Apple is making it easier to invoke its voice assistant by ditching the phrase “Hey Siri” and moving to a simple “Siri”. This change, which has been rumored since last November, will be part of iOS 17 and will make it much easier to activate Siri on iPhone, iPad, Mac and other devices.
The use of the phrase “Hey Siri” has so far been associated with the ease of engineering work, as it consisted of only two words. However, the move to a one-word voice assistant call represents a significant step forward, even if the change may seem minor. Amazon allows users to wake up their Alexa with “Hey Alexa” or simply “Alexa,” and even Microsoft’s product, Cortana, supported single-word wake up until its demise on iOS and Android in 2021.
While Google Assistant still requires the two-word phrase “Hey Google” or “OK Google” to activate instead of the single word Google, Apple is making the decision to simplify the process of calling Siri. If Google makes a change and moves to a one-word enabler, it will be forced to think carefully about how to prevent the assistant from accidentally activating during conversations that mention Google’s name. After all, Google has become a transitive verb due to its dominant position in search.
Here are the key points about Apple’s transition from “Hey Siri” to “Siri”:
- Making it easier to call the voice assistant: Apple is making the decision to ditch the two-word phrase and move to a simple “Siri” to activate the voice assistant on its devices.
- Voice assistant market trend: Amazon is already giving users the option to activate their Alexa assistant with “Hey Alexa” or simply “Alexa”. Microsoft also previously supported single-word wake-up for its Cortana assistant.
- Possible future Google change: Currently, Google Assistant requires a two-word phrase to activate, but if Google decides to move to a one-word activator, it will have to deal with the problem of accidentally activating the assistant while talking about Google.
Apple is making a major decision to make it easier to call the Siri voice assistant, moving from the phrase “Hey Siri” to a simple “Siri,” concludes NIXSolutions. This change will be part of iOS 17 and will allow users to more conveniently invoke Siri on their iPhone, iPad, Mac, and other devices. However, the question remains in the voice assistant market how changes in assistant activation could affect competitors such as Amazon with Alexa and Google with Google Assistant.