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Siri to Get Deep Learning Based Speech Improvements in iOS 11, Apple Reveals

Siri to Get Deep Learning-Based Speech Improvements in iOS 11, Apple Reveals

By Tasneem Akolawala | Updated: 25 August 2017 18:20 IST

Highlights

Apple has confirmed that the voice of Siri will be more natural
It has published a white-paper to detail how it managed to achieve it
Siri wil also be able to translate in a few languages with iOS 11

iOS 11 is set to release for eligible devices alongside the new iPhone models next month, and it is expected to bring a host of new features and improvements with it. This includes a new Control Center, App Store redesign, improvements to Apple Maps, and a smarter Siri assistant. Now, Apple has confirmed that Siri will not only get smarter, but will also ditch the robotic voice, to speak in a more human-like voice, with the introduction of iOS 11.

Apple has published a whole white-paper on how it managed to achieve this, and it took many engineers and a lot of deep learning algorithm to achieve the new Siri Voice. Apple claims, that with iOS 11, Siri voices are more natural, smoother, and even have more personality.

"Starting in iOS 10 and continuing with new features in iOS 11, we base Siri voices on deep learning. The resulting voices are more natural, smoother, and allow Siri's personality to shine through," Apple said.

The paper at length elaborates on the process in which this was achieved, and while developers may consider it a treasure trove, end users can enjoy the difference by listening to sound clips published at the end of Table 1 in the whitepaper.

With iOS 11, Siri will now be able to translate phrases to Spanish, French, Italian, Mandarin, and German. And it won't just speak the translation but display it on your device too. In beta, it only works with American English and not British or Indian English language options, but maybe the final version may have that enabled.

Siri is also getting improved context sensitivity so if someone in Messages asks "Where are you?", it can offer up your location as a keyboard suggestion There's a new visual interface too, and more on Siri will be unveiled at the event largely rumoured to be held on September 12.

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