iOS 14.5 Adds More Voices to Siri

Siri’s voice may be iconic due to its recognizability, but what’s good for memes may be annoying in real life. It may change, though, when iOS and iPadOS 14.5 arrive. Among other features, this update brings new voices for Siri.

While the today’s Siri mostly speaks in a female voice, new users setting up their iPhones (and old ones after updating as well) may change their settings and choose another voice. It’s available in most languages supported by Siri. In, for example, American version Siri now has two female and two male voices to choose from.

To access the voices, wait until the update rolls out and install it. If you already have the latest beta, go to Settings – Siri & Search and tap Choose Voice. You can return to it and select another voice any moment you want. It’s not known yet whether Siri will be available in more languages and whether this diversity will be supported for them.

The reason for this is probably the wish to oppose gender-based stereotypes. As a recent UN report has it, assistants speaking in female voices reinforce the most harmful views, which Apple tries to avoid after being accused of using harmful perception of women as things users can treat the way they can. Okay, now, if you want to be a superhero, you can choose between Jarvis and Moneypenny.