Tools and Resources: Dictation
A commonly overlooked tool is dictation. It’s been a real game changer to speed up my productivity. I mean, who doesn’t speak faster than they type? You may be surprised to see where it can be utilised. I've used it in mobile apps such as Safari, What's App, and Spotify. I'm even using it now in Word as I write this article.
And if you've been using any AI tools lately you can usually use dictation in the mobile app or web browser versions. It's also super useful when I'm on the go - capturing quick thoughts directly in Notes on my iPhone, rather than laboriously typing.
One really interesting thing that I've noticed since using dictation more is that it speeds up my thought process. I've had to articulate my thoughts aloud much faster than I type.
Of course, there are situations where I need to slow down and think about what I want to say and how to express that sentiment precisely. (I’m a wordsmith at heart.) But overall I find that dictation helps me get my thoughts out quickly which I can then edit it later.
Voice activated inputs are particularly useful as a hands-free input when the user is already using both hands for a task. For example, driving or completing a training module with physical equipment.
It's a particularly important input modality when considering where mixed reality is heading.
Although it's not used heavily in current VR and mixed reality experiences, we can already see the way voice is utilised with XR adjacent products such as Meta’s Ray Bans or Snapchat Spectacles, both of which are designed for everyday, mobile and outdoor use.
Combine that with the AI capability that you see with Google Lens (think search, real time translation and image recognition) as well as AI vibe coding and you realise that dictation and voice activation are important skillsets to master for future XR development.