ExpressScribe
ExpressScribe is an audio playback and transcription utility for macOS, widely used by professionals who need to transcribe interviews, dictations, podcasts and other audio recordings. It provides variable playback speed (crucial for transcription work), foot-pedal control, timestamps, rewind/repeat hotkeys, and basic editing of audio timing. Users typically pair it with a text editor or dedicated transcription software to manually transcribe speech, and rely on its playback controls to slow down or loop difficult passages. The app has been updated regularly through version 14.11 as of 2025.
AI Recommendation
1 suggestionExpressScribe is actively maintained by NCH Software (latest release 14.11 as of July 2025), but we could not confirm from available search results whether a native Apple Silicon build exists. Since the app continues to receive updates, there is reasonable hope the vendor may have already shipped or is planning a native version. Contact NCH Software directly to ask whether the current version of ExpressScribe runs natively on Apple Silicon or when a native build is planned. If you are not able to migrate to a native version before September 2028, your Intel build will stop working entirely when Apple removes Rosetta 2 in macOS 28. As contingencies, consider Audacity (free, open-source, multi-platform, natively compiled for Apple Silicon) for basic playback and editing, or Descript (paid, modern web-based transcription tool with native Mac support) if you want an all-in-one transcription and editing workflow.
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