Apple tests gender-neutral Siri option voiced by LGBTQ+ person

Apple is currently testing a new Siri that would be less gendered and voiced by a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

The tech giant is reportedly trialling the new aspect of the virtual assistant as part of the beta version of iOS 15.4, which was released on 22 February.

Although details remain scarce, Axios reported that Apple confirmed that the the new Siri is voiced by a queer person.

Its voice is set to be less stereotypically male or female sounding in a bid to remove the gendered aspect of Siri, should this be an option users select on their products.

According to Steve Moser, a contributing writer at Mac Rumours and iOS developer, the new option is currently logged under the filename of ‘Quinn’ – meaning this could be the name users interact with if the option is launched.

iOS 15.4 Beta 4 changes 🧵: Apple adds a 5th American Siri voice with filename ‘Quinn’ pic.twitter.com/HFQZV1oF0I

— Steve Moser (@SteveMoser) February 22, 2022

It comes amid efforts from Apple to add more diversity to its software, which has recently seen a wider array of emojis released and last year stopped making Siri a female voice by default.

In a statement to the aforementioned outlet, Apple said: “We’re excited to introduce a new Siri voice for English speakers, giving users more options to choose a voice that speaks to them.

“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 new voice is expected to be rolled out to the general public as part of a software update in the coming weeks and months.

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