Apple’s Siri is getting a new ‘gender-neutral’ VOICE called Quinn in the next iOS update 

While Siri is best known for its original, female voice, users will soon be able to opt for a new ‘gender-neutral’ voice, called Quinn.

Apple is launching the new voice in its next iOS update, which was released to developers this week.

The tech giant has confirmed that the new voice was recorded by a member of the LGBTQ+ community, but did not offer any further details.

‘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 told Axios. 

While the new voice is simply called ‘Voice 5’ on the iPhone, its filename refers to the voice as Quinn, according to iOS developer Steve Moser.

When the new iOS 15.4 rolls out, users opting for an American Siri will have a choice of five voices for their smart assistant.

A video posted to Twitter by The Verge reporter Jon Porter demonstrates the various voices in action.

Voices 1 and 3 are low-pitched male voices, while Voices 2 and 4 are more high-pitched female voices.

Meanwhile, the new Voice 5 is not distinctly male or female.

It comes just under a year after Apple stopped defaulting to its original female voice, and launched two new options.

‘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,’ Apple added. 

While Apple is remaining tight-lipped on the rollout date for iOS 15.4, rumours suggest that it could be widely available next month.

The update will also include the ability to unlock your iPhone while wearing a face mask – a feature users have been calling for amid the pandemic. 

However, a CNN reporter tried out the new Face ID feature with several different masks and found the experience ‘inconsistent.’ 

Apple said that because Face ID with a mask uses less biometric information, there will be times when a user is not as easily recognized as when their full face is visible and a user may therefore need to enter their passcode.  

While Apple is remaining tight-lipped on the rollout date for iOS 15.4, rumours suggest that it could be widely available next month

‘Despite unlocking the device while incognito in sunglasses and a hat on my first try, repeating this feat was also hit or miss,’ wrote CNN’s Samantha Murphy Kelly. 

‘Apple later told me the software update is intended to work with eyeglasses but can work with sunglasses in certain situations, when Face ID can gather enough information to identify a user,’ she added. 

‘It is, however, designed to work with a hat. The pairing of both worked about half of the time.’