WWDC2024 may not be a few more weeks, but Apple has already announced a number of new features that will appear in iOS 18. 1 of them is called a "vocal shortcut" and you can start using voice commands without calling Siri first. 

The idea here is that iPhone and iPad users will be able to set their own custom voice triggers. This series greets the word keyword users to ask questions "and shout hi Siri". 

Apple has not given us specific details on how this feature works, but only that users can "assign custom utterances" that siri can pick up to "launch shortcuts and complex tasks." The screenshot also shows that the setup process involves recording phrases to help teach your device how to recognize your voice.

In the example shown in Apple's press release, users say the word "ring" 3 times. After your phone has learned to recognize this phrase, say the word "ring" around your iPhone and co whatever you paired to the word

Obviously, it leads to the question of what kind of shortcuts and commands are compatible. The fact that Apple specifically mentioned a complex task may allow you to build your own custom process and tie it to voice commands, which makes this feature more convenient than the action buttons on the iPhone15Pro, which are limited to the number of predetermined shortcuts set by Apple.

It is not to say that you could not potentially use this for quick and easy shortcuts as well. Since this is marketed as an accessibility feature, you'll have to wait until the iOS 18 beta launches to try this out for yourself, as Apple explains the various different ways people might want to use vocal shortcuts and how useful (or limited) it really is.

I hope there is something in the system that helps to avoid false positives. You wouldn't want to have a conversation about onion rings, and suddenly you find that your phone eventually started Facetiming your entire contact list.