Aiko
Aiko is an AI-powered audio transcription tool that allows users to easily convert speech to text from meetings, lectures, and more. The tr...
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What is Aiko?
Aiko is a high-quality on-device transcription app for macOS, iOS, and visionOS that easily converts speech to text from meetings, lectures, and more. The transcription is powered by OpenAI's Whisper model running locally on your device, ensuring complete privacy since audio never leaves device. It supports audio in 100 languages including English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, and many others.
Key features include: recording audio directly in the app, exporting transcriptions to text/JSON/CSV/subtitles (SRT), Shortcuts support for automation, batch transcription via shortcuts, Finder Quick Actions on macOS for right-click transcription, and the ability to transcribe any audio/video format supported by macOS/iOS (.m4a, .wav, .mp3, .mp4, .mov). The macOS app uses Whisper large v2 model while iOS uses medium or small model depending on available memory. It also includes settings like Skip silent parts, Reduce repetitions, and Flash Attention for efficiency.
Aiko is perfect for anyone who needs privacy-focused transcription for sensitive recordings, multilingual transcription support, or wants to transcribe audio/video files from meetings, lectures, Voice Memos, Zoom recordings, YouTube videos (downloaded), Telegram voice notes (converted), and Messages voice notes. It's especially useful for journalists, researchers, students, professionals, and anyone working with multilingual content.
The app is a Universal Purchase meaning you buy it once and get it on all platforms. You can try it free for 14 days via TestFlight with no auto-charges or commitment before purchasing from the App Store.
Aiko pricing
Pricing model: Free
Aiko is a Universal Purchase on the App Store. You can try it free for 14 days via TestFlight with the full app and no limitations. There are no auto-charges or commitment. After the trial, purchase it from the App Store to continue using it. The TestFlight trial does not require a code - just click the link again if asked. No separate pricing tiers mentioned - one purchase covers macOS, iOS, and visionOS.
Aiko pros
- Complete privacy - audio never leaves your device
- Runs locally using OpenAI Whisper model on-device
- Supports 100 languages with automatic language detection
- Much better accuracy than built-in Apple transcription
- Transcribe both audio and video files
- Export to multiple formats: text, JSON, CSV, SRT subtitles
- Universal Purchase - one buy for macOS, iOS, visionOS
- 14-day free TestFlight trial with full app, no limitations
- Shortcuts support for automation and batch transcription
- Finder Quick Actions on macOS for right-click transcription
- Record and transcribe directly in the app
- Flash Attention setting for efficient memory usage
- Skip silent parts setting to reduce repetitions
- Reduce repetitions settings to fix Whisper AI flaws
- No internet required - fully offline transcription
- Native Swift/SwiftUI app beautifully designed
- Transcribe Voice Memos, Zoom recordings, YouTube videos
- Timestamp view and reader mode for transcriptions
- Auto-delete recordings older than 7 days option
- Add shortcut to Home Screen for quick recording
Aiko cons
- App size is very large due to 100 language support
- No editing functionality built into the app
- iOS app must stay open - cannot transcribe in background
- Transcription can be slow on slower devices
- Cannot delete specific languages to save space
- No batch transcription built-in (requires shortcuts)
- No real-time/live transcription support yet
- Whisper model sometimes missing punctuation
- Whisper model can repeat sentences with noisy audio
- Only translates to English, not other languages
- Does not differentiate Traditional vs Simplified Chinese
- Can overheat device during long transcription sessions
- No diarization (naming people in audio) support yet
- Error -50 on iOS for some audio file formats
- Sharing from Voice Memos broken on iOS 26
- Telegram voice notes in Ogg format not supported
- No custom URL scheme for Aiko
- App not localized into other languages
- Cannot get both original transcription and English translation simultaneously
- Screen may turn off if low power mode enabled
Frequently asked questions about Aiko
Can I edit the text in the app?
No, the developer doesn't plan to support any editing functionality within the app. You need to export the transcription and edit it using a proper text editor.
Why must I keep the iOS app open while it transcribes?
iOS apps are fundamentally restricted from operating in the background for extended periods. This is an iOS limitation that ironically even affects Apple's official apps.
Can you use the large v3 model for the Mac app?
No, the v3 model is worse than v2 in too many cases. The developer tried releasing v3 but got many emails about worse quality, so reverted it back to large v2.
Can I delete some languages to save space?
No, this is not possible. The model has all languages stored together in a way that makes it impossible to remove just some languages selectively.
How is this better than built-in transcription on Apple devices?
Aiko has much better accuracy, supports more languages (100 vs 10), can transcribe audio and video files, and exports to many formats like JSON, CSV, and subtitles.
What file formats does it support?
Any audio and video format that macOS and iOS supports, including .m4a, .wav, .mp3, .mp4, .mov. It does not support .ogg format.
Can I get both the original transcription and English translation at the same time?
No, the AI model processes either transcription or translation, not both simultaneously. You need to run the process twice: once for original transcription, again with Translate to English enabled.
Why does it take so long to generate?
Several factors affect speed including device performance, available memory and CPU. Close other apps or restart your device before transcribing. Aiko will likely become significantly faster in coming months.
How can I transcribe audio from Voice Memos app?
On macOS: drag and drop the memo into Aiko window (can sometimes crash due to macOS bug). On iOS: tap the memo, tap the ... button, tap Share, and choose Aiko. Note: Sharing from Voice Memos is broken on iOS 26 due to iOS bug.
The transcription repeats itself many times - what can I do?
This is a flaw in the Whisper AI model caused by unclean audio with background noise. Try: restarting device, enabling Skip silent parts, enabling Reduce repetitions, enabling Reduce repetitions even more, or disabling Produce timestamps setting.