Apple wants to make asking Siri a bit easier by removing the need to say “Hey Siri” – it is reportedly planning to shorten the wake-up phrase to “Siri”.
The smart assistant, which can be summoned on Apple devices such as the iPhone 14, iPad Pro 12.9 (2022) and HomePod mini, can be activated in several ways, but one of the simplest is using the wake-up phrase. Saying “Hey Siri” before a question or command will alert the smart assistant to type out the instructions or question.
However, having to say “Hey Siri” over and over again if you need help with several tasks in rapid succession is more than a bit of a pain, so we’re glad Apple is reportedly planning to shorten that phrase – and it could be the first step towards its complete removal.
According Mark Gurman of Blomberg (opens in a new tab)Apple plans to change “Hey Siri” to “Siri”, though don’t expect something to happen overnight. There are several challenges in shortening the wake-up phrase to one word; if your device’s software isn’t properly calibrated, it may be easier to accidentally activate Siri, or much harder to get help with just your voice.
If the change goes through, it will lead Siri to Amazon’s best smart speakers: Amazon Echo devices. Users just need to say “Alexa” before asking a question or giving instructions to get Echo help.
Google, on the other hand, still requires you to say “Hey/Ok Google” to instruct your Google Pixel 7, Google Nest Mini, and other smart devices for most phrases, although if you enable Quick Phrases there are a few phrases you can say which they don’t require a wake-up word at all—for example, “Stop” when an alarm goes off.
Google is reportedly planning to extend this feature to its Google Nest Hub Max, with custom quick phrases apparently in the works, which could eliminate the need to say “Hey Google” again and again. It’s unclear if Apple will go that far, but if it wants its smart assistant to be as smart as those made by Amazon and Google, it won’t want to lag too far behind its innovations.
That said, even removing “Hey” from “Hey Siri” can take some time. According to Guman, the feature is in the early stages of testing and likely won’t be ready for a year or so. We imagine this could be highlighted at WWDC 2023 or 2024 as an update that will arrive alongside iOS 17 or iOS 18.
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