How to Use Voice Dictation on the iPhone and iPad
One of the most powerful features of iPadOS and iOS is also one that is easy to miss: voice dictation. Siri may get all the press for being a great personal assistant, but voice dictation may be at its best when it’s taking notes, and it’s available for both the iPhone and the iPad. If using the on-screen keyboard of your iPad is inconvenient when typing more than a line or two, use voice dictation instead. Voice dictation makes the iPhone a viable alternative to a laptop for sending and replying to emails. However, older devices may require an internet connection to do the heavy lifting. Follow these directions to get your iOS device listening to you. Voice dictation is available any time the on-screen keyboard is available, which means no hunting around for it when you need it. You can use it for text messages, email messages, or taking notes in your favorite app.
Voice Dictation Keywords
To get the most out of voice dictation, speak these keywords to add punctuation or line breaks:
Period: The “.” is the standard way to end a sentence.Question Mark: The “?” punctuation mark.New Paragraph: Starts a new paragraph. End the previous sentence before beginning the new paragraph.Exclamation Point: The “!” punctuation mark.Comma: The “,” punctuation mark.Colon: The “:” punctuation mark.Semi-Colon: The “;” punctuation markEllipsis: The “…” punctuation markQuote and Unquote: Puts quotation marks around words or phrases.Slash: The “/” symbol.Asterisk: The “*” symbol.Ampersand: The “&” symbol, which means “and.“At Sign: The “@” symbol found in email addresses.
Other punctuation marks are also available, so if you need one of the rarer ones, say it. For example, say, “upside-down question mark” to produce an upside-down question mark ("¿”).
