We all have that friend who insists on flooding our phone with three-minute voice notes.
But the days of digging out your headphones to listen to these lengthy messages will soon be a thing of the past, thanks to Apple’s upcoming iPhone update.
Apple has confirmed a new feature in the iOS 17 update that will automatically transcribe voice notes and voicemails.
The tech giant revealed the feature at this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) and said it will be availble in iOS 17, which is coming to iPhones this September.
The new feature automatically converts incoming voice messages to text as they’re being spoken by the sender.
We all have that friend who insists on flooding our phone with three-minute voice notes. But the days of digging out your headphones to listen to these lengthy messages will soon be a thing of the past, thanks to Apple’s upcoming iOS update
While iPhone users will have to wait months to get their hands on the feature, many have taken to social media to express their excitement, with some calling the update ‘every introvert’s dream’
Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, said the new iOS features would make the iPhone ‘more personal and intuitive by deeply considering the features we all rely on every day.’
Live Voicemail could be great news for those with no time to spare, as the live transcription allows you to read incoming messages without the distraction of picking up the phone.
This could also be a big help to users who might be nervous about answering calls from an unknown number, as the update allows users to accept the call after reading the voice-message.
‘A call comes in from an unknown number, it’s hard to know whether it’s one you want to pick up,’ an announcement video played at WWDC explains.
‘Now, when someone calls you and leaves a message, you’ll see a live transcription in real time as they speak. If it’s something you want to address right away, pick up the call and talk to them right then and there.’
For extra security against scammers and spam, Apple also says that calls identified as spam won’t even appear on Live Voicemail and will instead be ‘instantly declined’.
Likewise, while some might have concerns about Apple storing transcripts of their private conversations, the company insists that Live Voicemail transcription will be handled ‘on-device’ and will remain ‘entirely private’.
This is made possible through Apple’s Neural Engine; a specialist type of chip called a ‘deep learning processor’ specifically dedicated to AI.
Apple has included Neural Engine chips in all iPhones since the iPhone X, and these provide the computing power behind Memoji, Face ID, and the newly unveiled Live Voicemail.
While iPhone users will have to wait months to get their hands on the feature, many have taken to social media to express their excitement, with some calling the update ‘every introvert’s dream.’
‘Live Voicemail is the feature the nosy introverts have been waiting for’, one Twitter user wrote. ‘Yes I wanna know what the person is saying but no, I will not pick up a phone call’.
Other social media commenters were less impressed however, with the feature being mocked for its similarity to previous Android features and the ’90’s answering machine’.
‘I love this feature. I know a bunch of Android users will say they’ve had this for a while…’ one iPhone user tweeted.
‘Apple just announced something called live voicemail,’ another Twitter user joked. ‘Congratulations Apple on recreating “the 90s answering machine”.
The reveal came as part of raft of big new features for the iOS 17 release, speculated to be arriving in September 2023 to coincide with the release of the iPhone 15.
These features include a new standby mode for the iPhone, and the option to leave voice and video messages in FaceTime.
Users can also expect significant updates to the sticker function, with new emoji stickers and the ability to create Live Stickers by lifting subjects from photos.
