System Requirements
What you need to run Yapper on your Mac
Before installing Yapper, make sure your Mac meets these requirements.
Minimum Requirements
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| macOS Version | macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later |
| Processor | Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4 or newer) |
| Storage | At least 2 GB free disk space |
| Internet | Required only for initial model download and AI enhancement |
Why Apple Silicon?
Yapper uses two on-device speech recognition engines — NVIDIA Parakeet and OpenAI Whisper — both optimized for Apple Silicon’s Neural Engine and GPU:
- Fastest transcription — Parakeet achieves 110-190x real-time speed on Apple Silicon
- Lower energy usage — The Neural Engine and GPU are optimized for ML workloads
- Full model support — All models, including the largest, run smoothly
Storage Requirements
Yapper downloads speech recognition models on first use. The storage needed depends on which model you choose:
Parakeet models (NVIDIA):
| Model | Storage | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Parakeet TDT v3 | ~800 MB | Daily use — fast, 25 languages (default) |
| Parakeet TDT v2 | ~800 MB | English-only, top accuracy |
Whisper models (OpenAI):
| Model | Storage | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Tiny | ~150 MB | Minimal resource usage |
| Base | ~250 MB | Quick transcriptions |
| Small | ~500 MB | Faster results, good accuracy |
| Large v3 Turbo | ~1.5 GB | 100+ languages, excellent accuracy |
| Large v3 | ~3 GB | Maximum accuracy |
You can change models at any time in Settings. Use Clear Downloaded Models in Settings to free up space.
Internet Connection
Yapper only needs internet for:
- Downloading the app — One-time download from the website
- Downloading speech models — One-time download when you first select a model
- AI features — Only if you use AI Transform or AI Q&A
- License activation — Brief connection to validate your license
Once the model is downloaded, live transcription works completely offline.
Checking Your Mac
To verify your Mac’s specifications:
- Click the Apple menu () in the top-left corner
- Select About This Mac
- Check the Chip (should say M1, M2, M3, etc.) and macOS version
If you’re running macOS 13 (Ventura) or earlier, you’ll need to upgrade to macOS 14 Sonoma or later before using Yapper.