Is Apple Dictation any good?

Apple Dictation is good, and it costs nothing: it ships with every iPhone, Mac, and iPad, runs on-device for major languages, works offline, and its automatic punctuation has improved enough to rely on.

It costs zero, with no subscription and no time caps on modern iPhones. For texts, searches, and quick replies, it is all most people need.

Where it shows its limits is real writing. Filler words stay in, paragraph structure is on you, custom vocabulary is limited to your contacts and learned habits, and long dictation sessions drift. Good, then, for capturing words; less good at producing finished text you would send a client without edits.

On the Mac side, dictating into any field on iMac with cleanup is the upgrade path.