# Neural Engine Canonical page: https://flit.fyi/glossary/neural-engine [Glossary](https://flit.fyi/glossary) / [How it hears you](https://flit.fyi/glossary#recognition) Also: ANE Updated October 4, 2026 Definition The Neural Engine is the part of an Apple silicon chip built to run machine-learning models efficiently, alongside the CPU and GPU. It is why a laptop can run speech recognition continuously without heat, fan noise, or a dead battery. Every M-series Mac has one. It is a set of cores specialized for the matrix arithmetic that neural networks are made of, and it runs that arithmetic at a fraction of the power a CPU or GPU would need. Speech recognition is the kind of steady, always-on workload the Neural Engine was designed for: a model that has to keep up with audio in real time, for as long as you are talking, without making the rest of the machine sluggish. Not every model fits. The Neural Engine has its own constraints on model shape and precision, and a model has to be converted for it. That engineering is one of the real differences between local dictation tools that feel effortless and ones that run the same model on the GPU and warm up your lap. ## Neural Engine, GPU, and CPU The CPU can run anything but is the slowest and hungriest at neural-network math. The GPU is fast and flexible and is where most local language models run, through frameworks like MLX or Metal. The Neural Engine is the most efficient of the three for models that fit its constraints, and speech recognition models fit well. A well-built local dictation tool puts each model where it runs best and leaves the CPU alone for the app you are typing into. ## Why it is a requirement Local dictation on an Intel Mac means running the model on a CPU that was not built for it. It works, slowly, and it is a big part of why on-device tools set Apple silicon as the floor. On an M1 or later the same models run in real time with the machine barely noticing, which is the difference between a tool you leave on all day and one you turn on for special occasions. ## How to check whether your Mac has a Neural Engine On the Mac, the Neural Engine arrived with the M1 chip. So the question is really whether your Mac has Apple silicon, and macOS tells you in one window. 1. Click the Apple menu in the corner of the screen. 2. Choose About This Mac. 3. Read the window that opens. A Mac with Apple silicon shows an item labeled Chip, followed by the name of the chip. 4. If you see an item labeled Processor followed by the name of an Intel processor, the Mac is Intel-based and has no Neural Engine. ## When did Macs get a Neural Engine? The Neural Engine started on the iPhone. Apple says the first generation shipped in the A11 chip in iPhone X in 2017. It came to iPad with the A12 chip and to the Mac with the M1 chip. Apple’s list of Mac computers with Apple silicon includes the MacBook Air with M1 from 2020 and every MacBook Air from 2022 or later, the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1 from 2020 and every MacBook Pro from 2021 or later, Mac mini from 2020 or later, iMac from 2021 or later, Mac Studio from 2022 or later, and Mac Pro from 2023. Some Intel models were still sold in those years, so check About This Mac instead of going by the year alone. ## Why do some apps use the Neural Engine and others do not? An app does not talk to the Neural Engine directly. It hands a model to Core ML, Apple’s machine-learning framework, and Apple says Core ML blends the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine into the most effective execution plan for the device. Parts of a model that do not suit the Neural Engine run elsewhere. How the model is written decides how much of it lands on the Neural Engine. In a published example, Apple engineers restructured a text model for the Neural Engine and reported it running up to 10 times faster with 14 times less peak memory on iPhone 13 than the unoptimized version. The same model can be quick in one app and slow in another for exactly this reason. In Flit Flit’s models are built for Apple silicon, which is why text lands in about 0.7 seconds and why an M1 or later is the requirement. [Requirements, and the reason for each](https://flit.fyi/download#requirements) - [Will it run on your Mac?](https://flit.fyi/download#requirements) - [The speed that comes from running locally](https://flit.fyi/#speed) ## Questions people ask. ### What does the Neural Engine do for dictation? It runs the speech recognition model in real time at very low power, so a local dictation tool can transcribe continuously without heating the machine or draining the battery. That is why local dictation feels effortless on Apple silicon and sluggish on older Macs. ### Do I need Apple silicon for local dictation? For it to feel good, yes. The models can technically run on an Intel CPU, but slowly. Most on-device Mac dictation tools require an M1 or later for that reason. ### Does my Mac have a Neural Engine? It does if it has Apple silicon. Choose Apple menu → About This Mac: a line labeled Chip means Apple silicon, and a line labeled Processor with an Intel name means no Neural Engine. ### When was the Apple Neural Engine introduced? Apple says the first Neural Engine shipped in 2017 as part of the A11 chip in iPhone X. It reached the Mac with the M1 chip. ### Is the Neural Engine the same as the GPU? No. They are separate parts of an Apple silicon chip. Core ML can spread one model across the CPU, the GPU, and the Neural Engine. ## Related terms - [On-device processing](https://flit.fyi/glossary/on-device-processing) - [Parakeet](https://flit.fyi/glossary/parakeet) - [Local LLM](https://flit.fyi/glossary/local-llm) - [Latency](https://flit.fyi/glossary/latency) ## Your voice was always faster. 7 days free, then $19 USD once. No account, no subscription, nothing uploaded. [Download for Mac](https://flit.fyi/download) [Buy now · $19 USD](https://flit.fyi/pricing#personal) macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon