FAQ
What is the quality like, and what are some tips to getting good accuracy?
The quality is on par with Apple's Siri. It works best when the microphone is about half an arm's length away, a natural phone holding position, for instance. It also works best when recording a person directly, instead of from a speaker.
Because no automated transcription service ever gets things completely right, the app gives tools to correct from inside the app. A person can tap on text and the audio will jump to that point in the recording. Text is automatically highlighted. You can use bookmarks. And tapping a waveform will jump to that point in the transcript. We aim to make editing the transcription draft easy.
What is unique about Ada Dictation?
So many apps require that audio be sent to a server. Using machine learning on the device, the app is able to do everything live and locally, without sending the audio anywhere. This also makes transcription more affordable. Transcription can cost around $10 per month for only a limited amount of transcription minutes, or even $1 per minute for hand-crafted transcription. Ada Dictation is able to keep the quality and avoid the cost of third-party services, bringing the cost down to a one-time payment.
The app lets you record live in the app so that you don't spend more time re-analyzing the audio. However, Ada Dictation also lets you import files with audio, including movies.
How do I delete a file?
From the file list, you can swipe from right to left on a file to reveal a delete button. From the editing screen, tap the ellipses in the top right corner to get a list of file editing options, and one of them is to delete the file. From shortcuts, use command delete to delete the currently selected file.
How can I use bookmarks?
While recording, you can tap the bookmark button and add a bookmark at that point in time. When you're done recording, you can tap the bookmark icon on the editing screen to see a list of all the bookmarks you've added. Tapping on that bookmark will take the audio and text highlight to that bookmark. You can add a bookmark by tapping and holding, the way you would to bring up the cut/copy/paste menu and select "Add bookmark." Or you can use the keyboard shortcut Option + b.
How do I import a file?
To import, go to the button in the top right corner, the one with an arrow facing down. This will open a file picker. Choose an item and the picker will dismiss. Once imported, the item will appear in the list menu and will immediately begin transcribing.
What file types are supported for importing?
We support m4a, mp3, wav, caf, aac, aiff, au and video formats including mp4 and mov.
How do I send my transcript somewhere?
On the screen where you edit the app, use the button in the top right corner that is a circle with an ellipses (three dots ...). A series of options will appear. Use the button that says share. Then three options will appear, asking whether you want to share only the transcript, or only the audio, or both at the same time. When you tap one of those options, a list of apps will appear that can accept text or audio or both. Tapping on one of those will share the text or audio, which ever you have chosen, using the app you've chosen. And of course, you can copy and paste the text to wherever you choose.
Can I transcribe in the background?
Background transcription is enabled by default and may be disabled with a switch in the app's settings page. Because of a known bug in Apple's offline speech framework, background transcription results in timestamps that may be less accurate. In certain cases, the timestamps may be off by several words. However, they should generally take you to the correct area of the audio file and often do land at the correct word.
Is exporting from Voice Memos supported?
Yes! However, we're working to adapt to Big Sur, and we wanted to advise that exporting from Voice Memos in Big Sur is currently not working correctly. Steps such as exporting from Voice Memos to Notes and then from Notes to Ada Dictation does work as an alternative. Thank you for your patience while we resolve the issue.
Can I transcribe more than one file at a time?
At the moment, only one file at a time may be transcribed.
Why make Ada Dictation?
I started out as a journalist, and transcribing was always an unwelcome aspect of the profession. And though this app is not meant to entirely replace the manual process of transcription, it can greatly assist with those users who desire a head start on any project.
How can I contact you?
Reach out to support@blueshiftdevelopment.com