Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to test out SpeakON, a magnetic, AI-powered dictation accessory that attaches to the back of an iPhone and refines transcriptions based on preset preferences. How did this happen?
“The world’s first voice recorder for iPhone”
as I have written beforeI find the idea of AI-powered voice-based interaction interesting, esp AI agents do the work among many programs on our behalf.
And while we’re still some way from seeing that promise fully realized, we’re already starting to see what these early building blocks look like in practice, especially through more focused, task-specific devices.
One such device is SpeakON, a magnetic dictation accessory that attaches to the back of the iPhone and acts as a physical shortcut to translate speech directly into text in any app.
SpeakON can quickly transcribe and clean up speech, adjusting its tone depending on the software you’re using. In addition, it can insert your thoughts into lists or easily translate text from dictation.
I had a chance to test SpeakON, and I’ll be the first to say it: convincing someone to buy a single-purpose AI hardware that many would say could easily be software is a tough task, especially given how limited access third-party hardware is to the iPhone.
Thankfully, that’s not the case my work My job is to pass on my experience with it, which was surprisingly positive.
good
Setting up the SpeakON was very easy. Bluetooth pairing worked flawlessly, and the getting started guide was actually helpful for learning how to configure the accessory in the SpeakON app and then use it as a system-wide input keyboard.
After adding the SpeakON keyboard as one of my iOS keyboards, all I had to do was press a button on the accessory on the back of my iPhone, dictate an email, text message, or grocery list, and it would transcribe it, eliminating minor hiccups, filler words, and repetitions.
SpeakON’s biggest strength, in my experience, was the Attune feature, which allows users to select Casual, Professional, or Formal presets to adjust the text accordingly, depending on the software they’re using.
So while a user can set work and email apps to use the Formal Attune preset, they can choose Casual for messaging or social apps. There’s also the option to turn Attune off entirely, in which case SpeakON simply cleans up the text for fluency and adds the correct punctuation along the way.
Another great feature is the auto-translate feature, which, along with the Cleanup and Adaptation settings, did a great job of turning messy Portuguese dictations into polished English texts.
In fact, translation manifests itself in several parts of the SpeakON experience. Settings has a custom translation interface with a contextual button that appears when you’re dictating in a language other than the one set as your Translation Target.
Supported languages include English (US, UK), Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified, Traditional), Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Arabic.
Another advantage is the hardware itself. The magnet is strong, it feels good in the hand, it’s super light at just 25 grams, and the button to activate the mic is nice to click (brutal haptic feedback, not so much).
Finally, the company is moving quickly to address some of the issues I’ll list below, as they released several software updates during my testing period. In fact, software updates went without a hitch, which is always a relief when working with screenless devices.
It’s bad
The SpeakON’s microphones performed almost flawlessly in quiet environments like my office. In noisier settings, they may require you to move the device a little closer for a more reliable shot.
Given the situation, the user can simply detach it from the iPhone and talk to it closely, like a hip TikToker talking with a lapel microphone. However, this kind of defeats the purpose of the device a bit.
Battery life was also an issue. The company told me that the SpeakON should last 8.5 days on standby when connected via Bluetooth, and up to 10 days when disconnected, with recording times of up to 20 and 23 hours, respectively.
This hasn’t been my experience, as I’ve noticed that the battery drains faster even if not noted. The SpeakON charges quickly, but be sure to keep the USB-C cable handy.
But that’s where it comes from, as frequent software updates address some of these shortcomings. This shows that they are trying to move quickly to solve pressing problems, which is always a good sign for a new product.
Medium
According to the company, SpeakON is SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA certified, which is great news for privacy, as they show the company has tested security controls and followed strict guidelines for handling sensitive data. But when asked which models they used, they refused to answer citing security reasons.
However, they assured me that “user data is encrypted both in transit and at rest, and recordings are only processed to generate text in accordance with our privacy policy. No audio is used for model training without the user’s express consent.”
Another sticking point for some users may be the subscription model, which unlocks key features behind usage limits.
While the device itself costs $129, higher word limits and more frequent use of features like Attune are limited to the Pro plan, which costs $108 a year or $12 a month.
Finally, it takes some getting used to. From the ergonomics to the habit of reaching for that button on the back of the device, this could be a big adjustment for some users. That was it for me.
While I haven’t been able to integrate the SpeakON into my workflow as naturally and effortlessly as I’d like, this little device has made me even more convinced that voice-based interactions hold more promise than many people give them credit for. Hopefully iOS will allow them, though it still seems like a bit much to ask.
To learn more about SpeakON, follow this link.
It’s worth checking out on Amazon
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