a dictation keyboard for iphone. tap the mic, talk, tap the check, and your words land wherever you type. the speech model runs on the phone itself, so it works in airplane mode, and Zone does not upload audio for recognition.
no account, no subscription, no word cap. english for now.
setting it up
questions people ask
why does the mic key open the app sometimes? iOS does not let a keyboard use the microphone by itself. when dictation is off, the mic key opens zone to listen. tap ◀ at the top left to go back, then insert on the zone keyboard. turn dictation on and the keyboard answers at once instead.
why does it need full access? only so the keyboard and the app can pass your words to each other through a private container on your iphone. the keyboard has no network code. typing works without full access; dictation needs it.
the orange dot is on. is it recording me? while dictation is on, the microphone stays ready so the mic key answers instantly, and what it hears between dictations is thrown away, never stored or recognized. turn dictation off on zone's home screen and the dot goes away.
a dictation got cut off or landed in the wrong place. tap the history key on the zone keyboard and put it back at the cursor. zone keeps dictation text for 30 days by default. temporary audio for unfinished recordings stays locally for recovery; see the privacy policy for retention.
some apps won't show zone. password fields, phone number fields and some banking and health apps block third-party keyboards. nothing a keyboard can change. use the action button's "dictate and copy" there, then paste.
how do i use the action button? in settings, action button, choose controls, then zone, then voice note. hold to start a note and hold again to save. zone's own activity appears while recording or saving, with no standby bar. iOS still shows its orange microphone indicator while dictation stays ready.
how do i keep my notes? open zone, settings, backup and export. export all notes and recordings to on my iphone or icloud drive, or choose a folder for automatic backups while zone is running. backups include dictation history, meeting transcripts, speaker names and meeting audio. importing adds missing items without replacing your current library.
what about meetings? record, save, read the transcript, label speakers, listen back, edit and export. calls you answer and system events can interrupt any microphone app; zone preserves recorded audio and marks gaps when recording resumes.
apple watch and imessage? save a note on the watch using watchOS text input. it queues for your paired iphone and keeps a copy until the phone confirms receipt. in imessage, browse recent zone text and insert it into an editable draft. you choose when to send.
can i use it in the car? add the "voice note" widget. on iOS 26 and later, iphone widgets can appear in carplay's widget stacks; a tap starts a note and another tap finishes it.
privacy
zone collects nothing. iphone recognition runs locally. model downloads need internet access; backups you choose in icloud drive sync through apple. watch text input follows your apple settings. the full privacy policy.
help
something broken, confusing, or missing? email me: zayd@zayd.wtf. i read everything.
license
zone code is licensed under MIT. the repository is private during beta, with a public source release planned. third-party models and libraries retain their own licenses.