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jjiceyesterday at 2:38 PM3 repliesview on HN

But Apple's uses so few system resources and runs fully on device on newer iPhone models (16+ I believe). It's so efficient. I really enjoy using Handy with Parakeet as the model, but the system resource usage is a monster compared to Apple's (although very good).

Looks like Wispr Flow uses a cloud model [0]:

> Cloud based speech processing infrastructure for 1B users

It gets to be a messy comparison because my iPhone can do STT with no latency pretty well fully on device, but Wispr Flow requires a cloud model, but to be fair, older Apple devices do as well. It's not an apples and oranges comparison, but I think those technical details make this a non direct comparison in a few ways.

For on-device with low system resource usage, Apple's is pretty damn good.

[0] https://wisprflow.ai/post/technical-challenges


Replies

RobMurrayyesterday at 4:46 PM

Apple's stt has been on-device for a long time now, long before iPhone 16. I haven't noticed any improvements since my first ever iphone 5S. I'm pretty sure wispr flow can use on-device models. I use Voiceink[0] which can use parakeet models on-device and can optionally use cloud models.It's like night and day comparing Apple's to Voiceink. The only advantage I find to Apple's stt is less friction. 3rd party apps just can't integrate as smoothly with the system. There's a gesture to activate Appledictation when Voiceover is on.

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arijunyesterday at 3:28 PM

Apple runs on-device on older models, too, just wimpier models.

Invictus0yesterday at 4:20 PM

human resources (my voice and time) are far more valuable than the system resources. going to the cloud is absolutely worth it to prevent a typo

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