Aqua Voice in Russian: what to know before subscribing

Potok transcribes Russian speech; this site has been translated into English for convenience.

Aqua Voice formally works in Russian: the language is on its list of 49 supported ones with automatic detection, and 1000 words are free on its own Avalon model with no card attached. The developer does not publish data on recognition quality for Russian speech specifically. Payment is in dollars only, and acceptance of Russian cards is not confirmed. Potok (potok.now), for comparison, gives 2500 words per week for free with payment in rubles.

Aqua Voice is a voice input tool for dictating text, developed by an American team on top of its own speech recognition model, Avalon. Russian is on the list of supported languages, but the developer does not publish separate data on how well the service handles Russian speech specifically. It is worth knowing this in advance, and not after paying for a subscription.

How Aqua Voice works

Aqua Voice's speech recognition is fully in the cloud: the audio goes to a server where the company's own model, called Avalon, runs, and the result comes back as text. The country where the servers are physically located is not disclosed on the website.

The service claims automatic language detection among forty-nine supported languages, and Russian is on that list. In practice this means the program tries to work out which language you are speaking without manual switching, which is convenient for people who regularly alternate Russian and English in one conversation or text. At the same time, Aqua Voice does not claim a separate model trained specifically for Russian, or tuning for it: Russian sits in the general list on a par with the other forty-eight.

1000 words are available for free on the same Avalon model, with no card attached. That is enough to see how the service copes with your own speech and terminology before moving to a paid plan. Beyond that, the pricing grid is split into several tiers with different prices and purposes: for a single user, for a team, and separately, a purchase through the iOS App Store.

Sources: aquavoice.com · aquavoice.com · www.crunchbase.com

Who it suits

• those who write mostly in English and only occasionally switch to Russian: automatic language detection removes the need to choose a recognition language by hand;
• iPhone users who need an app specifically for iOS, and not only for a computer;
• those who are ready to pay in dollars and are not looking to pay directly in rubles;
• those for whom the free 1000 words are enough for a one-off trial, and not for constant dictation.

It will not suit those who need a guarantee of recognition quality for Russian specifically: the developer does not publish such data, and you will have to rely on your own experience of using it. A similar review of another service for Russian speech is in the article superwhisper in Russian.

Limitations for a user in Russia

The main limitation is payment. Prices on the website are given in dollars only, and there is no confirmation that cards from Russian banks are accepted directly. Formally there is a workaround, a subscription through the iOS App Store, but the terms there are separate, and the exact amount in rubles is not given on the website.

The location of the recognition servers is also unclear: the country of the data center is not publicly disclosed, so it is impossible to tell directly whether the audio leaves the United States on its way to the server. The company is registered in San Francisco and is a graduate of the Y Combinator accelerator, which says more about the jurisdiction of the business than about where data is processed.

Russian is claimed, but without separate confirmation of quality. For those who care about verified accuracy on Russian speech specifically, and not a general phrase about forty-nine languages, this is one more reason to test the free limit before subscribing, and not to treat the list of supported languages as a guarantee.

When Potok is not a replacement for Aqua Voice

Potok will not suit those who need dictation from an iPhone: it has no mobile app for iOS, only versions for Windows, macOS and Linux, whereas Aqua Voice has a separate app specifically for iOS.

Potok is a cloud service, recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work at all without the internet, exactly like Aqua Voice: switching services does not solve this in either case. Those who are already used to automatic language detection between Russian and English within one stream of speech may also find it easier to stay with Aqua Voice, since Potok has no such function; it runs on its own model built specifically for Russian speech. Other options for comparison are in the article GigaType or Potok.

Frequently asked questions

Primary sources: aquavoice.com · aquavoice.com · www.crunchbase.com