Guide

How to add tasks by voice on iPhone

By VoiceToDoList Editorial Team · Updated October 22, 2026 · App Store data verified October 22, 2026

You do not need a new app to speak a task into your iPhone. Three of the five methods below are already on the phone: Siri, the quick ways into Apple Reminders, and the dictation key on the keyboard. The other two, Todoist's Ramble and Vozly, are worth a download only if they do something the built-in routes do not.

Disclosure: VoiceToDoList.com is published by Proseca, the maker of Vozly. Feature notes for other apps are our reading of each app's own App Store listing, read on October 22, 2026; ratings come from the App Store and are dated. How we work.

The five methods at a glance

Feature notes: Apple Reminders and Todoist from their App Store listings, read on October 22, 2026; Vozly from the facts its maker publishes. "Not mentioned" means the listing is silent, which is not the same as "no".

App Store data, US storefront, verified October 22, 2026. “Free” apps may sell subscriptions or upgrades inside the app. Ratings and prices change; the App Store listing is the source of truth.

1. Ask Siri to create a reminder

This is the route most people already have. Apple's own listing for Reminders (4.8★ (1,041,093 ratings)) puts it first: use Siri to create reminders with your voice. It is free and syncs with iCloud, which Vozly does not.

1. Start Siri the way you have it set up: the side button, or the spoken request if you turned it on in Settings.
2. Say the task with its time, for example "Remind me to call the dentist tomorrow at 6."
3. Siri creates the reminder in Reminders, with the time it understood.

Good at: turning a spoken time into a scheduled reminder, without opening any app. Watch for: Siri saves its own interpretation of your sentence, not your recording, so check the text and the time it chose.

2. Reminders from Control Center or the Action Button

The same listing names two quicker doors into Reminders: add Reminders to Control Center, or to the Action Button on iPhones that have one, to create a reminder on the go. Once a new reminder is open, you can type it or use the dictation key below.

1. Add the Reminders control in Control Center, or assign it to the Action Button in Settings.
2. Swipe into Control Center or press the Action Button and tap the control.
3. Enter the reminder, by typing or with the keyboard's microphone.

3. The dictation key on the keyboard

The microphone on the iOS keyboard turns speech into text in any text field, in every to-do app. It is a feature of iOS, not of the app, which is why our voice input data page does not count it as an app feature.

1. Open your to-do app and go to the list you want.
2. Tap the field for a new task, then tap the microphone on the keyboard.
3. Speak, tap the microphone again or wait, then save the task.

Watch for: you still open the app and tap the field first, and whether a spoken time becomes a due date depends on that app.

4. Todoist's Ramble

Todoist (4.8★ (130,025 ratings)) describes Ramble in its listing as a way to talk instead of type: you describe your task in natural language, and Todoist structures it in the right projects with the right due dates.

1. Install Todoist and sign in.
2. Start Ramble in the app and describe one or more tasks in plain sentences.
3. Check the tasks it created, their projects and their due dates.

Good at: dates and projects parsed from speech, plus sync and sharing, which Vozly lacks. Watch for: the listing does not mention keeping your recording, and Todoist's paid plans are sold inside the app; see the listing. Our Todoist alternative page compares the two apps in full.

5. Vozly: hold, speak, release

Vozly (3.5★ (15 ratings)) is built around one gesture. The app opens on its Inbox with the microphone ready. Hold the microphone, speak, release, and the transcription is saved as a to-do, with the original audio kept so you can replay what you actually said.

1. Open Vozly and hold the microphone button while you speak.
2. Release to save. If you need your hands, slide the microphone button to the right while holding it: the recording locks and keeps going until you tap the stop button. Sliding it to the left cancels the recording.
3. To add a time, open the to-do, tap Set Deadline, pick the date and time, and tap Save. Vozly then sends a notification at that time.

On iOS 18 and later, the "Add Task" control in Control Center opens Vozly on the Inbox and starts recording at once, already locked; tap stop to finish.

Good at: keeping your own words and your own voice, and capturing more than tasks. Watch for: Vozly does not parse dates or priorities from speech; you set them by hand after capture. It has no Android version and no cloud sync between devices, and a recording always starts with a touch. Transcription uses Apple's speech recognition, so depending on language and device the audio may be processed on the iPhone or by Apple's servers; Vozly itself uploads nothing to Proseca. It is free for your first 10 items; from the tenth item on Vozly keeps recording but reminds you of Pro once per session. Vozly Pro removes that reminder; it adds no other feature.

Which method should you use?

• You want reminders at the time you say: Siri with Reminders.
• You already live in Todoist: try Ramble before adding another app.
• You only want to type less: the dictation key works in whatever app you use.
• You want the recording kept, or you speak notes and journal entries too: Vozly, with the deadline set by hand.

More apps built around the microphone: our voice-first app comparison.

Questions readers ask