Siri has plenty of tricks and features, but there's still room to grow. And now Oprah is helping the digital assistant with that.
You can now ask Siri what Oprah is reading as part of her book club
Siri
How often do you use Siri?
The beta version of Siri first saw the light of day as an iPhone exclusive in October of 2011. Which means we're nearing the 10-year mark for the digital assistant's debut (for Apple's platform). Since then, Apple has touted the many queries the digital assistant has handled, and made improvements in big --and small-- ways.
Apple clarifies it’s not allowing users to set a ‘default’ music service in iOS 14.5
Way back in February, it was revealed that the next update to iOS actually made some changes to selecting a default music player for streaming. However, it turns out that might not be the case after all. At least, that's not how Apple sees it.
Astolfo lets jailbreakers apply custom backgrounds to Siri in iOS 14
I really like what Apple has done with the Siri interface in iOS & iPadOS 14 — especially when compared with iOS & iPadOS 13 and earlier. The new interface doesn’t take up as much space and has a more aesthetically pleasing interaction button, but in Apple’s typical fashion, even the new interface lacks user-driven customization.
Those looking to do more with the Siri interface are likely to give the nod of approval to a free jailbreak tweak called Astolfo, which was recently updated with iOS & iPadOS 14 in mind by iOS developer Litten. As some may remember, the tweak was originally worked on by Nepeta.
Apple is training Siri to better understand those with atypical speech
Siri does an okay job of understanding those who query the digital assistant. However, there is still room for improvement. Especially for those with atypical speech. But Apple, and other tech companies, are working on that.
How to change Siri’s voice on your Apple devices
Learn how to change Siri's voice on your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and HomePod so you can try different accents and genders and set the one you like.
Apple seeds second betas of iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, tvOS 14.5, and watchOS 7.4 to developers
Just over a week after seeding the first betas of iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 to developers, the company moves on with the next version.
Siri now permits you to choose a default app for music streaming requests
Siri in iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 has gained a new feature for choosing the default music-streaming service when using the digital assistant to request songs.
iOS 14.3 lets you ask Siri to play sounds of animals, vehicles, instruments and more
iOS 14.3, which arrived yesterday, includes a new Siri feature that allows the digital assistant to play various sounds on demand, including sounds of animals, vehicles, instruments and more.
How to use Intercom on HomePod for announcements in your home
With a lot of updates and new features to your Apple devices this year, one more will have you and your family communicating throughout the house. Intercom on HomePod gives you a quick and simple way to speak to family members in other rooms of the house.
You can use your HomePod, or all of them if you have more than one, as a loudspeaker of sorts. Speak into another device like your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch and your message will be heard on the HomePod(s) in your household.
Here, we’ll show you how to use the Intercom on HomePod, customize the settings, and make the most out of this cool new feature.
HomePod mini vs Amazon Echo: Which should you buy?
Apple introduced a tinier version of its popular HomePod called HomePod mini. This smart speaker is not only smaller in size, but also in price as compared to its parent. Both of these features put the HomePod mini more in the running as a direct competitor to the Amazon Echo.
Whether for yourself or a gift for a loved one, you might be trying to decide between the two (or three including the Amazon Echo Dot). To help, we have a comparison of HomePod mini versus Amazon Echo. Hopefully this will help you pick the best smart speaker for your home or someone else’s.
Telegram’s new beta supports Announce Messages with Siri and AirPods
While Apple made it possible for developers to access "Announce Messages with Siri", it's still not readily available in third-party apps. But it looks like the tide might be changing, at least a little.