Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2011/11/28/iphone_4s_siri_doesnt_recognise_indian_accents/
Apple killer app Siri struggles with Indian regional accents
Scottish can also scotch iPhone voice assistance
Posted in Software, 28th November 2011 15:15 GMT
Apple's voice-recognition app Siri – the big new feature on the iPhone 4S – doesn't work in India because it doesn't recognise all regional accents in the country, reports website DailyBhaskar.com.
The iPhone 4S launched in India last night and at midnight there were queues of keen buyers around the Bangalore Apple store. But turns out the distinguishing feature of the new phone doesn't always work very well for its Indian owners.
Siri is the voice-activated assistant that has turned tech commenters all gooey with its intelligent multi-app responses to spoken questions.
Siri – still in beta – has built-in support for American, British and Australian accented English, but has problems recognising commands in broken English or, it seems, heavily accented English, including certain regional brogues in Scotland, and some parts of India. However, as many Indian commentators have pointed out, accents vary quite dramatically throughout the country, so results do vary. Many Indian 4S owners have reported having no problems getting Siri to understand them.
Siri currently supports three English accents, French as spoken in France and German.
In 2012, Siri will support additional languages, including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian, and Spanish. ®