Fn without a new editor
Hold Fn where the cursor already is. Double-tap Fn to lock listening; finish with Fn or the menu-bar Listen item.
Mac dictation for developer workflows
Speak your next prompt. Refine it with your voice.
Hold Fn in most standard Mac text fields, including Cursor, Xcode, Slack, and Mail. Add preferred spellings for the terms you use every day.
Download free trialApple silicon · Cloud: macOS 13+ · Local: macOS 14+
Buy — $99 one timeOn another device?
Open this setup and download link on your Mac. Apple silicon · Cloud: macOS 13+ · Local: macOS 14+.
Start with 3 days free. Every 500 words you successfully dictate adds 1 day, up to 7 days total. No card required · $99 one time
The Jargon Test
Watch Listen Orb handle technical spellings.
A recorded Listen Orb workflow using user-defined preferred spellings. Transcription and vocabulary results can vary.
On-screen captions · Sound optional · Read video transcript
Download free trialApple silicon · Cloud: macOS 13+ · Local: macOS 14+
On another device?
Open this setup and download link on your Mac. Apple silicon · Cloud: macOS 13+ · Local: macOS 14+.
One draft, then one refinement
Dictate. Select. Say “Orb”.
Use the same Fn gesture for a new draft and an explicit selected-text command.
- 01
Draft a useful instruction
Hold Fn in a supported editable field. Describe the change and constraints, then release to insert the draft.
- 02
Select what to change
Select just the passage you want revised. Hold Fn and say “Orb, make this a concise issue description. Keep the identifiers unchanged.”
- 03
Review, then submit
Read the actual replacement before submitting. “Orb, undo” is available for up to two minutes when the same field still matches the replacement.
Custom editors can limit selection and replacement. Try the full flow in your own editor during the trial. Orb Commands and recovery.
Write for the destination
Dictate instructions without leaving your editor.
Optional Contextual polish presents the same request for each destination.
What you say
“Update refresh_access_token so concurrent 401 responses share one in-flight refresh, preserve the existing public API, and add a regression test for the race.”
Listen Orb writes
Update refresh_access_token - Make concurrent 401 responses share one in-flight refresh. - Preserve the existing public API. - Add a regression test for the race.
Terminology control
Map how you say a term to how the project spells it.
Add package names, acronyms, product names, and teammate names. You control every entry.
Vocabulary entry
- Preferred form
- URLSession
- Spoken forms
- U R L sessionURL session
Spoken
“Move the retry policy into the U R L session transport and keep cancellation propagation intact.”
Inserted
Move the retry policy into the URLSession transport and keep cancellation propagation intact.
Made for technical terms
Teach a spoken form such as “post gress Q L” for PostgreSQL. Vocabulary replacements are designed to avoid recognized code, commands, URLs, email addresses, handles, identifiers, and paths.
Spoken forms are not sent during ordinary app requests. Vocabulary exports include them. Preferred terms may be sent as transcription hints.
Works where you write
Small insertion details matter in technical work.
Insert at the cursor
Text appears where you are writing. Longer passages can paste with your previous clipboard restored afterward.
Context is optional
Standard polish sends only the transcript. Contextual polish may also use the app name and nearby text with permission. Secure fields are excluded.
Review technical output
Vocabulary replacements are designed to avoid recognized code, commands, URLs, email addresses, handles, identifiers, and paths. Transcription and optional polish can still vary.
Choose where AI runs
Local on your Mac, or your own cloud provider.
Local needs no API key or per-use AI fees. With cloud, the active provider bills API usage separately. ChatGPT subscriptions are not OpenAI API credit. SuperGrok, grok.com, Cursor, or an X login is not an xAI API key.
- 01
Start
Choose the free trial or enter a Polar license.
- 02
Choose processing
Download models for Local, or choose OpenAI or xAI and add your key, stored in Keychain.
- 03
Allow access
Enable Microphone, Accessibility, and Input Monitoring.
- 04
Practice
Try a sentence in the practice field.
Manage an existing license
Open the Polar customer portal to recover or manage your license. No Listen Orb account is required.
Where your text and audio go
- 01
Your Mac
Listen Orb records only while you dictate. Your OpenAI and xAI keys are stored in Keychain. Settings and vocabulary stay on your Mac.
- 02
Local or your cloud provider
Local processes audio and text on your Mac. With OpenAI or xAI, audio goes directly to that provider using your key. Preferred written terms may be sent as hints; Contextual polish may send a short nearby-text excerpt. Cloud usage is billed by that provider.
- 03
Text at the cursor
Finished text returns to Listen Orb and appears in the active field.
See the dated seven-day transcription cost example and its exclusions. It is one historical account example, not a promised bill; optional polish and Orb Commands can add usage.
Product limits
Built for focused push-to-talk dictation.
Local requires Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later, plus model downloads. Cloud requires internet access and your OpenAI or xAI API key.
Not designed for meetings or audio-file transcription.
Vocabulary and transcription results can vary.
Try before you buy
Try it in your editor before deciding.
Simple ownership
One-time license. No subscription.
Start with 3 days free. Every 500 words you successfully dictate adds 1 day, up to 7 days total. No card required. One license works on up to 3 Macs.
Pay once for the Mac app. There is no recurring Listen Orb fee.
Local processing has no API usage fees. For cloud, pay the active provider separately for API usage. OpenAI and xAI each bill the account that issued the key. ChatGPT subscriptions and SuperGrok are not API credit. Listen Orb does not resell usage. Understand API billing or see a real seven-day example.
One-time Mac license
$99One-time Mac license
- 3 days free, up to 7 with use
- Local processing included
- No subscription
- One license for up to 3 Macs
Download the free trialApple silicon · Cloud: macOS 13+ · Local: macOS 14+
On another device?
Open this setup and download link on your Mac. Apple silicon · Cloud: macOS 13+ · Local: macOS 14+.
One license for up to 3 Macs. No Listen Orb account or subscription. Local needs no API key. For cloud, your OpenAI or xAI API key is stored in macOS Keychain; that provider bills usage separately. Applicable tax is shown at checkout.
License and purchase details · Recover a license · Contact support
Try it in the apps you already use
Try it where you already write.
Start with 3 days free. Every 500 words you successfully dictate adds 1 day, up to 7 days total. No card required.
Download free trialApple silicon · Cloud: macOS 13+ · Local: macOS 14+
Or buy — $99 one timeOn another device?
Open this setup and download link on your Mac. Apple silicon · Cloud: macOS 13+ · Local: macOS 14+.