I love using voice to text, but there’s one thing I don’t love about it. Sometimes you feel like you have to announce your every thought to everyone around you.
A startup called Subtle Computing thinks it has a solution. The company has developed a pair of AI-powered earbuds that let you whisper to your devices instead of speaking out loud. And they can pick up your voice even when you’re surrounded by people talking.
I got to try the technology firsthand, and it’s pretty impressive.
The earbuds work with companion software that uses AI to isolate your voice from everything happening around you. The idea is that you can quietly dictate a message, email or note without everyone nearby hearing what you’re saying.
During my demo, I was whispering while people around me were talking loudly, and the software was still able to pick up what I was saying. At one point, someone nearby couldn’t even hear me speaking.
Tyler Chen, CEO and co-founder of Subtle Computing, explained that the technology essentially creates a little audio bubble focused on your voice, ignoring other sounds around you.
This is especially interesting because voice to text has gotten so good lately.
I’ve become a huge fan of a tool called Wispr Flow. Since I started using it, I’ve dictated more than 700,000 words. It uses AI to clean up what you say, fix punctuation and format your thoughts into readable text.
Granola recently introduced unlimited free voice typing for Mac, and Google’s latest Pixel phones have an excellent built-in feature called Rambler.
All of these tools are making typing with your voice easier than ever. But Subtle Computing is tackling a different problem: making voice typing more private and practical in public places.
That’s what stood out to me during the demo. Instead of feeling like I was broadcasting my thoughts to everyone around me, I could speak quietly and still get my words on the screen.
The earbuds cost about $250, which includes one year of AI features. After that, it’s $17 a month to continue using those features. The earbuds still work for listening to audio without a subscription.
For now, the software works with iPhone and Mac, with more platforms planned.
I don’t think everyone needs a dedicated pair of earbuds just for dictation, especially with so many excellent voice typing tools already available. But if you regularly dictate messages in coffee shops, offices or other crowded places, the ability to whisper instead of talk out loud could be a big deal.