This would be a fantastic first step and get perhaps 80% of the value of this feature.
For Android 10 and 11 I’ve been using this.
Starting voice recognition automatically is a really big one. Some data points:
- A competing product has a long press of the “+” (add task) icon start voice input where a short tap starts text input. They use a proprietary voice input that requires cloud connection though. Using the built in Google Voice Typing is really helpful for those who want to voice input in iffy network situations, airplane mode (airplanes, those who limit EMF exposure by turning on airplane mode at night), those worried about data privacy. And it’s already built in to Android.
As voice really is the preferred mode, perhaps a short press is voice and a long press is text
- On Android 10 and 11, I press the “check” icon to save the task after voice dictation. Always available and works perfectly. Having it be a gesture would be a nice but small improvement (something that could be done while not have to look at the screen). Obviously a voice cue to submit task would be better, but that’s likely a Google thing, not an Everdo thing.
finding the screen keyboard “Enter” is irrelevant in this use case. After voice dictation I’d have to find the key to switch from voice to regular keyboard, then find the “Enter” icon to submit. Using the “Check” works perfectly and the “Enter” issue seems to be a bug that shouldn’t ever be activated.
- On Android 11 (At least the Samsung skin thereof), you can set a long press of the onscreen keyboard space bar to activate voice record. The “long press” is so short, it’s really just a normal press, so there’s no waiting. The space bar icon is big and always anchored at the bottom of the screen. This is cognitively more efficient/less friction than hunting for the tiny microphone icon at the top of the keyboard/about 1/4 the way up the screen.
It’s so efficient that I’ve started using Everdo and Google Typing to take notes/actions/someday/ticklers from books.
Existing use case: Reading with audio note taking
- Goto Everdo Inbox or a specifically created Project or Notebook
- Open a new Task (Plus" icon) (having the task open is one less step to distract when switching focus from reading to getting in your idea)
- Press space bar
- Dictate task
- Press “Check” icon
- Press “Plus” icon for new Task
Ideal workflow would be:
- Hold down sidekey
- Dictate task
- Let go of sidekey (task is saved)
For me this would be better than:
- Say some keyword like “Start task”
- Dictate task
- Say some keyword like “Save task”
Aside from cloud connectivity requirements and data privacy issues, holding a button (like Push to Talk walkie-talkies) is faster (elapsed time), more responsive (voice triggered actions can have 1/4 to 1 full second pauses before activating and that can mess up your timing, confidence in the system and at times cut off the start of your dictation) and less cognitively demanding than saying keywords. Of course there is a place for both approaches.