Dicta updates

1.5.11 — February 21, 2026

Added

• QTA file support in import/transcription flow.

Fixed

• Fixed onboarding microphone monitoring race condition that could leave microphone capture active after leaving setup.
• Added defensive recorder cleanup to ensure CoreAudio engine is stopped during deallocation.

1.5.10 — February 20, 2026

Fixed

• Removed misleading "Already subscribed? Sign in" link on the subscription screen when you're already signed in.

1.5.9 — February 19, 2026

Fixed

• Fixed transcription slowdown from 1.5.8 — short recordings (2–12 s) were taking 20–48 s instead of 2–3 s.

1.5.8 — February 19, 2026

Improved

• 3–5× faster transcription for short recordings — eliminated audio repetition that previously caused ~15 s latency for typical 5 s dictations.

Fixed

• App no longer steals focus from other windows when launched at login.
• Opening Dicta via Dock or Cmd+Tab while onboarding is in progress now correctly shows the setup wizard.
• Clicking the menu bar icon during onboarding now correctly shows the setup wizard.

1.5.6 — February 18, 2026

Changed

• Unified Account section in Settings — subscription plan, billing actions, and device management are now combined in one place.
• Subscription status text improved: color-coded status with inline date display (e.g., "Trial — ends Feb 21").
• Trial expiry and payment issue banners can now be dismissed with an × button.
• Permission banners are consistently dismissable.

Fixed

• Model first-time setup now shows elapsed time so you know compilation is still in progress.

1.5.5 — February 18, 2026

Changed

• "See plans" now opens your account page already signed in, so you can choose a plan without re-entering your email.
• All warning banners now show their action button inline for better visibility and a cleaner look.

Fixed

• Trial expiry CTA was easy to miss. Now it's an inline action on the banner title row.

1.5.4 — February 17, 2026

Changed

• Microphone permission banner now stays visible whenever access is missing.
• Settings now prioritizes Permissions at the top when attention is required.
• Permission action buttons are now more prominent in Settings.

Fixed

• Replaced confusing "banner above" guidance with direct path: Settings > Permissions.

1.5.3 — February 17, 2026

Changed

• Onboarding no longer blocks on model download. Setup continues while the model prepares in the background.
• Try Recording flow is simpler with clear model status and continue options.
• Code verification is smoother with clearer inline flow and a shorter resend cooldown.
• Permissions copy now better explains Accessibility as recommended for full experience.

Fixed

• Reopening setup wizard no longer forces account creation for users already signed in.
• Removed fragile "Open Mail" deep-link behavior in onboarding.

1.5.2 — February 17, 2026

New: Meeting Mode

• Record meetings and long sessions up to 8 hours.
• Audio saved to disk — transcribed after you stop.
• Switch between Dictation and Meeting modes with one click.
• Crash recovery: interrupted recordings can be recovered on next launch.

Account Management

• New Account section in Settings: see your email, manage devices, sign out.
• View and disconnect devices from your account.

Improved

• Streamlined onboarding: fewer steps, permissions and mic test merged.
• Better error messages for corrupted model files.
• Settings sections reordered: Input and Behavior first.

1.5.1 — February 15, 2026

Added

• Subscription status updates faster after payment — no more waiting.
• Sign-in code auto-submits when you type the 6th digit.
• New "More than dictation" feature discovery during onboarding.

Improved

• Clearer, jargon-free recording mode setup in onboarding.
• Settings shows specific messages based on your account status.
• Onboarding no longer gets stuck after account transfer.
• Better window sizing for onboarding wizard.

Fixed

• Empty transcription in Try It Now demo now resets properly.

1.5.0 — February 14, 2026

Added

• Email-first trial onboarding: new users sign up with email during onboarding for a smoother 14-day trial experience.
• Payment issue banner: proactive in-app warning when a payment problem needs attention.
• Migration support: existing users get a guided transition to the new sign-in flow.

Changed

• Architecture overhaul: recording state machine, dedicated permission manager, API client extraction, and view decomposition for a cleaner codebase.
• Shared checkout logic across activation, trial-expired, and settings views.

1.4.8 — February 13, 2026

Added

• Update notification in main window: a blue "Update" pill now appears when a new version is available. Click it to download and install.
• History multi-select: use Cmd+Click, Shift+Click, and Cmd+A to select multiple transcriptions. Batch delete with confirmation and undo support.

Improved

• Sparkle update diagnostics for troubleshooting auto-update issues.

1.4.7 — February 13, 2026

Fixed

• Intel crash on stop recording: fixed crash on Intel Macs when stopping recording.
• Hotkey reliability after stop: added event-tap health checks with automatic recovery.
• Silent hotkey no-op during transcribing: ⌥Space now shows immediate busy feedback instead of silently doing nothing.
• Recording start hang mitigation: microphone startup with timeout, automatic fallback to system default.

Improved

• Insertion fallback: unified insertion path falls back to clipboard when automatic paste fails.
• Insertion diagnostics: text inserter surfaces technical paste simulation errors for better recovery.

1.4.6 — February 12, 2026

Added

• Universal binary: runs natively on both Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) and Intel Macs.
• Drag & drop from History: drag transcriptions from History browser or the latest preview card into any app.
• File access recovery: clear error messages and a "Choose file…" button when macOS blocks file access.

Improved

• History browser: unified glass background, refined column divider.
• File picker: unified selection behavior across DMG and App Store builds.

1.4.5 — February 12, 2026

Changed

• Import field: contextual action button — upload icon when empty, send when ready, disabled state for invalid input.
• Import field icons: leading icon adapts to input type (link, document, or hidden).

Added

• CAF format support: Core Audio Format (.caf) files can now be imported and transcribed.

Improved

• File picker consistency: unified content type list across menu import and main window picker.

1.4.4 — February 11, 2026

Improved

• History browser: per-column backgrounds with glass sidebar and subtle gradient detail panel.
• Activation code field: cleaner digit-only input handling.
• Onboarding: App Store permissions copy now focused on text insertion.
• Settings: improved sign-in flow opens main window instead of clearing session.

1.4.3 — February 11, 2026

Changed

• Standalone main window replaces popover for better Dock and Cmd+Tab integration.
• Glass visual effects across main window, settings, and history.
• Settings now opens via native SwiftUI Settings scene.
• Centralized activation form state for faster keystroke rendering.

Fixed

• Swift 6 actor-isolation warnings for recording limit constants.

1.4.2 — February 10, 2026

Improved

• Postponed updates now auto-install when Dicta becomes idle instead of waiting indefinitely.
• Background update check runs shortly after launch for faster update delivery.

1.4.1 — February 10, 2026

Fixed

• Audio device buffer allocation that could misdetect input channels.
• Stale device IDs after Continuity microphone reconnects.

Improved

• Weak signal guidance now suggests switching to iPhone mic when detected.
• Automatic fallback to system default if preferred microphone fails.
• Input format validation before starting audio engine.

Changed

• Import field now shows a privacy note about local transcription.

1.4.0 — February 10, 2026

Added

• Unified design system with consistent visual tokens across all views.
• Redesigned onboarding wizard with improved layout and flow.
• History sidebar now shows entry count and total transcription duration.
• Continuity guidance banner for multi-device setup help.

Changed

• Refreshed interface across main view, activation, settings, and trial screens.
• Permission banners now use a consistent callout component.
• History respects Reduce Motion accessibility preference.

Fixed

• Prevented duplicate sign-in requests during activation.
• Improved Sparkle update observer reliability.

1.3.3 — February 9, 2026

Changed

• Whisper long-form defaults — Background streaming now disables cross-chunk prompt conditioning by default to reduce premature endings on long dictations.

Fixed

• Transcription tail clipping — Chunk merge now falls back to text merge when word timestamps are incomplete, preventing dropped endings.
• Low-volume final tail loss — Final chunk is now processed even when RMS is below silence threshold; silence skipping remains for non-final chunks.

1.3.2 — February 9, 2026

Fixed

• Settings not opening from gear — Settings now opens as a popover with apple glass effect instead of a separate window.
• Settings from context menu and app menu — Right-click and menu bar "Settings" now work correctly.
• Icon spacing — Tightened icon button spacing to match visual density.
• Layout symmetry — Equalized gaps above and below the record button.

1.3.1 — February 9, 2026

Changed

• Esc closes popover — Press Escape to dismiss the main popover, matching standard macOS behavior.
• Default action buttons — Primary buttons now respond to Enter/Return key across all dialogs.
• Semantic colors — UI adapts correctly to Light and Dark mode using system color tokens.
• Context menu polish — Improved right-click menus with consistent styling and keyboard shortcuts.

1.3.0 — February 9, 2026

Added

• Free 14-day trial — Download and use Dicta free for 14 days, no email or credit card required.
• Post-trial paywall — Dedicated pricing view with plan picker and Subscribe CTA when trial expires.
• Trial banner visible from 5 days remaining with actionable Subscribe button.
• Settings subscription destination — Deep-link to subscription section from trial banner and other views.

Changed

• HIG audit — Drag-and-drop file import, fullscreen History, Cmd+W close, context menu, improved hover states.
• Unified Settings window — Gear opens native macOS Settings window with reliable focus handling.

Fixed

• Settings not opening when clicking gear icon in popover.
• Help menu build error due to CommandsBuilder item limit.

1.2.8 — February 8, 2026

Changed

• Whisper long-form parity (mixed) — Streaming transcription now carries prompt context between windows, locks auto-detected language after the first successful chunk, and advances seek using word timestamps to match upstream Whisper behavior more closely.
• Recording limits unified — Recording timer and audio buffer limits now use shared constants with a 60-minute cap for long dictations.

Fixed

• Long dictation cut-offs — Final chunk clipping now avoids trimming short tails, and chunk merge preserves text when word timestamps are missing in any chunk.
• Stop reason diagnostics — Recording stops now log explicit reason and duration (`manual`, `escape`, `max_duration`, `error`) for easier debugging.

1.2.7 — February 7, 2026

Changed

• Settings open reliability — Opening Settings now consistently activates Dicta and dispatches window presentation from menu bar and popover paths.
• Billing copy cleanup — Removed lifetime-specific checkout error copy in favor of generic active-plan wording.
• Offer set simplification — Activation and checkout now expose monthly/yearly offers only; lifetime stays supported only as a legacy entitlement path.

Fixed

• Settings popover clipping — Header no longer clips when Settings opens from the menu-bar gear icon.
• Settings freeze on startup — History restore no longer performs iCloud-backed transcription file reads on the main thread.
• iCloud placeholder safety — Startup restore skips non-materialized iCloud placeholders instead of blocking UI while files are downloading.

1.2.6 — February 6, 2026

Changed

• DMG packaging compatibility — Release packaging now uses an installer volume name to avoid a macOS copy restriction during DMG creation.
• Release channel sync — Updated Sparkle feed metadata and release documentation for build 14.

1.2.5 — February 6, 2026

Added

• Subscription plan offers in app — Activation now loads monthly and yearly options directly from pricing config.

Changed

• Plan-aware checkout — Checkout is now explicit per selected plan and currency, with stronger idempotency to prevent duplicate sessions on retries.
• Billing UX hardening — Activation and Settings now provide clearer recovery actions for pricing and billing-portal failures.

Fixed

• Post-pivot stability fixes — Addressed edge cases in grace-period handling, update-config timing, Sparkle integration, and checkout flow races.

1.2.4 — February 5, 2026

Added

• Onboarding wizard — 6-step guided setup for new users: permissions, microphone test, activation mode, and model download with progress indicator.
• Update notification in Settings when an update is downloaded and waiting for idle install.

Changed

• Safer auto-updates — Sparkle now defers update checks while recording, transcribing, or processing files; relaunch waits until Dicta has been idle for 20 minutes.
• Refined activation flow and permissions UX for a smoother first-run experience.

1.2.3 — February 5, 2026

Fixed

• Auto-detect language — Fixed issue where dictation in non-English languages was incorrectly transcribed to English when "Auto-detect" was selected.

1.2.2 — February 4, 2026

Added

• Auto-detect language option in Settings.

Changed

• Dicta now defaults to automatic spoken-language detection instead of system language.
• Live, file, and URL transcription all use the same auto-detect language pipeline.

1.2.1 — February 3, 2026

Added

• VoiceOver announcements for status changes (accessibility).
• Auto-update preferences in Settings.
• Help link in Activation view.

Changed

• Hotkeys enabled by default for new users.
• Improved activation UX and error messages.
• Refined setup banners and model retry UX.
• Dynamic popover height.

Fixed

• Handle Sparkle update check errors gracefully.
• Handle "purchase required" activation flow.
• ISO 8601 date parsing with milliseconds.

1.2.0 — January 31, 2026

Added

• Periodic license validation with a 24h retry window before deactivation.
• History browser window with split list/detail layout.
• Editable transcriptions with Cmd+S save and unsaved-changes prompts.
• Source metadata (URL/path) with Open/Copy actions in history detail.
• History actions: context menu, swipe-to-delete, Delete key.

Changed

• Activation now uses email sign-in codes (no link required).
• License transfers to another Mac when you sign in there (one active device at a time).
• History now opens in a dedicated window and closes the popover.

1.1.3 — January 31, 2026

Added

• Periodic license validation to prevent simultaneous device use.

Changed

• Signing in on another Mac transfers the license to that device.

1.1.2 — January 30, 2026

Added

• History recovery from transcription files (automatic restore if history.json is lost).

Changed

• Manual download now points to Cloudflare R2 instead of GitHub Releases.

1.1.1 — January 30, 2026

Added

• Help links for granting permissions in System Settings.
• Download fallback when binary downloads fail.

Changed

• Cleaner hotkey label: now shows "Opt + Space".
• Polished status bar and banner typography.
• Improved permission recovery after app updates.
• Better activation flow layout.

Fixed

• Swift 6 actor isolation warnings.
• Status bar popover layout stability.

1.1.0 — January 29, 2026

Added

• URL transcription: paste YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter/X links to transcribe audio (requires internet to download; transcription runs locally).
• FFmpeg audio extraction with broader format support (OGG, WMA, OPUS, MKV, AVI, WebM).
• Auto-download of ffmpeg and yt-dlp binaries (checks system PATH first).
• In-app onboarding for install and permissions.
• Permission checklist with deferred prompts.
• Clickable permission rows that open specific System Settings panes.

Changed

• Simplified main UI to two states: Error and Ready.
• History preview shows only last transcription (click to expand).
• Settings height now adapts to content.

Fixed

• YouTube 403 errors.
• WhisperKit cache path configuration.
• Timer memory leak in recording.

1.0.0 — January 18, 2026

Initial release

• Offline voice transcription with WhisperKit Large v3 Turbo.
• Privacy-first: audio never leaves your device.
• Global hotkey (Option+Space) for quick recording.
• ESC to stop and transcribe.
• Paste anywhere via accessibility.
• Transcription history with search.
• Launch at login option.
• Sound feedback toggle.
• Automatic updates via Sparkle.
• Microphone selection.
• Multi-language support (73 languages).
• iPhone microphone support via Continuity Camera.

Questions? Reach us at [email protected].