Descript for Mobile: Why I Built SpeechCut

I've been a happy Descript user for years.

As a VFX artist and indie founder, Descript completely changed how I thought about editing talking-head content. Editing video by editing text felt like cheating in the best possible way. No timeline mess, no frame-by-frame scrubbing just to cut out a couple of "ums."

But over time, I noticed something: as much as I loved Descript, I rarely used it for the kind of content I actually wanted to publish every week.

Short, scrappy, social video.
The "shoot on your phone, post today" stuff.

And that's where the idea of "Descript for mobile" really started to form in my head.

When the perfect tool is… too much

Descript is powerful. That's the upside and the downside.

For quick clips, I often caught myself thinking:

"Do I really want to boot up the computer for this?"
"Do I really need a full multi-track project just to clean up a 60-second reel?"
"Why am I dragging files between phone, cloud, laptop, and back again for something that will live on Instagram for 24 hours?"

Most of my ideas start on my phone.
Most of the platforms I publish to are mobile-first.
But my editing workflow was still desktop-first.

I loved the Descript-style workflow, just not the friction around it for small pieces of content.

I wanted Descript-style editing… in my pocket

So I tried to imagine what a "Descript for mobile" would look like if you stripped it down to the essentials:

You record or import a clip on your phone.
The app transcribes it automatically.
You edit the video by editing the words.
You cut boring parts, tangents, and filler with a few taps.
You export and post - without ever touching a desktop.

No folders. No "proper project" setup. No juggling between devices. Just: talk → trim → post.

That's the tool I wanted for myself.

When I couldn't find it, I started building it.

That's how SpeechCut was born

SpeechCut is my attempt at a focused, mobile-first version of that text-based editing experience.

It's not meant to replace everything Descript can do. Descript is still the better choice for big, complex projects, podcasts, teams, and full production workflows.

But if you're:

recording solo videos on your phone,
making TikToks, Reels, Shorts, LinkedIn clips,
or just trying to show up consistently with simple talking-head videos…

…then a "lightweight Descript for mobile" is often exactly what you need.

In SpeechCut, the transcription is the editor:
You see your words overlaid on top of your video. You tap to disable a sentence or a word, and the video automatically skips that part. You stay in one screen, on one device, with one mental model: fix the words, fix the video.

Not a clone - a different use case

To be clear: SpeechCut isn't a Descript clone squeezed onto a small screen.

I deliberately left out a lot of heavy features. No multi-track audio editing, no giant timeline, no complex collaboration layer. Those are great on desktop, but they're exactly what I didn't want when I pulled out my phone to fix a quick clip.

Instead, I optimized for:

Speed - get from raw recording to publishable cut fast.
Simplicity - minimal UI, minimal decisions, text-first editing.
Mobile reality - you're probably editing with one hand on a couch, not in a studio.

If Descript is your full production studio, SpeechCut is the pocket knife you always have with you.

For everyone who's wished "I just want Descript on my phone…"

If you've ever opened your laptop just to cut a 45-second clip and thought, "This feels like overkill," you're exactly who I had in mind.

I built SpeechCut because I love what Descript made possible - and I wanted that same magic in a smaller, more focused, mobile-native form.

If you've been searching for a simple "Descript for mobile" to help you clean up your talking-head videos without a full desktop workflow, that's what SpeechCut is trying to be.

I'm still actively building and improving it, but the core idea is already there:

Talk into your phone.
Edit the words.
Let the app handle the cuts.