CorviMac dictation vs Corvi: what Corvi adds
Last updated: 2026-10-29
The Mac's built-in dictation and Spoken Content are free and good for an occasional sentence or for having a selected text read word for word. Corvi adds what heavy users miss: automatic punctuation and clean-up, a personal dictionary, snippets, a writing style per app, and, with the same key, spoken summaries of your screen and spoken questions.
What the Mac already gives you
macOS has two free features that cover part of what Corvi does:
- Dictation (System Settings › Keyboard › Dictation): press the dictation shortcut in a text field and speak. On recent Macs much of the processing happens on the device.
- Spoken Content (System Settings › Accessibility › Spoken Content): select text and press a shortcut to hear it read aloud, word for word, in a system voice.
Both are built in, cost nothing and need no account.
Side by side
| Mac built-in | Corvi | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free during early access |
| Account needed | No | Yes (Google or e-mail) |
| Type by voice in any app | Yes | Yes, hold Fn |
| Punctuation without saying it | Partly | Yes, automatic |
| Removes filler words and slips | No | Yes |
| Personal dictionary for names and terms | No | Yes |
| Voice snippets | No | Yes |
| Writing style per app | No | Yes |
| Read selected text aloud, word for word | Yes | No, Corvi summarizes |
| Spoken summary of a page, e-mail or video | No | Yes, tap Fn |
| Ask questions about the screen by voice | No | Yes, double-tap Fn |
| Summary in another language | No | Yes, 35 languages |
| Works without internet | Dictation largely yes | Transcription mostly yes; clean-up and summaries need a connection |
What Corvi adds
- You dictate long texts every day: e-mails, reports, prompts to AI assistants. Automatic punctuation, clean-up and a dictionary for your names and jargon save the editing afterwards.
- You read a lot. One tap gives you the gist of a long thread, report or video, and you can ask follow-ups.
- You work in two languages. Hear an English page summarized in your own language.
- You want one key for everything: tap to listen, double-tap to ask, hold to type.
Try it side by side
- Dictate the same short e-mail with the Mac's dictation and with Corvi (hold Fn).
- Count how many punctuation marks and corrections you had to add yourself.
- Add a colleague's name to Corvi's personal dictionary and dictate it again.
- Then open your longest unread thread and tap Fn: that part the built-in tools don't do.
Stop typing. Stop reading. Talk and listen.
Corvi is free during early access. Setup takes a minute; if you don't like it, drag it to the Trash.
Download free for MacCan I use both?
Yes. Corvi uses the Fn key; during setup it asks to take over Fn so the emoji panel doesn't open. If you also want Apple's dictation, give it a different shortcut in System Settings › Keyboard. Spoken Content keeps working with its own shortcut.
Privacy compared
Apple processes much of its dictation on the device. Corvi transcribes your speech on your Mac with a local Whisper model in most languages; for punctuation and clean-up the text goes over an encrypted connection to an AI service, and summaries do the same with the screen content you chose. Corvi's servers don't keep that content, and your history stays on your Mac. See privacy, in plain words.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mac dictation free?
Yes. It's built into macOS.
Why do I need an account for Corvi?
Corvi's clean-up and summaries run on AI services, and the account protects that use from abuse. You can delete the account under Settings › Account.
Does Corvi replace Spoken Content?
Not for word-for-word reading. Corvi gives summaries, not full readings.
Which Macs does Corvi need?
macOS 14 Sonoma or later, on Apple silicon or Intel.