Dictation needs massive improvements

If you dictated that post, then it actually turned out better this time round.

I don't use it myself because I take time to formulate my thoughts.

I'm not sure if you can pause and gather your thoughts before continuing, but for me, dictation has never come out properly.

I've gotten into the habit of getting Bing to check over my posts before I send them, but that only really works if they're short posts.

I know a lot of people tend to ramble on and take forever to get to the point, or they go round in circles explaining things, hopefully, I'm not one of them.

And this time, Bing won't be cleaning up this post, so you'll be seeing what I actually wrote.

Hello!
Honestly, I prefer writing using the Braille input on the screen, as I find it much faster and more efficient than dictation. Even when I speak slowly for it to understand, it still doesn't work well...
Best regards.

Why do you hate the braille screen input?

Yep. I never use dictation because I always end up having to edit it afterward.

What iPhone do you have? I have a 12 mini and use Braille screen input all the time. I also used it reliably on my XR, first gen SE and 5S before that.

I do agree that dictation seems to be something they are always working on, but always needs improvement. What about people who, because of disability can't type?

I have cerebral palsy and use Voice Control (which also performs some Voice Over commands). It works really well for me, though I'm fortunate that I can speak very clearly. I will say, though, that its correction of misrecognized words is literal nonsense, but luckily there are workarounds. You select the word it heard wrong and say "Correct that," and it presents a menu of words that often aren't words, just one or two letters off from the misheard word. So what I do is say "spelling mode" and spell the word I intended, or tell Voice Control to replace the wrong word with the correct one. I don't know if the mechanics of Siri dictation and Voice Control dictation are different, but it might be worth a try.

I never use dictation. I suspect you may not be able to type well on the onscreen keyboard thereby disliking Braille screen Input. If you go into settings, accessibility and voice over you should find the practice button. double tapping it will land you in an area where you can get used to gestures. maybe that will help you rely less on dictation. Or get a bluetooth keyboard if you need a physical something beneath your fingers. I stopped using dictation when a wonderful chat with a Grammy winning lead singer went nsfw without me even intending to do such a thing. Lmao also dictation also cuts off after the first sentence almost always. Hope you find something easier to use then dictation so you can be better understood.

I have a 13 mini and have found Braille scrcscreen input much, much, easier with a smaller screen. I don't feel like I have to stretch my fingers to get a letter correct. It's much more like typing on a Perkins Brailler than when I had an 8+ and it's one of the reasons I won't be looking forward to getting a new phone.

At this point apple need to update a lot of their stuff.

They're stuck in the past but people, including myself, keep using their products, so I doubt there will be any changes.

I'm honestly thinking of trying android again for the third time once my contract runs out, I probably won't but the newness and AI features are very interesting to me.

Having said that; I wonder if dictation is any better on Android.

Dictation on Android, From my experience, it's much better.

I will use braille screen input much of the time. Unfortunately, I think I may braille too fast for it as inevitably it will announce "menu item", and when I swipe to space it says "delete". There are still so many issues with BSI that I think it really is detrimental. And dictation always seems to get me in trouble. It will work fine until I get comfortable, and then that one time I don't check before sending, it types something completely inappropriate. Best scenario for me is to use MBraille. The typing is so much more reliable than with BSI, and I don't have to worry that it will insert bull-S like dictation is prone to doing.

It's not that Apple doesn't understand you; it's that you don't understand Apple.

I researched Apple dictation before I started dictating. What I learned was that your iPhone (or other Apple device) learns your speech until, like me, you can dictate freely with virtually no issue. What I remember reading is that in the beginning you need to speak slowly and carefully (which I did), that you need to correct the text (which I did), and that sometimes you need to change pronunciations or teach SIRI to stop using the wrong word (which I did).

Here's stuff that took me 5 seconds to google:

"heading level 3 5 items Train Siri If Siri often misunderstands you, it may be time to train your assistant to better understand your voice. To do this, go to Settings > Siri & Search > Listen for "Hey Siri," and turn it off and then back on . You're prompted to set up "Hey Siri." Tap Continue, then say each phrase that appears on the screen. Nov 30, 2021"

link heading level 3 Teach iPhone Siri Dictation How To Spell Proper Nouns YouTube Decipher Tools 2 minutes, 29 seconds Dec 8, 2015

heading level 3 4 items You can change your setting for Improve Siri and
Isolate your voice from background sounds. ...
Enunciate clearly. ...
Pick easily understood names for HomeKit. ...
Dictate first, correct second. ...
Don't bother with auto-punctuation for now! ...
Share your own tips for dictating on the iPhone.
Sep 14, 2022

Dictation at any time. To do so, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements, and tap to turn off Improve Siri & Dictation . Sep 12, 2022

In short, folks, it seems to me that we're our own worst enemies. Blaming Apple is certainly easy, of course, but it might just be time to take responsibility for our own actions.

Joy!

Bruce

Dominic there are plenty ways of typing text in almost any eddit field. You can write by using Braille Screen Input, MBraille, and if you don't know Braile buy an external bluetooth keyboard.These ways will not only make your typing faster but let you correct whatever you've written before posting. Go for typing instead of dictating!

But for some reason he insists on dictation. I think someone is lazy lol. I use dictation too but I correct my errors through typing.

Bruce, thanks for posting the links to the articles about training Siri. However, it sounds like that requires the use of "Hey Siri," and I refuse to enable that feature. I don't mind using it by hitting the side button, but in no way will I have the recognition phrase enabled on my phone. I respect those that do so, but it is not for me. I'm sure it will be required one day, but until then, I am not going to enable "Hey Siri". It would be the same with Alexa or Google, or whatever Microsoft calls their assistant.

I've been an iPhone user since 2010 and voice dictation on iOS has always been a poor experience. I'm a very well-spoken and articulate guy and I go out of my way to annunciate extra carefully when using dictation, but it almost always finds a way to mess up what I've said, and it never improves no matter how many times I manually edit the text or say similar phrases. The training feature Bruce mentioned above applies specifically to Siri interactions and it too seems of limited value, as Siri often failes to carry out what should be simple commands.
Let's not blame the users of technology for what are very clearly problems with the dictation. Apple really is falling behind in many areas, their dictation and dated Siri assistant not being the least of those ways, and they really need to get with it. They're still great overall for accessibility and I'm not considering jumping onto Android, but the lack of innovation and progress lately has been frustrating.

I really think it has gotten worse over the last few versions. It usually works for me if I speak clearly and leave a space between words. Leave too much space, though, and you get random punctuation inserted. I always edit before sending, I know it can do crazy stuff.

As far as the BSI, I guess if you have small enough hands and your mind works that way, it would be a good thing. My hands aren't huge, but I've only found BSI useful on an iPad, and since the Braille code in my head is some sort of grade2/ Nemeth combination, I just don't bother with BSI.

Hi Luke,

Thank you for helping me help you! smile.

First, from Apple communities:
“You’re wrong. Siri IS used for the voice dictation feature and voice dictation will only get better the more you use it!
How do you think the voice dictation recognises your voice when you dictate?”
(In case you hadn't noticed, that was all a quote.)

Second, have you tried this? See, https://droidrant.com/how-to-improve-voice-recognition-on-iphone/
To fix your iPhone’s poor voice recognition, try calibrating it. To do this, open the Settings app and select General > Keyboard and Dictation. Tap on the microphone icon to start dictating, then hit the Done button when you’re finished. You can also clean the microphone with a cotton swab or update the software or drivers. After calibrating the microphone, you can try dictating again.
After activating the Voice Control feature, you’ll see a screen that appears after a double-beep. A wavy line at the bottom represents the current level of hearing. The screen displays messages that will help you improve your voice recognition. For example, say your first name, your last name, or your cell phone number. Then repeat this process until you’ve learned the commands. Once you’re satisfied with your new phone’s voice recognition skills, it’s time to try dictating more complicated words.
Retrain Siri to better recognize your voice | Quick Tips
Also,
Watch on
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and,

"If you want to edit spoken text, you may want to find a way to improve the voice recognition on your iPhone or iPad. The dictation feature on iOS and macOS only works for 40 or 60 seconds. Using the keyboard, you can simply stop dictation and move the insertion point. But that’s not practical, especially if you’re trying to dictate a whole paragraph. Fortunately, there are ways to fix this problem.
One of the most important things to remember when dictating to an iOS device is the distance from the microphone. If you’re in a noisy place, it’s best to speak closer to the microphone. The noise-canceling microphone built into the iPhone will filter out background noise. You can also try third-party headphones with in-line microphones to improve your dictation experience. Using these headphones will help you make the best use of your iPhone’s voice recognition.
Besides dictation accuracy, you can also choose to use Enhanced Mode. To activate this mode, you need to select “Enhanced Mode.” This option will download an 800MB file. Once you install it, you can use the feature to dictate longer texts. Enhanced Mode supports additional Formatting and Character commands. This way, dictation will be more accurate and you won’t have to keep tapping the microphone button constantly."

Third, back to basics:
1
2 Adjust the Mic Position. Nastya Gepp/Pixabay. ...
3 Use an Outline. Adolfo Félix/Unsplash. ...
4 Relax and Speak Naturally. Steinar Engeland/Unsplash. ...
5 Update Your Personal Dictionary. Edho Pratama/Unsplash. ...
6 Try a Different App.
Apr 12, 2021

and,

ctating on the iPhone – how to get the best results
1 Isolate your voice from background sounds. ...
2 Enunciate clearly. ...
3 Pick easily understood names for HomeKit. ...
4 Dictate first, correct second. ...
5 Don't bother with auto-punctuation for now! ...
6 Share your own tips for dictating on the iPhone.
Sep 14, 2022

Still having trouble? See, link heading level 3 5 Tips to Master Dictation On You New iPad or iPhone YouTube notebooks 3 minutes, 34 seconds Mar 20, 2012

See Luke? Smile

I use it constantly and it feels like I'm always going back and deleting commas with iOS 16.

Bruce, I appreciate your correction about whether training Siri also relates to the dictation feature. That was my mistake. It’s also great that you are sharing some suggestions for troubleshooting this. Still, like I say, I’ve been an iOS user for 13 years at this point and have tried many variations of those steps and others and I still find that the dictation in iOS is subpar when compared to that of Microsoft And other platforms. Heck, even the voice command button on my cable remote understands me better than my iPhone. Lol. Obviously as you can see from all these replies, it’s not just me. That’s why I was saying, while it’s good to offer people troubleshooting suggestions, straight up blaming people for what is still a deficient technology isn’t really Fair.
Edit: BTW, having to make at least four corrections manually on this reply which I dictated. Case in point. :)

Using a Samsung S23, i find dictation on Android relatively poor actually, whether I use the Google or Samsung speech engine. It does a great job sometimes, and total jiberish on other occasions. I expected better. When I try to add punctuation, it will sometimes even put the words comma, full stop or question mark instead of the punctuation mark.
I'm finding iOS pretty decent these days, but neither of them can be fully relied upon by any means.
In either case, unless a physical disability prevents it,I think the decent thing to do is to read it back and fix midstakes before sending. Though of course we all make some mistakes.

For those who find dictation to be so horrendous, why do you continue using it? This is a recurring topic, and I don't see why. The simple solution is to use something that actually works. The onscreen keyboard or a Bluetooth keyboard are viable options.

So if my sighted brother is driving, texting me to make sure he knows where i am, and dictation isn't reliable, should he, what, pull over, type, maybe causing an accident? Should he cause an accident by texting? Should he hit call hoping someone else doesn't run into him? I say this because it's not perfect but there are those who need dictation for whatever reason. Letting Apple and other companies off scot free, because oh there's another avenue out there, lays the blame at anyone else's feet but the company who says, hey use dictation while driving, walking, it will be pretty reliable. Now of course it won't be 100% but the why bother attitude is insulting at the least, I have quite a bit more language inappropriate things to say so i'll leave it here.

I never knew dictation could bring out such passions in either direction lol. I suggest we turn the temperature down on the debate just a bit and remember, we are all blind/visually impaired folks and we are here to help each other. There aren’t that many of us so we need to stick together. Cheers

Should a driver be using his phone to send messages while driving? Even using dictation can distract from the driving. Your brother should stop, use the phone to type or dictate message, send them, then resume driving. There should be no distractions. So, the question of whether he should type or speak his texts while driving is, "No."

I wonder what the safety difference is between talking to passengers while driving as opposed to talking to a device while driving. Neither diverts sight. Both divert attention. Dictating requires the speaker to think about what they want to say. Conversation requires thinking about what you are hearing and what you want to say in reply.

Hmm.. Seems like conversation diverts more attention than dictation. Perhaps drivers should pull off the road every time they want to say something? Huh. Might be enormously boring, but at least we can be confident it would increase safety.
I wonder why the Department of Transportation hasn't promulgated regulations prohibiting speech while driving? Would that violate the First Amendment, do you suppose? Ha. I can just imagine the competing arguments before the US Supreme Court, the winner being, of course, the highest bidder.

Just a thought.

Bruce

Bruce, when my family members, boyfriend, friends talk to me, I know, they are looking at me for a split second, going back to the road. So the whole idea of pulling off the road to say something? Umm, you are wicked not on the right idea with that. Oh and if you want to become a better blind person, use emoji or imotocons such as :) or ;) or something writing smile. sorry, I'm a jerk but I can spot a blind person a football field away when you write, smile. Anyway yeah no way but nice weird idea dude. Unless you are ok with being that "blind." Yes, I am not being considerate but I would love blind and sighted people to use emoji like anyone else, the smile thing just gets on my last nerve.

When I use siri to send message, she edits me or changes the word. For example I send "I love you. She does Love you. Also I notice that If I use dictationdirectly from message it does not do a good job on listening to what I said. Siri appears to do better than when I tap for dictation.

Now it cuts off the last part of a sentence most of the time.
in fact, everything about iOS 16 is worse in my humble opinion. My phone feels quite clunky now no matter what app I am using.
Typing has also gotten worse. I regret, taking this leap of faith into the dark unknown and updating. iOS 15 feels like an oasis to me now.

Holger: This is not a criticism. I have heard your spoken words on voice oriented social media apps. Dictation might have problems understanding you, and I don't think that English is your primary language which may be another barrier. This is something to think about if you have dictation or Siri difficulties. Typing onscreen or Bluetooth would get better results.

FYI. As I stated, no issues when I use siri, did you read what I stated? Looks like not. I do have issues with it when I use it directly from the message app. Hope this is clear.

I was searching the internet for a fix or some way to improve dictation; I tried one they suggested you might want to give it a shot. Settings/ General/ Keyboard turn off autocorrect, punctuation but keep predictive ON. Then go to general and reset Dictionary. Restart your phone after reset is complete.

Let me know how it goes, also make sure you have selected the right dictionary; I have selected Oxford English dictionary. I am not a native American/ British English speaker but I am very fluent in the language

I noticed the above comment, I intended a space between 2 paragraphs so I hit enter to start one + 1 line below however after posting the comment that line break, space or line is removed.

This sentence should be in the next paragraph

I've not used either of my Macs for dictation much, but the times I did worked okay. From my experience at least, dictation works best in a quiet environment. When I lived upstairs my refrigerator had an audible motor, at least moreso than the one here in my new apartment. Additionally, I had one or more of my ceiling fans and window air-conditioners going during the summer. We used to have radiator heat, and the pipes would always clang. So dictation didn't work properly, and I'd frequently reply back to people with things that only made partial sense. It was actually quite comical. But I've found dictation to work better in my current apartment, even with the refrigerator and the bathroom fan going. I don't have any ceiling fans in this apartment for some reason, but that is *hopefully* going to change very soon. We no longer have radiator heat, which has truly been a blessing!

Maybe, your brother has already thought of this, but Hey Serie or OK Google are perfect for driving. He can text hands free. My mom uses Ok Google all the time.

Serena