# Glasscribe — Comprehensive Product Information

> Real-time, on-device speech-to-text for macOS. 22+ languages. Live translation. System audio capture. Fully offline.

## Overview

Glasscribe is a native macOS menu bar application that provides real-time speech-to-text transcription. Unlike cloud-based alternatives such as Otter.ai or Rev, Glasscribe processes all audio locally on the user's Mac using Apple's built-in Speech framework and Neural Engine. No audio data ever leaves the device.

The app sits in the macOS menu bar for instant access and can transcribe both microphone input and system audio (from apps like YouTube, Zoom, Spotify, or any other audio source) without requiring virtual audio drivers or browser extensions.

## Detailed Feature Descriptions

### Real-Time Transcription
Words appear on screen the moment they are spoken. Interim recognition results update live, then lock in as final sentences automatically. Transcription speed is approximately 150 words per minute — 3.8x faster than average keyboard typing speed of 40 WPM.

### 100% On-Device Processing
All speech recognition runs locally using Apple's on-device Speech framework and the Mac's Neural Engine. This means:
- Zero internet dependency — works in airplane mode, no Wi-Fi needed
- Complete privacy — audio never touches a server
- No latency — instant results without network round-trips
- No account required — no sign-up, no login, no data collection

### System Audio Capture
Glasscribe can capture any audio playing on the Mac at the system level. This enables transcription of:
- YouTube videos
- Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams meetings
- Podcasts and audiobooks
- Streaming services
- Any application that produces audio

No virtual audio drivers (like BlackHole or Loopback) are needed. The capture works natively through macOS APIs.

### Live Translation
Real-time translation between all 22+ supported languages. The user sets a source language (what is being spoken) and a target language (what they want to read). Translations appear alongside the original transcription. All translation processing happens on-device.

### Dictation Mode
Press and hold the fn key to start dictating. Speak naturally, and the transcribed text is automatically inserted at the current cursor position in any application. Release the fn key to stop. Works in any text field across macOS — editors, browsers, messaging apps, IDEs, and more.

### Floating Overlay Window
A translucent, always-on-top window displays the live transcript over any application. The overlay is:
- Draggable to any screen position
- Resizable
- Adjustable opacity (fully transparent to fully opaque)
- Configurable font size
- Auto-hiding after configurable delay

This makes it ideal for live captions during video calls or presentations.

### Session History & Search
Every transcription session is automatically saved and persists across app restarts. Users can:
- Browse past sessions chronologically
- Search through all transcriptions with full-text search
- Review, copy, or export any past session

### Export Options
Transcripts can be exported as:
- .txt plain text files
- .srt subtitle files (with timestamps)

### Custom Keyboard Shortcuts
Global hotkeys for hands-free control:
- Toggle recording: ⌃⌥S (customizable)
- Copy transcript: ⌃⌥C
- Paste at cursor: ⌃⌥V
- Show/hide overlay: ⌃⌥O

All shortcuts are customizable in settings.

## Supported Languages (22+)

English, Korean (한국어), Japanese (日本語), Chinese (中文), Cantonese (廣東話), Spanish (Español), French (Français), German (Deutsch), Italian (Italiano), Portuguese (Português), Arabic (العربية), Russian (Русский), Dutch (Nederlands), Danish (Dansk), Finnish (Suomi), Hebrew (עברית), Malay (Bahasa Melayu), Norwegian (Norsk), Swedish (Svenska), Thai (ไทย), Turkish (Türkçe), Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt). New languages are detected automatically as Apple adds support.

## Pricing Details

All plans include every feature with no limitations:

| Plan | Price | Billing | Notes |
|------|-------|---------|-------|
| Free Trial | $0 | N/A | 3 days, full access, no credit card required |
| Monthly | $1.99 | Monthly recurring | Cancel anytime |
| Annual | $8.99 | Yearly recurring | Equivalent to $0.75/month, save 62% vs monthly |
| Lifetime | $12.00 | One-time | Pay once, use forever including all future updates |

Payment is processed through LemonSqueezy. No account creation is required for the free trial.

## Platform & Technical Requirements

- Operating system: macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later
- Hardware: Any Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or later) or Intel processor
- Disk space: ~15 MB
- Internet: Not required (fully offline)
- Permissions needed: Microphone access, Screen Recording (for system audio), Accessibility (for dictation paste)

## Target Users

### Professionals
- **Journalists**: Transcribe interviews in the field without internet
- **Researchers**: Capture qualitative interviews and focus groups
- **Product managers**: Document every meeting without manual notes
- **Lawyers**: Create transcripts of depositions and client meetings
- **Medical professionals**: Voice-to-text for clinical notes

### Students & Academics
- **Students**: Capture lectures in real time without typing
- **Language learners**: See foreign-language speech as text for comprehension
- **Graduate researchers**: Transcribe hours of interviews efficiently

### Content Creators
- **YouTubers**: Generate subtitle files (.srt) for videos
- **Podcasters**: Create searchable transcripts of episodes
- **Writers**: Dictate drafts at 150 WPM instead of typing at 40 WPM
- **Bloggers**: Voice-to-text for rapid content creation

### Accessibility
- **Deaf and hard of hearing**: Real-time captions for any audio
- **Live event captioning**: Floating overlay for presentations
- **Multilingual accessibility**: Live translation removes language barriers

### Developers
- **Vibe coding**: Dictate feature specs and UI ideas directly into IDEs
- **Documentation**: Voice-to-text for writing docs and comments
- **Stand-ups**: Transcribe daily standup meetings

## Competitive Positioning

Glasscribe occupies a unique position as the only macOS transcription app that combines:
1. **Complete on-device processing** (no cloud dependency)
2. **System audio capture** (no virtual drivers needed)
3. **Real-time translation** (22+ language pairs)
4. **Native Mac experience** (menu bar app, SwiftUI, ~15 MB)

### vs Otter.ai ($16.99/mo)
Otter.ai requires internet, processes audio on cloud servers, and is primarily web-based. Glasscribe runs fully offline with complete privacy. Otter supports only 3 languages; Glasscribe supports 22+.

### vs Rev ($29.99/mo)
Rev is cloud-based with human and AI transcription. While Rev supports more languages, it requires internet and uploads audio to servers. Glasscribe is significantly cheaper and fully private.

### vs Apple Dictation (free, built-in)
Apple's built-in dictation lacks system audio capture, real-time translation, floating overlay, session history, and search. Glasscribe extends Apple's Speech framework with a full-featured transcription workflow.

### vs MacWhisper / Whisper-based apps
Whisper-based apps typically process pre-recorded files and are not real-time. They also require downloading large models. Glasscribe uses Apple's optimized on-device models for instant, real-time results.

## Version History (Recent)

- v1.1.6: What's New popup, automatic update checks
- v1.1.5: Dictation Mode, performance improvements
- v1.1.4: Bug fixes & stability improvements
- v1.1.3: CPU and memory optimization

## About

Glasscribe is developed by toolab.dev. The app is built with SwiftUI and distributed directly (not through the Mac App Store) to maintain full system-level capabilities like system audio capture.

## Links

- Website & Download: https://glasscribe.toolab.dev
- Release Notes: https://glasscribe.toolab.dev/whatsnew
- Privacy Policy: https://glasscribe.toolab.dev/privacy
- Terms of Service: https://glasscribe.toolab.dev/terms
- Contact: contact@toolab.dev
- Sparkle Appcast (for update checking): https://glasscribe.toolab.dev/appcast.xml