If you have ever typed a four-letter expletive word on your iPhone and seen it replaced by a duck emoji, you might be happy to hear that Apple is changing its autocorrect feature. The company announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday that its upcoming iOS 17 software will use a new machine learning technology to make autocorrect more accurate and personalized. And yes, it won't autocorrect *that* word anymore.
The new technology, called a transformer language model, will learn from your typing habits and preferences over time and predict which words or phrases you might use next. It will also correct more grammatical errors and suggest words or sentences as you type, making it faster and easier to enter text (like how Google does with its productivity apps). You can also use voice dictation, which will be more accurate with a new speech recognition model.
Apple says the new autocorrect will “improve the experience every time you type”. The update is expected to roll out later this year with other iOS 17 features.