I'm considering purchasing a Bluetooth portable speaker that has a built-in omnidirectional microphone.
The advertising for the product says that the microphone can be used to "make calls" from a mobile device.
However, I can't find out from the support pages if the microphone is "always on", or if it's just used for Call Audio Routing – as in iOS's Settings > General > Accessibility > Call Audio Routing.
My aim, ultimately, is to use the Bluetooth speaker for playing audio from my iOS device, but also to use it as an always-on microphone that can accept "Hey Siri" voice detection commands.
Basically – an "Amazon Echo" device, but consisting of an iPad + Bluetooth speaker instead.
Is "Hey Siri" detection normally possible with mic-equipped Bluetooth speakers?
Specific case: I'm looking at a Bang & Olufsen Beoplay A1.
Best Answer
After just testing your idea out with my B&O H7 Headphones (that have a mic built in for calls) I can say that Hey Siri didn't work for me unless I was right next to my phone (which means the device's microphone picked it up) Siri's voice didn't even get routed out to the headphones and I've checked and the headphones are the current audio output device. Changing call audio routing has no effect.