Apple appears to have edited parts of its WWDC 2026 keynote video whenever speakers said “Siri,” likely to stop nearby HomePods, iPhones, iPads, and Macs from waking during playback.
Observers on X noticed the change after checking the keynote audio through spectrogram screenshots, which showed missing bands around 3kHz, 4kHz, 5kHz, and 6kHz when Apple mentioned Siri.
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Apple used a smart audio trick
Wake-word detection depends on the sound pattern of words like Siri and Hey Siri, so removing key frequency ranges can make the word harder for devices to recognize while still keeping it understandable for viewers.
However, the edit did not fully stop the problem, as some users still reported that their Apple devices responded during the stream.
Amazon used a similar method in 2017 for Alexa TV ads, where it adjusted audio to stop Echo speakers from waking in viewers’ homes.
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