Grammar, Rewrite, and Voice Typing in One Keyboard

Three jobs, kept separate

Writing on a phone is three tasks that people run together and then blame the tools. Drafting gets words out. Correcting fixes mistakes. Restyling changes how the words land. Keeping them separate is what makes a fast reply possible.

• Draft: speak the message. Speed matters more than polish here.
• Correct: fix real errors, especially names, numbers, and dates.
• Restyle: change tone or length on the one sentence that needs it.

Run them in that order and each pass is short. Merge them and you end up editing while you dictate, which produces half-finished sentences.

The reason to want all three in the keyboard is the app you are standing in: a reply in Slack should finish in Slack. Once a message needs a trip to Notes and back, you stop using voice for short replies.

Setup that takes about two minutes

An iPhone keyboard needs installing, enabling, and permissions before the AI features work. The order matters: a keyboard that is in the list but has no network access looks broken.

1. Install the app from the App Store and open it once.
2. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard and pick it.
3. Tap the keyboard again and turn on Allow Full Access.
4. Open Messages, hold the globe key, and switch to it.
5. Tap the mic and allow Microphone access when iOS asks. Dictation cannot start without it.
6. Send yourself one dictated message to confirm insertion and voice input work.

Full Access is worth understanding rather than clicking past: it gives the keyboard extension the network access the server-side features need. Auri Keyboard does not capture password or card fields, and iOS enforces that restriction for every third-party keyboard whether Full Access is on or off.

Auri Keyboard is separate from Auri Voice on Mac; the last section covers how their defaults differ.

The ten-second loop for a real reply

A short reply should take one take and one glance. The loop is speak, scan, fix, send, with a restyle only when the message deserves it.

1. Tap the field, start voice typing, and say the whole reply in one take.
2. Scan for names, numbers, dates, and links. Those are the errors that cost you.
3. Rewrite one sentence if the tone is off for the person reading it.
4. Send.

Say the point first, then the detail. A draft that buries the ask in the last clause needs restructuring, which no rewrite pass does well.

Whether a spoken correction survives depends on the output mode. The default is Raw, which types the literal transcript, so "Tuesday, sorry, Wednesday" lands in your text exactly like that. Hold the keyboard mic and pick Clean, Concise, or Professional, and the cleanup resolves it to "Wednesday". If you stay in Raw, stop a lost take and start again rather than repairing out loud.

Picking a rewrite style without spending the time you saved

Rewrite styles are useful when you choose one on purpose; cycling through options is how a thirty-second reply becomes a four-minute one. Run Fix Grammar before any restyle, so Paraphrase starts from a correct sentence. Here is the difference on one dictated draft:

Your draft: "hey sorry i missed this can we do thurs instead"

Fix Grammar: "Sorry I missed this. Could we move it to Thursday instead?"

Paraphrase, Professional style: "Apologies for missing your message. Would Thursday work instead?"

Fix Grammar repaired capitalization, punctuation, and the abbreviation and kept the casual register. Paraphrase in Professional style trades that register for formality: right for a client, stiff for a friend. Check that Thursday survived before you send.

Read the result before you send it. Rewrites are good at sentence shape and careless with the details that matter: a version number, a deadline, a name, a conditional like only if.

Translate covers 31 languages, and Reply to Email drafts an answer from a short instruction in one of 11 reply styles. Both take the same discipline as Paraphrase: give one clear instruction, then read what comes back with your own eyes on the facts.

Where an iPhone keyboard cannot help

Some limits are the operating system, not the app. Knowing them saves troubleshooting time.

• Password fields and card fields switch to Apple’s keyboard automatically.
• The device passcode screen never uses a third-party keyboard.
• Without a network, the features that call a server are unavailable.
• A managed work phone may block third-party keyboards entirely.
• A few apps with custom text views behave oddly with any keyboard extension.

The password field behavior is deliberate protection, since a keyboard sees keystrokes in the fields it serves. Use your password manager’s autofill or a passkey there.

For anything you would not want leaving the phone, know the defaults. Auri Keyboard dictates through cloud engines by default; the On-Device engine transcribes English only, on the phone, after a download. Raw mode types the transcript as is, and Clean, Concise, and Professional send it to Auri Cloud for cleanup.

When to leave the draft alone

The most common mistake with rewrite tools is using them on messages that were already fine. Polishing a two-line note to a teammate you talk to daily makes it colder and slower to read.

• Short internal messages: send the voice draft after a quick scan.
• Anything with a number, date, or name: check the facts, skip the restyle.
• Bad news or a real apology: your plain wording reads better than a polished version.
• Client-facing or high-stakes writing: this is where a formal pass earns its keep.

A rewrite that adds three qualifiers and an opening pleasantry is longer without being clearer.

A simple test before you tap Paraphrase: name what is wrong with the sentence. If you can say too long or too blunt for this person, pick that style. If you cannot name it, send the draft.

Keyboard on iPhone, Voice on Mac

Auri Keyboard and Auri Voice are separate products with separate defaults for where your text goes.

Use the phone for replies and capture, and the Mac for anything longer than a paragraph; the Mac shortcut inserts text into whatever app has focus. If you use both, decide once which device handles sensitive text.

FAQ