Apple is reportedly working on a change to the trigger phrase for its Siri voice assistant, from “Hey Siri” to just “Siri.”
The move would simplify the interaction with Siri, and make it more natural and efficient.
This is a great idea, and we hope Apple follows through with it. Siri is a voice assistant that is used by millions of people every day. It can do many things, from setting alarms to sending text messages. However, in order to use Siri, you have to say “Hey Siri” first. This can be annoying, especially if you just want to ask a quick question. With the new proposed change, you would simply say just “Siri.”
According to reports, Apple intends to discontinue support for "Hey."
It has been reported that the business is teaching its voice assistant Siri to recognize orders without the requirement for the "Hey Siri" portion of the standard prompt phrase to be said first. Siri may be activated on a number of different Apple devices, including the iPhone, iPad, HomePod, and Apple Watch, by saying the trigger phrase.
According to Bloomberg, which was the first news outlet to disclose the development, the shift may take place either next year or in 2024. CNN Business reached out to Apple for comment, but the company did not provide one.
Even though the upgrade would seem to be relatively small, industry experts believe it might be a hint of more significant developments to come and could require intensive training in artificial intelligence. According to Lian Jye Su, a research director at ABI Research, having two trigger words enables the system to more precisely understand requests; hence, moving to one word would require a more powerful artificial intelligence system.
According to Su, "during the recognition phase, the system compares the voice command to the user-trained model." "During the recognition phase." "Siri" is significantly shorter than "Hey Siri," providing the system with possibly fewer comparison points and an increased mistake rate in "echo-y, vast rooms, and loud surroundings," such as when wind is present or while driving a vehicle. "Siri" is also a lot shorter than "Hey Siri."
With this change, Apple would be able to compete with Amazon's "Alexa" prompt, which does not need a first wake phrase for its voice assistant. Since 2018, Microsoft has allowed users of smart speakers to interact with Cortana by just saying her name. Previously, users had to say, "Hey, Cortana." However, you will still need to say "OK Google" before requesting the majority of Google products.
The discontinuation of the "Hey Siri" command would also occur around the same time that Apple, Amazon, and Google are working together to develop the Matter automation standard. This standard will enable automation and Internet of Things devices manufactured by different companies to communicate with one another.
Keeping this information in mind, James Sanders, a lead analyst at the market research company CCS Insight, said that "redoubling work on enhancing Siri's functioning is undoubtedly a priority for Apple."
After making its debut in February 2010 as a stand-alone iOS application in the Apple App Store, Apple ultimately decided to purchase the company that was responsible for developing Siri two months later. After that, the business began integrating Siri into the iPhone 4S, which was made available for purchase the following year. In 2014, the company provided the capability to say "Hey Siri" without actually hitting a button on the device.
The integration of Siri with third-party developers throughout the years, such as ride hailing and payment applications, as well as support for follow-up queries, more languages, and a wider variety of accents, have contributed to Siri's increased intelligence. Nevertheless, it continues to have problems, such as not comprehending users and reacting in the wrong way.
Sanders said that it would be surprising if Apple released merely one modification to Siri, despite the fact that the "Hey Siri" upgrade involves a great deal of effort. As a reintroduction to Apple's voice assistant, "considering the speculated timeframe," I would assume this upgrade to be paired with additional new or better features for Siri, maybe with a new model of HomePod and connections with other smart home goods through Matter.
Apple is said to be training its voice assistant to pick up on commands without the “Hey” in order to simplify the user experience. This change would make it easier for users to activate Siri, and could make the voice assistant more responsive overall.