WatchKit Option to ONLY Dictate?

Question

I use:

 NSArray* initialPhrases = @[@"Let's do lunch.", @"Can we meet tomorrow?", @"When are you free?"];
    [self presentTextInputControllerWithSuggestions:initialPhrases
                                   allowedInputMode:WKTextInputModePlain
                                         completion:^(NSArray *results) {
                                             if (results && results.count > 0) {
                                                 id aResult = [results objectAtIndex:0];
                                                 // Use the string or image.
                                             }
                                             else {
                                                 // Nothing was selected.
                                             }
                                         }];

This is the example given for text input by Apple. However, in my app, I want the user to ONLY have the option to dictate text. If I set the array to nil, the dictate button is not there, but if I leave the array alone, the dictate button reappears. Is there any way at all to do text input ONLY by dictation?

UPDATE: Apple does have documentation that says if you are sending users straight to dictation, to not provide any responses and send them straight there. Am I correct in gathering that the reason I don't see anything when initialPhrases is nil is just due to simulator restrictions?

Answer 1

You are correct. Dev evangelists in the forums have noted that the simulator won't show anything for dictation, owing to its lack of support.

Make sure you're using WKTextInputModePlain and the suggestions array is nil and you'll be fine.

Answer 2

As of WatchOS 2.1, and iOS 9, I have been able to what you propose, in 2 different ways, give me a Green Tick and upvote if it works!!:

OPTION 1 - RECORD WAV FILE AND UPLOAD TO ASR SERVER I recorded and saved a WAV file to the apple watch. After that I uploaded the file to a paid Speech Recognition provider and everything worked fine! Here is the code to record, replace the UI updating lines of code (and the debug ones) with your own:

//RECORD AUDIO SAMPLE
    var saveUrl: NSURL? //this var is initialized in the awakeWithContext method//
    func recordAudio(){
        let duration = NSTimeInterval(5)
        let recordOptions =
        [WKAudioRecorderControllerOptionsMaximumDurationKey : duration]
       // print("Recording to: "+(saveUrl?.description)!)
        //CONSTRUCT AUDIO FILE URL
        let fileManager = NSFileManager.defaultManager()
        let container = fileManager.containerURLForSecurityApplicationGroupIdentifier("group.artivoice.applewatch");
        let fileName = "audio.wav"
        saveUrl = container?.URLByAppendingPathComponent(fileName)
        presentAudioRecorderControllerWithOutputURL(saveUrl!,
            preset: .WideBandSpeech,
            options: recordOptions,
            completion: { saved, error in
                if let err = error {
                    print(err.description)
                    self.sendMessageToPhone("Recording error: "+err.description)
                }
                if saved {
                    self.btnPlay.setEnabled(true)
                    self.sendMessageToPhone("Audio was saved successfully.")
                    print("Audio Saved")
                    self.uploadAudioSample()
                }
        })
    }

OPTION 2 - USE THE iWATCH's NATIVE SPEECH RECOGNITION In this approach I take the original, native voice menu, but...! I don't add any button options, just pure ASR. I launched the empty voice menu, and then recover the string returned by the ASR. Here's the code, enjoy:

func launchIWatchVoiceRecognition(){
     //you can see the empty array [], add options if it suits you well
        self.presentTextInputControllerWithSuggestions([], allowedInputMode: WKTextInputMode.Plain, completion:{(results) -> Void in
            let aResult = results?[0] as? String
            if(!(aResult == nil)){
                print(aResult) //print result
                self.sendMessageToPhone("Native ASR says:  "+aResult!)
                dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue()) {
                    self.txtWatch.setText(aResult) //show result on UI
                }
            }//end if
        })//end show voice menu
    }

OPTION 2 is lightning fast, but OPTION 1 can be more handy if you want to do some advanced speech recon functions (custom vocabularies, grammar...) I would recommend OPTION 1 for most users. Voila!! If you need extra hints let me know!