- Apple stripped specific frequencies from the WWDC keynote whenever "Siri" was uttered.
Apple removed the 3 kHz, 4 kHz, 5 kHz and 6 kHz bands from the livestream audio each time the word appeared. The change was spotted on X, where users posted spectrogram screenshots showing clear gaps that line up with every instance of the name. The goal is to defeat wake‑word detection on HomePods, iPhones, iPads and Macs that might otherwise fire up during the presentation. Despite the filter, some viewers still reported their devices activating.
The move shows Apple is willing to tamper with broadcast audio to protect its ecosystem from unintended activations. It also highlights the limits of a frequency‑cut approach: phonetic cues survive elsewhere in the signal, so devices can still hear the wake word. Broadcasters may need more robust solutions if they want clean, activation‑free streams.
In practice, the tweak barely stopped the noise it targeted, leaving the audience to wonder whether the effort was worth the audible dip.