The aptly named “Personal Voice” feature puts artificial intelligence (AI) at the service of personalization on Apple iPhone smartphones running iOS 17. It will do so by learning your voice, timbre, and general cadence, to read incoming messages and text entered in the “natural” voice of the user.
iOS 17 will reach the iPhone models chosen for the update starting next September as a new version of the operating system for these mobiles. The update brings great new features to communication apps and will make AirDrop even more streamlined and easy to use.
iOS 17 improves communication with news for various apps
Also, in iOS 17, we have new features that are great for those who do a lot of typing on iPhones, namely the Journal app and the Standby feature. Also, adding to this range of excellent features for the iPhone, we have incredible new features that come with iOS 17, already available in the latest beta version as the personal voice or Personal Voice.
This is an accessibility feature, ideal for users with hearing difficulties or deficiencies who will find this new feature very useful in iOS 17. In short, they will be able to use a synthesized version of their voice thanks to AI.
Personal Voice is the new (powerful) accessibility feature in iOS 17
The feature allows the user to hear what they typed being played back with their voice. It is an artificial synthesis of your voice and will allow you to listen to what you have written, or so that friends and/or family members can listen to a particular message in the voice of the person who sent it.
For example, we can listen to a message sent by the Father, the Mother or the brother being reproduced in his own voice. According to Apple, this accessibility feature was created with users with a vocal or verbal impediment in mind.
In particular, the feature can help users who have recently been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), as well as other diseases that cause a progressive degeneration of the vocal ability (to speak).
Developers can start testing the new “Personal Voice” feature from now on. Also, users can already find it in iOS 17 Beta under Accessibility – Personal Voices.
How to create a personal voice in iOS 17
The process is time consuming and can take up to 1 hour. In addition, it implies making several recordings in a quiet place, with as little outside noise as possible or echo.
Apple guides users through the recording process, prompting them to speak in a natural voice and at a consistent volume so it can more effectively map your timbre and record normal speech.
That said, different phrases will be displayed on the screen that they must read, calmly and naturally, for the device to record the voice. Later, after processing and creating the voice profile, the functionality will be available in a number of places, from FaceTime to iMessage.