Apple Voice Control

Voice Control is built into macOS, iOS and iPadOS. There is nothing to buy and nothing to install, which makes it the quickest way to find out whether voice operation suits you before anyone spends money on a full dictation package.

It does two jobs: dictating text, and driving the interface by voice. The second is what makes it different from ordinary dictation, and it is worth learning properly.

• It is built around seeing the screen. Show numbers and show grid both work by putting labels over what is on screen. That makes Voice Control an excellent partner for magnification and low vision, and a poor substitute for a screen reader if you have no useful sight.
• Running it with VoiceOver takes care. Both respond to spoken and gestural input, and both want to describe what is happening. Most people who use both switch between them for particular tasks rather than running them together all day.
• Custom commands remove repetition. Any sequence you perform often can become a single spoken phrase, which is where most of the time saving actually comes from.
• Dictation mode and command mode are different. If your commands are appearing as text, you are in the wrong mode. Saying the wake phrase or pausing before the command usually sorts it.

• The number overlay clutters everything. Turn it on only when you need it. Saying hide numbers gets your screen back.
• It does not recognise a name or a term. Add it to the vocabulary in the Voice Control settings and it will stop guessing.
• It stops listening. Voice Control sleeps to save battery. Saying wake up, or checking the microphone indicator, is usually all that is needed.
• Background noise breaks it. It uses the device microphone by default. A headset makes a substantial difference in an open office.

People with mobility impairments or repetitive strain who need hands-free operation, and anyone who wants to try voice control before committing to a paid package. It is also a genuinely useful backup on days when typing hurts.