Popular voice assistant Siri is getting an additional American voice in the latest beta version of iOS 15.4. The voice, which Apple’s User Interface simply refers to as ‘Voice 5’ is reportedly called ‘Quinn’.
According to an online publication Axios, the voice sounds gender-neutral, meaning users will not be to identify whether it is a male or females voice. Apple has confirmed that the voice was recorded by a member of the LGBTQ+ community, although it did not divulge any details on gender and identity.
“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.
“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 voice comes a little over a year after Apple added its last two American Siri voices and ceased using a female-sounding voice by default. The tech giant noted at the time that the voices were recorded by Black performers as part of the company’s “long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion.”
Here’s what Siri sounds like with the new voice.
A quick comparison of Siri’s new voice with the existing four options pic.twitter.com/A7uLQeLvQw
— jon.porter (@JonPorty) February 23, 2022
The iOS 15.4 beta also features a new anti-stalking privacy message while setting up AirTags. Apple is expected to announce the release date of the software by March.
