Keyboard and input
Dictation
Most people call this typing by speaking.
Dictation turns speech into text anywhere a keyboard appears, and on recent iPhones it runs on the device for most languages.
This setting is present on your iPhone.
- We have this path on file but have not yet confirmed it against an official source.
Where to find it - iOS 13 and later
- Settings
- General
- Keyboard
- Enable Dictation
What it does
Tap the microphone on the keyboard and speak. Auto-Punctuation adds full stops and commas as you go. On newer models the processing happens locally, so it works offline and nothing is uploaded.
What changes
When it is on
The microphone key appears on the keyboard.
When it is off
The key disappears and speech input is unavailable.
Should you turn it on?
Good reasons to turn it on
- Much faster than typing for long text.
- Works offline on newer models.
- Important accessibility route for people with limited dexterity.
Good reasons to turn it off
- You do not want a microphone key next to the space bar.
- Accidental activation in a meeting is embarrassing.
Battery
No real change
Privacy
Depends how you use it
Performance
No real change
Cellular data
No real change
Storage
No real change
Out of the box: On.
Questions people actually ask
- Does dictation work without internet?
- On newer iPhones most languages are processed on the device, so yes.
If it is not working
- Auto-Punctuation is a separate switch on the same screen.
- You can keep typing while dictating on recent releases.
- Improve Siri and Dictation under Privacy controls whether audio samples are shared.