Apple is working on an update to the Siri experience that would no longer require the “Hey Siri” trigger phrase, which is currently required to summon the virtual assistant without touching a device. A good idea that raises questions about privacy.
Just say “Siri”
In his latest “Power On” newsletter, Mark Gurman reports that Apple is working on a way to allow Siri to understand phrases and commands without having to use the trigger phrase, but simply by saying “Siri.” The American journalist says the change is expected to roll out sometime next year with iOS 17 or in 2024 with an OS update.
The company is working on an initiative to remove the “Hey Siri” trigger phrase so the user only has to say “Siri” – along with a command. While this change may seem trivial, it is a technical challenge that requires significant AI training and underlying engineering work.The complexity lies in the fact that Siri is able to understand the singular expression “Siri” in multiple different accents and dialects. Having two words – “Hey Siri” – increases the likelihood that the system will pick up the signal correctly.
If successful, switching from “Hey Siri” to “Siri” would catch up with Amazon’s Alexa. which asks users to simply say “Alexa”. Google, on the other hand, requires saying “OK Google” or “Hey Google”, but tries to allow users to make follow-up requests without repeating the wake word.
By removing the “Say” in “Say Siri”, Apple would also, in turn, speed up requests and responses. The company recently made a few other changes to Siri, including redesigning the Apple TV interface as part of tvOS 16.1.
Before ending its own voice assistant, Cortana, Microsoft made a similar change. In 2018, this company changed its trigger from “Hey Cortana” to just “Cortana” on smart speakers.
Let’s admit that it would be much nicer to just say “Siri” before each request to the Apple assistant.
Siri more integrated than ever
Additionally, Gurman also reports that Apple is working to further integrate Siri into third-party services and apps to provide more context and assistance to users. The next major version of Apple’s operating systems, iOS 17 in the lead, is therefore likely to be turned towards Siri and its capabilities.