Apple might change this iconic feature on iPhones

US tech giant Apple is changing its Siri trigger phrase from "Hey Siri" to just "Siri," a new report suggests. According to The Verge, the report was shared by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, and with this change, users will only need to say "Siri" and then enter a command to launch their smart assistant.

Gurman said Apple has been working on the feature for the past few months and is expected to release it next year or in 2024.

However, for this feature to work effectively, smart assistants need to understand a single wake word in a multitude of accents and dialects, which Apple says requires “significant amounts of AI training and underlying engineering work”. The current two-word trigger phrase "Hey Siri" increase the likelihood that Siri will pick them up.

The Verge reports that moving to a single wake phrase could allow Siri to compete with Amazon's Alexa. Siri will also take precedence over Google Assistant. Google Assistant requires the phrase "Ok Google" or "Hey Google" to activate, but the user does not have to repeat the activation words when making successive requests. Even Microsoft switched from "Hey Cortana" to "Cortana" when it came to smart speakers before Microsoft ended its voice assistant last year.

Other Changes coming to Siri

Short trigger phrases aren't the only change we're expecting from Siri. Gurman said Apple can also integrate Siri with third-party apps and services to enhance its ability to understand and process user requests. According to The Verge, Apple recently made minor changes to its voice assistant, adding new voices recorded by members of the LGBTQ community and introducing a new Siri wake-up sound.