The last time English for Siri received new voices was in iOS 14.5, and there were one new male and one new female choice, bringing the total number of available choices to four. In the iOS 15.4 update, we’re getting the fifth one, and it might work better as a gender-neutral sweet spot between low male voices and high female voices.
Not surprisingly, Apple is including a gender-neutral Siri voice in iOS 15.4. After all, it continues to update its emoji database with gender-neutral options and other representations for transgender, non-binary, LGBTQ, and other gender groups. The new gender-neutral American voice of Siri is another move by Apple to eliminate the unfair gender stereotypes that digital assistants have historically been limited to.
To hear and use the new voice on your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings -> Siri & Search -> Siri Voice. Then make sure “American”is selected in the “Variety”section, and “Voice 5″is selected under the “Voice”heading. If you haven’t updated to iOS 15.4, which is currently in beta, you can listen to the new voice in the video below.
The name of the new gender-neutral Siri voice is “Quinn,”which developer Steve Mosser discovered in the iOS 15.4 beta code. Voice names are not displayed in the iOS interface itself, only in the voice file names themselves.
According to TechCrunch, Quinn is “a given name of Irish origin… a well-known gender-neutral name that has been used for both boys and girls over the years.”