You May Never Have to Say 'Hey Siri' Again, Based on a New Patent from Apple

It's happened to all iOS users: You're talking to a friend or watching TV, and all of a sudden, you hear "I'm not quite sure what you've said." Apparently, your phone heard something that resembled "Hey, Siri," and activated the assistant. But now, thanks to a new patent from Apple, the days of unexpected Siri may be numbered.

PatentlyApple reports that a published Apple patent shows technology that would recognize the voice of the specific user to activate Siri. This differs from how the system currently works, as it relies on the phrase "Hey, Siri" to turn itself on, not necessarily the voice of the owner.

A problem with the current state of this technology is that the phone can be activated by those other than the specific user, so people attempting to use Siri with other iOS devices nearby may trigger those devices as well. This can affect a particular user's device, but also other people's, which can be irritating to everyone, to say the least.

This patent looks to solve these issues. With these plans, it appears Apple will design Siri to learn the user's voice, through, among other things, setting specific phrases for activation, unlike the universal "Hey, Siri."

You May Never Have to Say 'Hey Siri' Again, Based on a New Patent from Apple — Apple's new system for recognizing the voice of a specific user. *Image via USPTO*

It's not entirely clear if this feature would have any restrictions on the custom trigger phrases you could choose, so we don't know if words like "Computer" or "Jarvis" would work. While that would certainly be cool, the main benefit here is that your phone will recognize your voice specifically.

In other words, say goodbye to accidental activation—if the device doesn't know your voice, or the specific phrase you've chosen, Siri isn't going to tell you the weather.