Apple Features Gives Voice to Disabilities in New Short Film

Ahead of International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, Apple has released a new short film titled "The Lost Voice" that showcases the company's new speech accessibility features, Personal Voice and Live Speech.

The film tells the story of a young girl searching for her pink, floppy-eared creature's missing voice. Narrated by Dr Tristram Ingham, a New Zealand physician and disability advocate who has facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), the entire story is read aloud using Ingham's Personal Voice - a voiceprint of Ingham's own speech generated by his iPhone through machine learning.

Personal Voice, launched with iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma this fall, allows those at risk of speech loss to preserve their voice even if they lose the ability to speak physically. By recording 150 text prompts, Apple is able to recreate a user's voice through neural networks entirely on-device, maintaining privacy.

Live Speech offers an alternative for those unable to speak, type or use physical controls by allowing text to be read aloud in a user's Personal Voice or other system voice. The features provide greater accessibility and independence.

For Ingham, who began wheelchair usage in 2013 and has noticed changes in his voice, Personal Voice ensures he can continue to communicate as himself through the evolving stages of his condition. He was surprised by how natural it sounded upon creation.

"It was really straightforward, I was quite relieved," Ingham says, remarking on the voice coming from his iPhone: "I'm really pleased to hear it in my voice with my style of speaking, rather than an American voice, or an Australian voice or a U.K. voice."

Directed by Taika Waititi and filmed across New Zealand, "The Lost Voice" brings an enchanting story to life while spotlighting Apple's ongoing efforts to advance speech technology and break down barriers faced by many worldwide.