I constantly use dictation apps such as Wispr Flow, Willow, or Typeless to reply to messages and emails on both my Mac and my phone. But to do so, I have to use my phone’s mic or AirPods to dictate my messages, and they often don’t pick up what I am saying.

That's why when Notta-owned SpeakOn pitched me to test a dedicated device for dictation, I was intrigued by its potential. Unfortunately, I had mixed experiences with the product because of its form factor and platform limitations.

Still, I think there is space for dictation devices like this in the future. The device is a small pebble-like object that can stick on the back of your iPhone via MagSafe, just like Plaud’s AI meeting notetaker. It's very light at 25 grams, so you won’t feel its weight, even if you put it in your pocket separately.

The companion app is in the form of a keyboard, and you can also use the app without connecting the device. To get started, you press the button on the device to start dictating and release the button when you are done. The device has one mic and claims to capture audio within 2 feet of distance.

One advantage is that the device does not use the iPhone’s mic and instead relies on its own mic. Other dictation apps need to keep the iPhone mic active based on the session time users have defined. The SpeakOn device can help you avoid that, but it doesn’t perform well within that range due to poor mics and surrounding noise.