforms)

1. On iPhone and iPad, tap the microphone in the top-right corner of the home screen. Wispen creates a new note and starts recording. On the Mac, create a note with ⌘N and click Record at the bottom of the note.
2. Speak. Your words appear in the note as you talk.
3. Tap the stop button. Wispen finishes the last words, cleans up the text and saves it.

See Dictation for pause, cancel, dictation modes and hands-free recording.

In any app on the Mac

1. Click in a text field in any app, such as TextEdit.
2. Press ⌥⇧D, speak, and press ⌥⇧D again. Wispen inserts the text at your cursor.

You can also hold ⌥⇧D while you speak and let go to insert. Esc cancels.

In any app on iPhone and iPad

Add the Wispen Keyboard, switch to it with the globe key, and tap the microphone.

What's next

• Teach Wispen names and terms in the Dictionary.
• Learn the Voice Commands.
• Try a different speech model.
• Turn on or check iCloud sync.