Apple’s new speech tool beats whisper in speed

Apple’s latest speech tool, introduced in the macOS Tahoe beta, is turning heads with its fast transcription skills. It’s part of the new Speech framework, which includes two key parts: SpeechAnalyzer for breaking down audio and SpeechTranscriber for turning it into text. These tools work across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro, making them handy for many users.

Compared to OpenAI’s Whisper, a popular speech-to-text model from 2022, Apple’s tool is much quicker. Whisper is affordable but slow, which can be a hassle for tasks like creating YouTube subtitles or summarizing lectures. Apple’s Speech framework, however, delivers speedy results without sacrificing quality, making it a game-changer for developers building transcription features into apps.

A developer named Finn created a simple tool called Yap to test Apple’s framework. It took him just minutes to build, and it churns out text and subtitle files fast. Early tests on the macOS Tahoe beta show Apple’s tool could replace Whisper as the go-to choice for transcription apps on Apple devices. To try it, you’ll need the macOS Tahoe beta and an Apple developer account. Download Yap from its GitHub page to see the speed for yourself. Apple’s new speech tool is a big step forward, offering a faster, reliable way to turn audio into text.