Apple adds a new gender-neutral voice for Siri

Apple is working on bringing major changes to its virtual assistant Siri in upcoming iOS 15.4 update. According to a report by Axios, the company is planning to add two new gender neutral voices to Siri with its upcoming software.

Apple has already confirmed the development to the publication saying that is planning to add a new Siri voice for English speakers soon. “We’re excited to introduce a new Siri voice for English speakers, giving users more options to choose a voice that speaks to them,” Apple said in a statement to Axios.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time that Apple is making changes to Siri’s voice. Last year, the company had rolled out two new Siri voices enabling Apple device users to pick a voice other than the default female voices available in Apple devices. Essentially, the company had added two male voices giving users more diversity while breaking free from having the convention of having female voices for virtual assistants. Now, Apple is planning to add more diversity and be more inclusive to the mix by adding gender-neutral voices.

“Millions of people around the world rely on Siri every day to help get things done, so we work to make the experience feel as personalized as possible,” the company added.

As of now, Siri’s English-language choices include British, American, Irish, Indian, Australian and South African accents.

Notably, iOS 15.4, which is expected to release sometime in the spring this year is expected to bring a host of new and important updates in addition to bug fixes as well. Reports in the past have suggested that Apple is planning to bring a new feature that will enable iPhone users to unlock their iPhones while wearing a face mask. The update FaceID feature will use the area around the eyes to identify a person and consequently unlock the iPhone. Screenshots of Apple’s interface while enabling this feature show that the company says that the feature will work ‘most accurately’ only when it is set-up for full face recognition.

In addition to that, the upcoming iOS 15.4 update is also expected to bring new emojis and Universal Control to iPhones. Apple is also planning to bring anti-stalking alerts to AirTag and other Find My accessories.

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