In more ways than one, iOS 15.4 is a huge update with several notable features including Face ID with a mask, the ability to restore a bricked Apple Watch using an iPhone, and a nifty way to add notes to iCloud Keychain entries. Another equally impressive feature is the option to get gender-neutral Siri Voice on iPhone and iPad. If you haven’t yet tried this long-awaited feature, let me help you set the gender-neutral Siri Voice on your iOS or iPadOS device.
Before we discuss the steps to follow in order to enable gender-neutral Siri voice, let’s take a look at the prevalence of female-sounding voices for voice assistants, the criticism faced by Apple and others, and why gender-neutral voices are important.
- Gender-Biased Voice and Long CriticismWhat Makes Gender-Neutral Siri Voice So Important?Set Up and Use Gender-Neutral Siri Voice on iOS and iPadOSSet Up and Use Gender-Neutral Siri Voice on macOS Monterey
Gender-Biased Voice and Long Criticism
Apple has faced a lot of criticism for using female voices as the default for Siri. While some have accused Apple of being gender-biased, others have called Apple rigid asserting that the Cupertino-based company believes that women are subservient, polite, and are here to assist other people.
What Makes Gender-Neutral Siri Voice So Important?
In terms of functionality, the gender-neutral voice works just like any other Siri voice – except for the fact that it is here to change the way people look at Apple’s voice assistant.
Whether you want Siri to use a voice that is neither female nor male or just wish to make the virtual sound neutral, this all-new Siri voice is for you.
To get started, open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad running iOS 15.4/iPadOS 15.4 or later. After that, scroll down and choose Siri & Search.
Now, tap Siri Voice and then ensure that American is selected as the voice variety.
Finally, choose Voice 5.
Keep in mind that it may take a few minutes for your device to download the high-quality audio samples.
- If you are currently using mobile data on your device, you may get a popup saying something like, “Use Mobile Data? This voice requires a 50 MB download. It is recommended that you connect to Wi-Fi.”If you want to use your mobile data to download the new Siri voice, tap Use Mobile Data in the popup.
Set Up and Use Gender-Neutral Siri Voice on macOS Monterey
To get the new Siri voice, ensure that your Mac is running macOS 12.3 or later.
Now, select “Siri”.
Next, click the drop-down menu next to Voice Variety and choose American. After that, select Voice 5 and you are all set!
