What does my computer need to run it?
macOS 12 or newer (Apple Silicon or a 2018 or later Intel Mac) or 64-bit Windows 10 or newer, with 8 GB of memory (16 GB recommended) and 1 GB of free disk.
A Mac running macOS 12 Monterey or newer, on Apple Silicon or an Intel Mac from 2018 or later, or a PC running 64-bit Windows 10 or newer. At least 8 GB of memory, with 16 GB recommended, and 1 GB of free disk.
#The details
- Mac: macOS 12 Monterey or newer. Apple Silicon, or an Intel Mac from 2018 or later.
- Windows: Windows 10 or newer, 64-bit, on an Intel Core i3 or better (2015 or later) or an AMD Ryzen. The processor needs a feature called AVX2. Nearly every computer sold since 2015 has it; many Celeron, Pentium and Atom chips do not, and the app says so when it opens instead of failing later.
- Memory: 8 GB at least. 16 GB is recommended, and it is what the more careful Small speech model and on-device AI cleanup need.
- Disk: 1 GB of free space is enough for the app (about 70 MB) and the default speech model (about 150 MB). The Small model is about 490 MB more, and the AI cleanup model about 2.5 GB, so allow 4 GB if you turn AI cleanup on.
- At the minimum: dictation works. The text appears a few seconds after you stop talking, and a long dictation takes longer to come back. Live typing, which is off by default, feels best on a faster computer, and AI cleanup is off by default and needs 16 GB.
- Internet: once, to download a speech model. After that, dictation works with the network switched off.
Every speed figure in these articles was measured on a 2018 Intel MacBook Pro, the oldest kind of Mac it supports. An Apple Silicon Mac or a recent PC does the same work faster.
Inside the app, Settings → About lists the same requirements for the computer you are on.
There is no Linux version. The AI Models page marks any model your computer does not have enough memory for, so you can see it before downloading anything.