Apple reportedly wants you to say 'Siri' instead of 'Hey Siri' as a trigger phrase

Source: Apple

Apple is supposedly looking to swap Siri's trigger phrase. Instead of "Hey Siri," the company just wants you to use "Siri." Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that this feature has been in the works for the past several months, and it's expected to come out next year or in 2024. But Apple needs to put in a "significant amount of AI training and underlying engineering work" to get this feature to function properly. Its smart assistant will need to understand that single wake word in different accents and dialects. The "Hey Siri" two-word trigger phrase has a better chance of the smart assistant picking it up.

Changing to the single wake word will put Apple in line with Amazon's Alexa and give it an edge over Google Assistant. But the latter doesn't need the wake word when you're saying back-to-back commands. Aside from the shorter trigger phrase, Apple is exploring third-party integration for Siri and improvements in its ability to process user requests.

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Qualcomm Snapdragon chips are expected to power Samsung Galaxy S23 series exclusively

Rumours have been going around that the next-generation Samsung Galaxy S23 flagships will run exclusively on Snapdragon chipsets. During Qualcomm's Q4 earnings call, CFO Akash Palkhiwala confirmed expectations for a strong second half of the March quarter in 2023. This time frame coincides with the first months of sales for the Galaxy S23 series. He also said the company has moved from a 75% share of chipsets in the Galaxy S22 series to the global share for the S23 line. 

Qualcomm's CEO Cristiano Amon also confirmed a multiyear partnership with Samsung to expand the use of Snapdragon chipset to all premium Samsung Galaxy phones globally. We can't outright confirm yet that an Exynos-powered S23 is out of the question. But we're sure to hear more as the launch of the new Samsung flagship approaches.

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'The Last of Us' TV show will premiere on January 15

'The Last of Us' TV show will premiere on January 15

Source: HBO

We finally have a release day for HBO's adaptation of the video game franchise The Last of Us. It's coming to HBO Max on January 15. In Canada, Bell's Crave service will stream the series on day one. The show tells the story of Joel and Ellie, two people living in a world devastated by the outbreak of a deadly fungus that mutates the infected into terrifying monsters. 

The Last of Us stars Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) as Joel and Ellie. Merle Dandridge reprises her role as Marlene and Nick Offerman will be the survivalist Bill. Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who plays Joel and Ellie from the games, also star in the show but in unannounced roles.

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