What changed.

• If the app ever hard-freezes, it now recovers itself: after 30 seconds it restarts automatically instead of sitting beachballed in the menu bar (and files a diagnostic report so the cause can be fixed).
• Settings → Audio now explains always-on mode properly: a clear “Always-on Bluetooth microphone” toggle and two expandable answers covering the orange mic indicator (idle audio is discarded — nothing is recorded until you press Fn) and what always-on costs (Bluetooth call-quality audio, a little battery).
• New answers under Settings → Transcription for the on-device engine: how language selection works, and why the first dictation in a new language takes a moment (one-time model download — offline, private, and free after that).
• New FAQ section in the sidebar: how to dictate, where your text goes, what leaves your Mac (with the on-device engine: nothing), what the app costs, and what to do when Fn goes quiet or a red ring appears.

• ORKA VOICE now keeps the microphone ready from your first dictation onward, so pressing Fn starts instantly every time — no more waiting for Bluetooth headphones to reconnect between takes. A new “Release microphone when idle” setting (Settings → Audio) restores the old behavior if you prefer your Bluetooth audio quality back between dictations.
• If your selected microphone stops delivering audio (dead Bluetooth route, virtual audio device, iPhone Continuity mic), dictation now automatically falls back to your Mac’s built-in microphone instead of failing.
• Dictations can no longer be silently lost while a microphone is still connecting: a real attempt that captured nothing now shows a clear error, and a tiny tail-end fragment of a longer sentence is never pasted as if it were the whole thing.
• The app can no longer freeze on audio-system stalls — all audio-device communication moved off the interface thread.
• The Settings microphone test now honestly reports a dead selected device instead of passing via the fallback.

• Fixed the failed first dictation after switching to AirPods: cold Bluetooth microphones get the time they actually need to connect, and a failed start now re-arms the mic in the background so a retry is instant.
• New sound cues: a soft rising chime when the mic is truly listening (speak after the chime!) and a falling one when your take is captured. Toggle in Settings → General.
• Updates and downloads now live at orka.tools. This release is the first whose auto-update actually works — older builds must download once manually.
• Added a step-by-step help popover for getting an OpenAI API key (Settings → Transcription).

• Hardened AirPods capture and Fn key handling; verified microphone startup before recording begins.
• Reduced recording overhead and improved recovery from audio device changes.
• Redesigned app window.

Covers 0.1.5 and earlier.

• Initial releases: on-device and OpenAI transcription, hold-Fn / tap-to-lock dictation, history, dictionary, cleanup, menu bar app.

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App updates and website publishing remain separate, so a marketing change can never trigger an app update.