What does Wave actually do?
Wave's core loop is intentionally small: hold Right Option, speak, release, and text appears where the cursor was already blinking. That matters because many speech tools make the user move into a separate input box, copy the result, then return to the original app. Wave removes that detour. It fits everyday Mac writing surfaces such as Mail, Messages, Slack, Notion, Notes, Linear, Figma, and Arc, which makes the product easy to place: daily text entry across macOS, not just transcription inside one app.
The local-versus-cloud choice is the main technical split. Local Whisper runs on the Mac, can work offline, and keeps audio from leaving the machine. Groq is the speed path and is tied to a BYO API key. That gives users a practical tradeoff instead of hiding it in settings: private local dictation for normal use, hosted speed for moments where waiting would break the thought. For an open-source Mac app, that choice is more important than adding another generic text box.