v0.2.0 — FFT Visualizer & UI Redesign

What's new

FFT spectral visualizer

• Replaced RMS waveform with real-time FFT analysis (20 log-spaced frequency bands)
• Symmetric mirrored bars in both the large overlay and the mini capsule
• Corrected dB normalization (0–45 dB range) for accurate visual response

Mini capsule redesign

• Idle: mic icon (white, low opacity)
• Recording: animated FFT bars
• Transcribing: pulsing dots

Menu bar popup redesign

• Minimal layout: status dot + hotkey + Settings + Quit
• Removed TranscriptionMode preset system entirely

Large overlay (SuperWhisper-style)

• Waveform + Stop/Cancel bar
• Classic recording shortcut support
• Safety hide timeout on Stop button

Other

• Progressive transcription for long recordings (chunked every 10s)
• External screen fix for overlay positioning
• WhisperKit initialization optimizations
• Settings window shows dock icon while open, hides on close

BetterFasterWhisper v0.1.0 Beta

BetterFasterWhisper Beta Release

Free, open-source competitor to SuperWhisper - Local voice-to-text for macOS using WhisperKit.

Features

• Push-to-talk with Right Option key
• Real-time waveform visualization during recording
• Local transcription using WhisperKit (large-v3-turbo model)
• Auto-paste transcribed text
• Optional media pause during recording
• Menu bar app (runs in background)

Requirements

• macOS 13.0+
• Apple Silicon Mac (M1/M2/M3)
• Accessibility permission (for keyboard shortcut)
• Microphone permission

Installation

1. Download BetterFasterWhisper-beta.dmg
2. Open the DMG and drag the app to Applications
3. Launch and grant required permissions

Note

This is a beta release. The first launch may take a moment to download the Whisper model (~1.5GB).

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This is a beta version. Please report issues on GitHub.