Apple’s Siri Pace and Expressivity Sliders Arrive in iOS 27 Beta 3

Apple enabled Siri’s Pace and Expressivity sliders in iOS 27 beta 3 on Monday, July 6, 2026, turning on two controls that had been sitting dormant under “Coming soon” labels in the first two developer builds. The two sliders adjust how fast Siri speaks and how much human-like emotion its voice carries, per TechCrunch’s reporting on the same day. Both arrive as part of the Siri AI overhaul Apple introduced in June.

The build activates a continuous audio preview that plays common phrases like “You have one new message” as testers drag either slider, per 9to5Mac. The controls sit inside Settings > Siri > Voice, reachable from the standalone Siri app Apple introduced at WWDC 26, and shape narration in Apple Maps and Safari too. Apple previewed Pace and Expressivity at WWDC 26, after OpenAI shipped warmth and enthusiasm controls for ChatGPT in December 2025.

The Two Sliders Change How Siri Sounds

Pace and Expressivity are independent sliders, each offering five adjustment levels for the two currently available voices. Pace shifts the tempo of Siri’s voice up or down, from slow and deliberate at one end to faster at the other. Expressivity changes how much human-like emotion lands in the same words, ranging from flat and neutral to more theatrical delivery. TechCrunch reported the change on July 6, 2026, the same day Apple pushed the build to developers.

The controls live under Settings > Siri > Voice, where testers can switch between voices with different accents before fine-tuning each slider. As soon as a tester starts dragging either control, Siri plays a continuous audio sample that updates in real time, per 9to5Mac. The assistant practices saying common things like “You have one new message” so users can hear the difference, TechCrunch reports. Once the balance feels right, a checkmark in the top-right corner saves the selection. The same settings also shape how Siri narrates within Apple Maps and Safari.

The two sliders are independent, so a tester can hold the pace fast and the tone calm, or stretch the speech out and crank up the emotion. Apple’s design treats pace and tone as separate surfaces, not as one combined preset. The setup also keeps the rest of the voice roster intact: testers can still pick male or female voices with different accents.

• Pace slider shifts speech tempo, from slow and deliberate to fast.
• Expressivity slider adjusts emotion, from flat and neutral to theatrical.
• Each slider offers five adjustment levels for the two currently available voices.
• Live preview plays a continuous audio sample as the user drags either control.
• Saved selections also shape Siri narration in Apple Maps and Safari.

Apple’s Sliders Against ChatGPT’s Voice Settings

ChatGPT shipped warmth and enthusiasm toggles in December 2025, per TechCrunch’s reporting, alongside base style presets that let users shape its tone across Friendly, Professional, Candid, and Quirky. Apple’s Pace and Expressivity sliders are a narrower answer to the same question. Apple previewed the controls at WWDC 26 in June 2026 and enabled them in iOS 27 beta 3 on July 6, 2026. OpenAI’s December 2025 toggles went live before Apple announced its sliders at WWDC.

The two systems diverge in scope as well as timing. ChatGPT’s settings let users adjust how ChatGPT speaks and how it presents information, including the use of headers, lists, and emoji frequency, per TechCrunch’s reporting. Apple has shown no equivalent for text formatting inside Siri, and the company’s release notes for iOS 27 beta 3 do not mention the new sliders at all. Siri offers different accents and male or female voices; Apple has not announced any Siri personality presets that would compete with ChatGPT’s Friendly or Candid modes. The narrow scope on Apple’s side reflects a hardware limit: the expressive voices run on-device, restricted to a specific set of newer devices.

The reference point matters because voice customization has become a category in itself. OpenAI’s lead lets users shape warmth and enthusiasm as two independent toggles, an option Apple has not matched. Apple’s two sliders cover only how Siri sounds, not how it formats its written replies. The architecture is the other contrast: OpenAI shipped its voice controls on top of an existing preset system, while Apple entered the category with two narrow sliders, per TechCrunch’s reporting.

The Hardware Gate Around Expressive Voices

The Pace and Expressivity sliders only land on hardware Apple deems capable of running the new Siri AI. The full Siri AI rollout requires an iPhone 16 or later, an iPhone 15 Pro, or an iPhone 15 Pro Max, per Apple’s June 8, 2026 newsroom release on Siri AI. The expressive voice model itself is restricted further still, to iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPad models with M4 or later and at least 12GB of unified memory, Mac models with M3 or later and at least 12GB of unified memory, and Apple Vision Pro (M5). Older iPhones and iPads, including the base iPhone 15, get none of the new voice work regardless of which iOS build they install. The same release lays out the full hardware compatibility list, including iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and Apple Vision Pros.

The memory floor is the dividing line. iPads and Macs that don’t carry at least 12GB of unified memory will still get the broader Siri AI but not the expressive voice models, per Apple’s June 8, 2026 release. That leaves older M-series devices with 8GB of RAM running a less emotive version of Siri. The rule is conservative, in part because the expressive voices run on-device rather than in the cloud.

Region is another gate on top of hardware. Apple told WWDC 26 attendees that Siri AI will not ship to the European Union at launch, citing regulatory requirements there. China is absent from the launch list for the same reason.

• iPhone Air
• iPhone 17 Pro
• iPhone 17 Pro Max
• iPad models with M4 or later and at least 12GB of unified memory
• Mac models with M3 or later and at least 12GB of unified memory
• Apple Vision Pro (M5)

What Else Comes With the Siri Reboot

The sliders are a small surface on a much larger rebuild. Apple introduced Siri AI at WWDC 26 in June as a more conversational and context-aware assistant built on a new generation of Apple Intelligence, with a dedicated Siri app for revisiting conversations across devices. The voice work is one visible piece of a broader package that includes Visual Intelligence inside the Camera app, AI-powered writing tools, and a contextual search bar that expands from the iPhone’s Dynamic Island, per a breakdown of every Siri change in iOS 27. Testers can open that standalone Siri app on iPhone, iPad, or Mac, or trigger it by swiping down from the Dynamic Island or tapping the side button, per the broader Apple Intelligence release.

The underlying architecture is unusual. Apple’s June 8, 2026 release says Siri AI processes requests on-device when possible, with the rest handled through Private Cloud Compute.

“We’re deeply disappointed that our EU users won’t have Siri AI on iPhone or iPad when we share our new software releases later this year.”

Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, said that in the full EU delay release and reasoning posted the same day. The release describes the conflict: regulators did not accept any of Apple’s proposed solutions to bring Siri AI to the bloc while safely supporting other virtual assistants. The European Commission’s view, per Apple, is that the DMA requires any AI system to have nearly unlimited access to a user’s device, including the ability to read and send messages, access files, make purchases, and execute actions across any app. Apple designed an intermediary called Trusted System Agent to satisfy both sides and proposed an 18-month gradual rollout, but the Commission rejected it. Brussels tells a different story in its account of the DMA fight.

The privacy framing runs through Apple’s case. Apple’s June 8, 2026 Siri AI launch release calls the assistant “private by design and deeply integrated across Apple’s platforms using on-device processing and Private Cloud Compute.” Outside the United States, the EU and China are absent from the Siri AI launch list, with EU users able to access Siri AI only on macOS 27 and visionOS 27, and EU developers blocked from testing or using the new Siri AI features on iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and watchOS 27. China’s absence is tied to “regulatory requirements,” per the same release.

Beta 3 Has Its Own Rough Edges

iOS 27 beta 3 has not been a smooth ride for every tester. TechCrunch notes that some users on X reported losing access to the new Siri after installing the build, a regression that pulls the assistant offline just as Apple tries to expand its reach. Others have seen their phones re-enter a data-indexing step that Apple describes as the first move in optimizing Siri AI for search. The status text inside Settings reportedly reads “Optimizing Search and Siri” while the indexing runs. Beta software routinely breaks, and the absence of any release note on Pace and Expressivity has left coverage to fill the gap itself.

A separate Siri bug affects CarPlay. Apple’s release notes for iOS 27 beta 3 list an issue where the assistant responds “notably slower than expected” under high device temperatures and poor network conditions. The Pace and Expressivity sliders do not appear anywhere in those same release notes.

Camera users also reportedly need to switch to the revamped Siri to use Siri Mode in Camera, a small friction point for early adopters. The two sliders are reachable from the standalone Siri app Apple introduced at WWDC 26 in June. Settings live under Settings > Siri > Voice, where the Pace and Expressivity sliders now sit in their active state. The minor Reminders app icon update that ships with iOS 27 beta 3 has drawn more coverage than the voice controls in some places.

The Path to the Fall Release

iOS 27 beta 3 is the third developer build, with two earlier releases leaving the sliders disabled. Apple previewed the wider Siri AI package at WWDC 26 on June 8, 2026, and plans a public beta through the Apple Beta Software Program next month. The full release is set for this fall, alongside Apple’s usual iPhone launch window, per the same release. The Pace and Expressivity sliders will be the most user-visible piece of the rebuild when general users get their hands on it. EU users will get Siri AI only on macOS 27 and visionOS 27 at launch.

Apple’s June 8, 2026 release lays out the path from developer beta to general availability. The voice controls and the broader Siri AI package will arrive in the same wave, with EU users facing a separate path forward and Chinese users waiting on regulatory resolution. Inside the United States, the new controls land first on the iPhones, iPads, and Macs that meet Apple’s hardware gate.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I change Siri’s pace and expressivity in iOS 27 beta 3?

Open the standalone Siri app or go to Settings > Siri > Voice on a supported device running iOS 27 beta 3. Drag the Pace slider to change how fast Siri speaks and the Expressivity slider to change how much emotion the voice carries, then tap the checkmark in the top-right corner to save. As you drag, Siri plays a continuous audio sample so you can hear the difference in real time, per 9to5Mac.

Which iPhones support the new Siri voice controls?

The full Siri AI rollout requires an iPhone 16 or later, an iPhone 15 Pro, or an iPhone 15 Pro Max, per Apple’s June 8, 2026 newsroom release on Siri AI. The Pace and Expressivity sliders themselves are restricted further to iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPad models with M4 or later and at least 12GB of unified memory, Mac models with M3 or later and at least 12GB, and Apple Vision Pro (M5). Older iPhones, including the base iPhone 15, do not get the new voice work.

Will Siri AI be available in the EU?

Not at launch. Apple said on June 8, 2026 that Siri AI will not ship to the European Union with the release of iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, citing EU demands that Apple says would compromise user privacy. EU users will be able to access Siri AI on macOS 27 and visionOS 27, but not on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. Apple has not published a timeline for EU availability.

Can Siri sound warmer or more enthusiastic like ChatGPT?

Siri’s Expressivity slider shifts how much emotion lands in the assistant’s voice, which gets partway to ChatGPT’s warmth and enthusiasm controls. ChatGPT separates warmth and enthusiasm into two independent toggles, an option Apple has not matched. ChatGPT also offers base style presets including Friendly, Professional, Candid, and Quirky, while Siri currently offers different accents and male or female voices instead, per TechCrunch’s reporting.

When will the final iOS 27 release ship?

Apple previewed iOS 27 at WWDC 26 in June 2026 and pushed the third developer beta on July 6, 2026. The full release is set for this fall, alongside Apple’s usual iPhone launch window, per Apple’s June 8, 2026 newsroom release on the wider unveiling. A public beta will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program next month.