Despite having the same A9X & M9 chips, only the 9.7" iPad Pro has always-on 'Hey Siri'

In a continuing curious omission, every device that runs Apple's M9 motion coprocessor features support for always-listening "Hey Siri" — except for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

Apple on Monday took the wraps off of a new 9.7-inch iPad Pro and the iPhone SE, both of which feature A9-series processors and the M9 coprocessor, and both of which support "Hey Siri" when running on battery power alone.

"Hey Siri" was first introduced last year with the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. It's made possible by the special low-power processing of the M9, which allows "Hey Siri" voice controls can be invoked without touching the device or plugging it in.

Curiously, however, Apple's larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro does not support always-on "Hey Siri" voice controls, even though it too has the M9 chip. The jumbo-sized tablet only responds to "Hey Siri" commands when it is plugged into a power source.

It's unknown why Apple hasn't added always-on "Hey Siri" support for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The company says that the M9 is the core of the feature, so technically it should be possible. However, as of iOS 9.3, Apple notes in the Settings app that the feature requires that the iPad Pro be connected to power.

Beyond the iPhone 6s series, iPhone SE and 9.7-inch iPad Pro, "Hey Siri" can also be used with the Apple Watch, but users must first raise their wrist to activate the screen before speaking.

41 Comments

pmz 3429 comments · 15 Years

About 8 years ago

I have to say, that this really pisses me, as an iPad Pro owner.

rogifan_new 4297 comments · 9 Years

sog35 said:

battery life.

Doesn't the 12.9 iPad Pro have the the biggest battery?

saarek 1576 comments · 16 Years

sog35 said:

pmz said:

I have to say, that this really pisses me, as an iPad Pro owner.

why? It didn't piss you off before. Seems like you didn't miss HeySiri before.

The 9.7 Pro is 4 months newer than the 12.9. Of course it will have some features that the older Pro does not.

Give me a break. Go show me a post where you said you wanted this feature BEFORE yesterday. You are only grumbling now.

Here Sir is our deluxe top of the line model, by the way it doesn't support these features that the far cheaper products do even though it has the capacity to do so.

Of course people are going to pissed off.

sog35 said:

rogifan_new said:

Doesn't the 12.9 iPad Pro have the the biggest battery?

Yes, but its powering a bigger screen with more pixels.

Apple does not make these decisions randomly. Jesus Christ, some of you are just flat out pathetic. You really think you could run a $600 billion company better than Apple's current executives. If so go start your own company and compete with Apple.

Amazing how your tone changes when the stock is on the upswing. If Apple was at $90 instead of $107 you'd be calling for Tim Cook's head on a platter and blasting these decisions.

derrickdoingit 29 comments · 9 Years

sog35 said:

rogifan_new said:

Amazing how your tone changes when the stock is on the upswing. If Apple was at $90 instead of $107 you'd be calling for Tim Cook's head on a platter and blasting these decisions.

I blasted Cook for not releasing the bigger iPhone earlier.
I also blasted him for not addressing supplier chain rumors.

I see no reason to blast him about an older model not having every single feature a newer model has. Tech keeps going forward. Face it. The 12.9 Pro is FOUR MONTHS older than the 9.7.

And you think I'm happy with the $107 stock price? Hell no. I still think the stock is 40-50% undervalued.

So purposely making a product inferior so that a future product has a distinguishable feature is ok because...?