How Phones Use Your Voice History to Fix Your Typing
Apple's patent for a system that improves text autocorrection by using a database of words the user has previously spoken into their device.
Original patent title: “Electronic device with text error correction based on voice recognition data”
Apple's patent for a system that improves text autocorrection by using a database of words the user has previously spoken into their device. Granted to Apple Inc in 2015 with 24 claims and 5 forward citations.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This patent describes a way to make autocorrect smarter by linking it to your voice history. When you speak into your phone, the device records those words in a database. Later, when you are typing a text or email, the autocorrection engine checks that database to see if you are likely to be typing a word you have said before. If you make a typo, the system uses your personal vocabulary to guess the correct word, rather than just relying on a generic dictionary. It performs this correction automatically as you type, often triggered by a space character.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover autocorrection systems that rely solely on static, pre-installed dictionaries.
- Does not cover voice-to-text transcription where the entire message is dictated rather than typed.
- Does not cover predictive text systems that only use typing history without incorporating voice input data.
- Does not cover hardware-specific keyboard designs or physical key mechanisms.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The innovation is the cross-modal link between voice and text; it treats your microphone as a data source for your keyboard's predictive model, essentially teaching the phone how you talk so it can better understand how you write.
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
iOS QuickType keyboard suggestions
Personalized language models in modern smartphones
Dictation-assisted text prediction
Why it matters
The bigger picture
This patent addresses the frustration of generic autocorrect failing to recognize names, slang, or specialized vocabulary that a user frequently speaks. By personalizing the dictionary based on actual speech, it makes mobile communication more efficient. It reflects the industry shift toward context-aware computing where devices learn from user behavior to reduce input errors.
Filed
July 22, 2013
Granted
July 7, 2015
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Apple continues to integrate this into its ecosystem, refining how Siri and the keyboard interact. Other major players like Google and Samsung have developed similar personalized language models that ingest user data to improve input accuracy.
Market impact
This patent helped formalize the trend of personalized predictive text, moving the industry away from one-size-fits-all dictionaries. It contributed to the expectation that modern mobile keyboards should feel 'intelligent' and aware of the user's personal lexicon.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent describes a way to make autocorrect smarter by linking it to your voice history. When you speak into your phone, the device records those words in a database. Later, when you are typing a text or email, the autocorrection engine checks that database to see if you are likely to be typing a word you have said before. If you make a typo, the system uses your personal vocabulary to guess the correct word, rather than just relying on a generic dictionary. It performs this correction automatically as you type, often triggered by a space character.
The clever bit
The innovation is the cross-modal link between voice and text; it treats your microphone as a data source for your keyboard's predictive model, essentially teaching the phone how you talk so it can better understand how you write.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover autocorrection systems that rely solely on static, pre-installed dictionaries.
- Does not cover voice-to-text transcription where the entire message is dictated rather than typed.
- Does not cover predictive text systems that only use typing history without incorporating voice input data.
- Does not cover hardware-specific keyboard designs or physical key mechanisms.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Moderate
Citation count
16/40
Early citations
Claim breadth
16/20
Broad claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
5/20
Granted 10–20 years ago
Assignee scale
20/20
Major company or institution
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$78K – $250K
Midpoint $156K · 7.1 yr remaining · industry ×1.6
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
24 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
WAGNER, O. P. (2015). How Phones Use Your Voice History to Fix Your Typing (U.S. Patent No. 9,075,783). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9075783/alexa-voice-service
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Phones Use Your Voice History to Fix Your Typing cover?
Apple's patent for a system that improves text autocorrection by using a database of words the user has previously spoken into their device.
Who owns patent US 9075783?
Apple Inc owns this patent, granted in 2015.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on July 7, 2035, when the invention enters the public domain.
What is patent US 9075783 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 5 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
This patent addresses the frustration of generic autocorrect failing to recognize names, slang, or specialized vocabulary that a user frequently speaks. By personalizing the dictionary based on actual speech, it makes mobile communication more efficient. It reflects the industry shift toward context-aware computing where devices learn from user behavior to reduce input errors.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover autocorrection systems that rely solely on static, pre-installed dictionaries.
Same assignee
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