We are just hours away from the much-awaited WWDC 2023 event. It could potentially become one of Apple’s most significant events in a long time. From the expected mixed reality headset to new OS updates, and MacBooks, there is a lot to look forward to. And now, it seems like Apple is set to announce some changes for Siri. Have a look at the details below.
“Hey Siri” to Be a Thing of The Past Soon!
According to Mark Gurman, Apple will simplify the way we interact with Siri on our iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and HomePod. From now onwards, instead of saying “Hey Siri,” we will be able to interact with Apple’s virtual assistant by simply saying “Siri,” followed by a command. The same was revealed by Gurman as early as November 2022.
So, to get the weather update, for example, we had to first wake Siri up with the trigger phrase “Hey Siri” or long-pressing the power button. Only then we could ask questions like “What’s the weather like today?” However, switching to only “Siri” will allow us to ask our questions and get the possible answers.
From the user front, this might seem like a small change but Gurman believes that “making the switch is a technical challenge that requires a significant amount of AI training and underlying engineering work.” This transition will reflect Apple’s continued efforts in improving the accuracy and responsiveness of Siri. It will also allow Siri to understand different accents and dialects much better, as it will now require only a single word to trigger the virtual assistant. Gurman believes that by making this transition, Apple will also be able to speed up Siri’s back-to-back responses.
Additionally, this transition will be on par with Amazon’s Alexa, which requires only the “Alexa” trigger word rather than “Hey Alexa.” If you remember, the soon-to-be phased-out Cortana made a similar transition back in 2018.
With that being said, we will have to wait for tonight’s event to get a better idea. We will keep you posted, so, stay tuned to this space!
