Voice typing on iPhone with Dictation or Scribe
Updated
For voice typing on iPhone, enable Apple’s built-in Dictation and tap the keyboard’s microphone button, or install Scribe for iPhone, a free keyboard with a Talk key and optional Refine rewriting.
How do I use Apple’s Dictation?
As of October 2026, Apple’s iPhone Dictation guide gives these steps:
- Open Settings › General › Keyboard and turn on Enable Dictation.
- Tap into a text field, then tap the Dictate button on the onscreen keyboard.
- Speak, then tap the button again to stop.
Apple says many languages are processed on the iPhone without an internet connection. Availability and features vary by language and region. Dictating into a search field may send the resulting text to the search engine. The keyboard stays open while dictating, so typing and speech can be used together.
Apple’s option is built into iOS and requires no separate app. The current help page covers iOS 27; check the version selector for iOS 26 instructions.
How does Scribe’s Talk key work?
Scribe for iPhone requires iOS 26. Its keyboard can open on the Talk layer. Tap Talk, speak and tap Done to insert the text, or Cancel to discard the take. Words appear in the keyboard’s live area while speaking.
When the microphone is idle, the first Talk opens Scribe briefly to start it. Return to the original app once Scribe shows Listening. iOS keyboards cannot hold the microphone themselves; the Scribe app holds it for the keyboard. Dictate on iPhone explains this handoff.
Does the app open for every dictation?
The Keep mic ready for setting controls the time after a take: Off, 1, 5 or 15 minutes, with five as the default. It is under Settings › Keyboard. While ready, iOS shows its microphone indicator and a Lock Screen Live Activity shows the time remaining and an End button.
Sound is turned into text only after Talk is tapped. Once the ready period ends, another Talk needs to open the app again to start the microphone. The Off option avoids keeping it ready between takes.
What setup does the keyboard require?
The app’s Keyboard tab documents these steps:
- Add NanthAi Scribe as a keyboard in iOS Settings.
- Allow Full Access for it.
- Return to the app and type in the Try it field.
Full Access lets the keyboard exchange text and settings with the Scribe app through a shared container on the phone. The keyboard makes no network requests. The iPhone setup page lists the Settings path if the shortcut does not open the right screen. These instructions describe the coming app; it is not available to install yet.
Can the same keyboard type normally?
Tap ABC for letters and the Scribe key to return to Talk. Settings › Keyboard › Opens with can make Letters the first layer instead. The letter keyboard includes autocorrect and suggestions, long-press accents and swipe typing. Number display can be Off, Hints or a separate Row.
The iPhone allows two selected languages. Suggestions and autocorrect follow that list. Speech-language availability differs from keyboard input support: Scribe’s letter keyboard has no Chinese, Japanese or Korean input method. Use Apple’s keyboards through the globe key for typing those scripts. The iPhone keyboard covers the controls.
How does Refine work on iPhone?
The Refine pill rewrites a dictation before insertion, using the tone selected by the Tone chip. Keyboard Refine always uses Apple Intelligence. The optional Gemma model runs only while the app is in the foreground, so it cannot replace Apple Intelligence for keyboard rewriting.
Selected text can also be edited with presets or a spoken instruction. Refine explains the engines and the messages shown when they are unavailable.
What if the text misses the intended field?
Insert last re-inserts the most recent dictation for up to an hour, including when history is off. If the keyboard was not open when a take finished, copy the text from the Library instead.
Try it
Get Scribe for iPhone on the App Store, then follow Get started on iPhone. Dictate on iPhone covers the whole workflow.