Sales of speech recognition handsets are expected to top 1 billion units this year as mobile vendors and app developers see the technology as a tool to enable their services and features, industry data showed on Monday.

According to the data compiled by Strategy Analytics, some 1.05 billion handsets with voice recognition capability are expected to be sold this year, compared with 856 million units seen last year.

The comparable figure for 2017 will be some 1.42 billion, with voice recognition smartphones accounting for 75 percent of all smartphones, up from this year’s 63 percent, the data showed.

Apple Inc. introduced its voice-recognition application called Siri in 2011, and subsequently other rival smartphone makers such as Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. have adopted similar speech recognition capabilities for their devices to enhance user experience.

Strategy Analytics said though smartphone manufacturers have been trying to upgrade voice commands for years, additional updates are needed for more smartphone holders to frequently use the function. (Yonhap News)