Vox runs on both, and the device pairs with both. What differs is how text gets from
your voice into the app you are using, because macOS and iOS give apps very different
permissions.
The short version
On Mac
Vox runs in the background and inserts text directly into whatever app has focus. It
can also present itself as a microphone, which is what lets tools like Superwhisper
and Wispr Flow record from your device. Buttons can send arbitrary keyboard shortcuts.
This is the full experience. If you have both, do your setup on the Mac.
On iPhone and iPad
iOS does not let a third party app type into another app. Vox works around this with
the Shortcuts app: you trigger a Shortcut, Vox transcribes, the text lands on your
clipboard, and the Shortcut pastes it.
What this means in practice:
- Your clipboard gets overwritten each time you dictate. Whatever you had copied is gone.
- There is a moment of visible handoff. You will see the Shortcut run.
- Vox cannot act as a microphone for other iOS apps.
If pasting does nothing, the app you are dictating into has probably blocked
programmatic paste, or iOS is showing a paste confirmation prompt you need to allow
once. TODO: confirm and expand.
Using both at once
TODO: describe what happens when the device is paired to a Mac and an iPhone at the
same time. Does it hold both connections, or does it hand off? This is the second most
common question and the answer is currently not written down anywhere.