Apple is planning to simplify the wake-up keyword of the Siri voice assistant from "Hey Siri" to "Siri". Apple is training Siri, and the new wake-up keywords will be applied to the Siri voice assistant on all Apple hardware products, including the iPhone, iPad, HomePod, and Apple Watch. Apple will make this adjustment as early as 2024.
While it doesn't seem complicated, experts say it could herald broader changes to come that may require more comprehensive training in artificial intelligence. Lian Jye Su, research director at research institute ABI Research, said that using two keywords to wake up allows the system to recognize requests more accurately while using only one word means that the artificial intelligence system needs to be more advanced.
He said, during the recognition process, the system needs to compare the voice command with the user-trained model. 'Siri' is shorter than 'Hey Siri', and in a noisy, large room, and echoing environment, the system may have a higher error rate occurs.
Currently, Amazon's Alexa voice assistant does not require additional wake-up keywords. Microsoft also changed the wake-up keyword for the Cortana voice assistant from "Hey Cortana" to "Cortana" in 2018. However, the wake-up keyword for Google's voice assistant is still "OK Google" on most Google hardware products.
At the same time, Apple, Amazon, and Google are collaborating on the Matter automation standard, which promotes the interconnection of automation technology and IoT devices between different manufacturers. With that in mind, investing in and optimizing Siri's functionality may be Apple's top priority right now, said James Sanders, principal analyst at market research firm CCS Insight.
In February 2010, Siri was released as a standalone application in Apple's App Store. Two months later, Siri was acquired by Apple. Apple then integrated Siri into the iPhone 4S, released the following year, and in 2014 introduced a "Hey Siri" voice wake-up feature that invoked Siri without having to click any buttons.
Siri has gotten smarter over the years, mainly due to the integration of Siri with more third-party services, such as ride-hailing and payment services. Siri now also supports users to ask questions continuously and can recognize more languages ​​and dialects. However, Siri still has the problem of not being able to accurately understand user intent and not responding properly.
Sanders said, while the tweak to 'Hey Siri' requires a lot of preparation, it would be surprising if Apple just made this tweak to Siri. Expect this tweak to tie in with other new features or enhancements to Siri. Bundled together, perhaps with a new release of the HomePod speaker and integration with other smart home products through the Matter standard.