If Apple implements this update, users will be able to activate Siri by simply saying “Siri” followed by a command. A fresh rumor claims that Apple, an American technology company, is considering replacing the current Siri wake word, “Hey Siri,” with the word “Siri.”
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reportedly shared this information with The Verge, and if implemented, users will be able to activate the smart assistant by simply saying “Siri” followed by a command. According to Gurman, Apple has been working on this feature for months, and it will likely be released either in the coming year or in 2024.
However, Apple will need to put in “huge amounts of AI training and underlying engineering development” so that the feature can be used efficiently, as the intelligent assistant will need to understand the single wake word in a wide variety of accents and dialects.
Siri is more likely to respond to the existing two-word trigger phrase, “Hey Siri.” According to The Verge, Apple’s Siri could benefit from adopting a single wake word in order to compete with Amazon’s Alexa, which can currently be activated by simply saying “Alexa” instead of “Hey Alexa.”
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This would put Siri ahead of Google Assistant, which requires the ‘Ok Google’ or ‘Hey Google’ phrases to activate, however, users don’t need to repeat the wake word when making many requests in quick succession.
Even Microsoft changed the name of its voice assistant on smart speakers from “Hey Cortana” to just “Cortana” before it was discontinued in the past year. Gurman speculates that Apple may improve Siri’s ability to understand and execute user requests,
as well as integrate Siri into third-party apps and services, in addition to the shortened trigger phrase. The Verge reports that Apple has updated its Siri speech assistant with a new activation sound and a new voice recorded by a member of the LGBTQ+ community.