APPLE is getting rid of Siri’s original default voice and bringing in two new ones.
The default Siri has a female voice but iOS 14.5 could change this for English speakers all over the world.
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According to TechCrunch, the sound of the AI assistant will be changed on iPad, iPhone and HomePod when iOS 14.5 comes out.
The beta version of iOS 14.5 is out now but the standard version isn’t expected to roll out publicly until later this month.
It will mean people setting up a device will be asked to choose their preferred Siri voice.
Right now, Siri is on a default female setting but you can go into Settings and change this if you wish.
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Apple wants the new voices to promote diversity and inclusion.
It may want to step away from people associating genders with its AI assistant.
Apple is said to have sourced new talent for the Siri voices and has worked to make them sound more natural.
The company said in a statement: “We’re excited to introduce two new Siri voices for English speakers and the option for Siri users to select the voice they want when they set up their device.
“This is a continuation of Apple’s long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion, and products and services that are designed to better reflect the diversity of the world we live in.”
Why is Siri called Siri?
Here’s the origin story of Apple’s AI assistant…
- Although the virtual Siri assistant lives on every iPhone, it wasn’t actually created by Apple.
- It was actually a spin-off project from the SRI International Artificial Intelligence Center.
- The tech was eventually bought up by Apple for the iPhone, but Apple had no say over the name.
- No one has ever revealed who came up with Siri, but we do know why it was chosen.
- Siri co-creator Adam Cheyer said the name Siri was picked because it’s “easy to remember, short to type, comfortable to pronounce, and a not-too-common human name”.
- Writing in Forbes, he said: “Once Siri became the leading candidate, everyone on the team had their own favourite explanation of the meaning.
- “Dag Kittlaus, our Norwegian-American CEO, once considered using Siri as the name of his child and liked the Norse meaning ‘beautiful woman who leads you to victory’.
- “For me, Siri, which means ‘secret’ in Swahili, was a tip of the hat to our pre-named days when we began as stealth-company.com.
- “I also liked the fact that it was the reverse of Iris, a software system I helped build as part of the CALO project which Siri was spun out of.
- “Some liked the resemblance to SRI, which was the research institute that ran the CALO project.”
- In any case, no one at the team expected Apple to actually keep the name – but Siri lived on.
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In other news, Instagram has launched a new feature called ‘Remix’ that is very similar to TikTok Duets.
The next iPhone will revive a beloved feature and sport a brand new look.
And, Samsung has launched a “try before you buy” scheme for its most expensive mobiles to date.
How often do you use Siri? Let us know in the comments…
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
