Month: October 2018

Please read the updates at the bottom of this post and in the comments below for up-to-date info on this topic.

In a move that is likely to anger and dismay Mac users, Nuance has dropped a bombshell. Dragon Professional Individual 6 has been discontinued with immediate effect; there will be no updates to the existing software and no further versions produced.

In other words, Dragon for Mac is dead.

Via a press release, Nuance stated: “Dragon Professional Individual for Mac is being discontinued effective 10/22/2018 and will no longer be available for purchase…Customers who have purchased Dragon Professional Individual for Mac version 6 (“Software”) benefit from a perpetual license to the Software and may continue using the Software.  Nuance will no longer provide updates for the Software after 10/22/2018”.

While Dragon on the Mac platform has never been at the same level as the Windows software, things did seem to be improving. The release of version 6 was disastrous at launch – buggy, unstable and borderline unusable. But things improved dramatically and, with the last 6.0.8 update, it seemed like Mac users finally had a version of Dragon nearer in stability and features than ever to the PC equivalent. Despite this, Nuance has pulled the plug.

For anyone who has bought the software within the last 30 days, it might be worth exercising your right to a refund. While you can continue to use Dragon, it’s anyone’s guess as to when or if it will stop working as Nuance does not guarantee compatibility with the latest version of macOS, Mojave. Wyvern Business Systems are reporting the following:

“During testing we have experienced a few glitches but it seems manageable currently, however future updates may cause further issues, or cause the software to stop all together.”

All traces of the software have been removed from Nuance’s web site and it is no longer offered for sale. You can still buy it from the likes of Amazon and eBay but, with a very real prospect of it being disabled by an OS update and no hope of a fix, it wouldn’t be a wise way to spend your money.

Obviously, this news brings huge ramifications for Mac users from both an accessibility and workflow standpoint. While the Windows software undoubtedly has a larger installed user base, the majority of writers I come across are using Macs. With no viable native solution (and no realistic competition), Mac users should consider using the Windows software via a virtual machine – something I have long advocated.

EDIT: Update, June 2019

Just tested and Dragon 6.0.8 does NOT work at all in MacOS 10.15 Catalina (Developer Beta). Installs but crashes on launch. As Dragon itself won’t be updated, I can’t see this changing for the public release.

Looks like this is the end of the line, folks.

EDIT: Update, November 2019

Many posts in the comments are reporting continued success running Dragon 6.0.8 in the final public release of macOS Catalina. While the software remains end-of-life and unsupported, this appears to be great news (for now) for any Mac users who have invested in this version of the software. Keep an eye on the comments for any further developments; a massive THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time to leave a post to let other Mac users know the state of play.