Apple Training Siri to Better Understand People With Atypical Speech
Apple is researching how to improve Siri to better understand people who talk with a stutter, according to new details shared by The Wall Street Journal in a piece on how companies train voice assistants to handle atypical speech.
Apple has built a bank of 28,000 audio clips from podcasts featuring people who stutter, which could be used to train Siri. The data that Apple has collected will improve voice recognition systems for atypical speech patterns, according to an Apple spokesperson.
Along with improving how Siri understands people with atypical speech patterns, Apple has also implemented a Hold to Talk feature for Siri that allows users to control how long they want Siri to listen for. This prevents Siri from interrupting users with a stutter before they're finished speaking.
Siri can also be used without voice all together, through a Type to Siri feature that was first introduced in iOS 11.
Apple plans to outline its work to improve Siri in a research paper set to be published this week, which will provide more details on the company's efforts.
Google and Amazon are also working to train Google Assistant and Alexa to better understand all users, including those who have trouble using their voices. Google is collecting atypical speech data, and Amazon in December launched the Alexa Fund to let people who have speech impairments train an algorithm to recognize their unique vocal patterns.
Popular Stories
Apple today introduced its first two physical products of 2026: a second-generation AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided Solo Loop for the Apple Watch.
Read our coverage of each announcement to learn more:Apple Unveils New AirTag With Longer Range, Louder Speaker, and More
Apple Introduces New Black Unity Apple Watch BandBoth the new AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided...
Alongside iOS 26.2.1, Apple today released an updated version of iOS 12 for devices that are still running that operating system update, eight years after the software was first released.
iOS 12.5.8 is available for the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 6, meaning Apple is continuing to support these devices for 13 and 12 years after launch, respectively. The iPhone 5s came out in September 2013,...
Update: Apple Creator Studio is now available.
Apple Creator Studio launches this Wednesday, January 28. The all-in-one subscription provides access to the Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage apps, with U.S. pricing set at $12.99 per month or $129 per year.
A subscription to Apple Creator Studio also unlocks "intelligent features" and "premium...
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.
Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014.
Q.ai has...
Apple today introduced the second-generation AirTag, with key features including longer range for tracking items and a louder speaker.
For those who are not familiar, the AirTag is a small accessory that you can attach to your backpack, keys, or other items. Then, you can track the location of those items in the Find My app on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and iCloud.com.
The new...
