Recently, Apple announced its plans to roll out a new iPhone and iPad feature on devices that would let users clone their voices. The service is called Personal Voice and allows anyone to create a synthesized voice that sounds like them. All it takes is a user to read through text prompts for 15 minutes.
Apple’s Personal Voice
Apple’s app creates a sample of the user’s voice! It is now available on the public beta for iOS 17, which is the next software update for Apple, officially due in September. An Apple press release in May pointed out how Personal Voice would work and announced a new Live Speech function that allows users to type what they want the device to recreate out loud. The company has said this function was designed to support the millions of people who have lost their speech over time or are unable to speak.
The press release also stated that the users can create a Personal Voice by reading a randomized set of text prompts for 15 minutes on iPhone or iPad. This speech accessibility feature applies on-device machine learning and is meant to keep user information secure and private. It integrates seamlessly with Live Speech, which can use Personal Voice to connect with others.
People Can Store Their Voice
Apparently, Personal Voice will be a simple and secure way to create a voice that sounds like the user of the device and will be quite useful to people at risk of losing their speech. This could include people with a recent diagnosis of ALS or other conditions that affect their speaking ability. Apple CEO Tim Cook made a statement that people at Apple have always believed that the best technology is built for everyone.
Tim Cook shared that people at the company were excited to share new features that build on the long history of the company making technology accessible to everyone and giving them the power to communicate, create, and do what they love.
Split Reactions
Naturally, the internet had split reactions to the new Personal Voice features. Some responded to the news on Twitter, writing that the features feel creepy — while others were already into the idea and would even try out the feature, noting that it was pretty cool.
Someone else stated that the new app looked interesting and was a good accessibility tool, considering how it allowed people to store their voices. It will definitely be useful for people that are unable or have issues speaking.
DrLupo Has Announced He Will Stream Exclusively on YouTube
Reportedly, DrLupo had signed an exclusive multi-million dollar deal with Twitch back in 2019. Two years later, he announced that he will now stream exclusively on YouTube. The 34-year-old American is known for playing Destiny, Fortnite, Escape from Tarkov, and Among Us and is number 26th on the list of streamers with most followers on Twitch with his 4.5 million.
Twitch Said They Wished DrLupo Nothing But the Best
After DrLupo made his glossy promotional video to announce his transition to YouTube, Twitch said they wished him nothing but the best in everything that is next for him. The announcement video was complete with orchestral music and computer graphics. Like other popular Twitch streamers, DrLupo has been uploading archives of his highlight reels and live broadcasts to YouTube, where he enjoys some 1.75 million subscribers. Now, he is set to stream there exclusively.
Platform Switching Hides Its Dangers for DrLupo and Other Streamers
Changing platforms or games is a dangerous move for any streamer because followers are often more attached to those rather than the person. Because he is transitioning to a smaller platform, DrLupo could experience a large loss of followers. A good example of this is the million-dollar exclusive deal Tyler “Ninja” Blevins signed with Microsoft’s streaming service Mixer in 2019. After losing followers, Ninja started streaming on YouTube Gaming and returned to Twitch, together with another Microsoft streamer – Shroud.
Switching platforms for big exclusive deals is nothing new among top streamers. YouTube has poached three top gamers from Twitch in the past and got PewDiePie to sign a live-streaming deal. After Microsoft announced they were shutting down Mixer, they encouraged its partners to sign with Facebook Gaming. However, in the live streaming space, Facebook Gaming and YouTube Gaming are rather small next to the dominating, Amazon-owned Twitch.
Currently, Twitch has around 70% of the total hours watched during 2021, and YouTube Gaming comes second with some 15%. Facebook Gaming is third with 12%.