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Ask HN: Does Apple dictation (iPhone) process on device?

4 points

2 days ago

| 2 comments

I come with frustrations. My new iPhone 16 max is a dog. I use to use dictation a lot, has it changed from on device because I can’t get a straight answer from Apples documentation.

(1) Support website says yes on device : Dictation requests are processed on your device in many languages—no internet connection is required. When dictating in a search box, dictated text may be sent to the search provider in order to process the search. (https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/iphone/iph2c0651d2/ios)

(2) Device documentation says it will show you if it’s on device or on cloud (it never does) : https://i.postimg.cc/d3pxT9cH/IMG-1661.jpg

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runjake

2 days ago

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The Dictation (uppercase D) features happens on-device[1].

There are other voice-to-text features, such as Translation, which may use the cloud, but those aren't in the context of the information you provided.

1. https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/data/en/ask-siri-dictati...

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jjice

2 days ago

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I've had similar confusion to what you've said (same sources too). From what I've tested (iPhone 16 Pro), yes it's all on device. That may only be on more recent devices though. If you disable anything that can connect you to a network, it still functions as expected, at the same speed, and at the same quality (from what I can tell).