--- title: "Precis blog: dictation on Mac, tested and explained" description: "Notes from building Precis, a dictation app for Mac: tests on real voices, how the on-device parts work, and plain answers about the other apps." url: https://myprecis.app/blog --- Blog # Blog Notes from building Precis, a dictation app for Mac: tests on real voices, how the on-device parts work, and plain answers about the other apps. By [Nithish](https://x.com/nithishgo), who makes Precis · Updated 31 October 2026 **Newest:** [How to use speech to text on Mac](https://myprecis.app/speech-to-text-mac). Turn on Dictation, pick a shortcut, the voice commands worth knowing, privacy, and when an app does more. From Apple's own guide. 31 October 2026 ## [How to use speech to text on Mac](https://myprecis.app/speech-to-text-mac) Turn on Dictation, pick a shortcut, the voice commands worth knowing, privacy, and when an app does more. From Apple's own guide. 31 October 2026 ## [Wispr Flow vs Granola voice typing](https://myprecis.app/wispr-flow-vs-granola) Granola made voice typing free. How it compares with Wispr Flow on price, devices, privacy and styles, from both companies' own docs. 31 October 2026 ## [Precis vs Granola voice typing](https://myprecis.app/vs/granola) Granola's new voice typing is free and unlimited. What it sends to the cloud, what it does better, and when Precis fits instead. 30 October 2026 ## [Dictate to Cursor on Mac](https://myprecis.app/dictate-to-cursor-mac) What Cursor's built-in voice input covers, what it leaves out, and how to talk to Cursor from comments to the terminal. 30 October 2026 ## [Dictate to ChatGPT on Mac](https://myprecis.app/dictate-to-chatgpt-mac) What ChatGPT's microphone button does with your recording, how dictating on your Mac compares, and the ⌥ Space clash. 29 October 2026 ## [Wispr Flow's free limit](https://myprecis.app/wispr-flow-free-limit) Where the free plan's weekly limit sits on Mac, iPhone and Android, when it resets, and what to use instead. 17 October 2026 ## [Apple's on-device model and dictation](https://myprecis.app/apple-on-device-model-dictation) Engineering notes on getting Apple's on-device model to clean up dictation without inventing names, numbers or promises. 17 October 2026 ## [Dictation with an Indian English accent](https://myprecis.app/indian-english-dictation-mac) Four speech engines, one Indian English voice, 14 hard phrases: which one got the fewest words wrong. 17 October 2026 ## [macOS 27 dictation on M1 and M2 Macs](https://myprecis.app/macos-27-dictation-m1-m2) Who gets macOS 27's better dictation, and what to use on an M1 or M2 Mac instead. ## Guides - [A Wispr Flow alternative that stays on your Mac](https://myprecis.app/wispr-flow-alternative) - [Is Wispr Flow private?](https://myprecis.app/is-wispr-flow-private) - [Offline dictation on Mac](https://myprecis.app/offline-dictation-mac) - [Free dictation apps for Mac](https://myprecis.app/free-dictation-app-mac) - [Dictate to Claude Code on Mac](https://myprecis.app/dictate-to-claude-code-mac) - [How Precis is tested](https://myprecis.app/how-precis-is-tested) Comparing apps? [The best dictation apps for Mac](https://myprecis.app/best-dictation-app-mac) puts them side by side. **Nithish Govindasamy** An independent developer in India and the maker of Precis. He uses it every day for email, prompts and notes, and checks the facts on these pages against each app's own site. [@nithishgo on X](https://x.com/nithishgo) ## Try Precis free for 7 days Hold ⌥ Space in any app and talk. No card and no account, then $39 once for 2 Macs. [Download for Mac](https://myprecis.app/download/latest) [Buy for $39](https://checkout.dodopayments.com/buy/pdt_0NorxSfZNcxMOquMUwCPN?quantity=1) Free for 7 days, no card. Needs macOS 26.5 on Apple silicon. --- [Precis for Mac](https://myprecis.app/) · [Download](https://myprecis.app/download/latest) · [Pricing](https://myprecis.app/pricing.md) · [All pages](https://myprecis.app/llms.txt)