Block said that the voice model can run locally on a MacBook M4 Max
Read the original at TechCrunch AI: Block’s new voice model sounds eerily human
How OpenSmartRoute helps
For a team that routes through the router, a release like this is one catalogue entry. The new model competes on the next request against what the team already runs, on quality, cost and speed. If it answers well it earns more traffic; if it fails it gets less, with no code change in the app.
Any OpenAI-compatible provider works, as do open-weight models served locally. The catalogue at https://opensmartroute.ai lists models with their prices and live rankings, and the savings ledger shows what the routing saved against always using the most expensive option.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/24/blocks-new-voice-model-sounds-eerily-human/