iOS 14.3 lets you ask Siri to play sounds of animals, vehicles, instruments and more
The old adage that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks does not apply to Apple’s digital assistant, obviously.
Voice assistants
You can now text your requests to Alexa for iOS
The new feature is available starting today as a public preview, but it’s currently limited to customers in the United States. To type with Alexa, open the mobile Alexa app and hit the keyboard icon in the top-left corner of the app’s main menu.
How to share your ETA in Apple Maps with Siri
Let your contacts know exactly when you’ll arrive without taking eyes off the wheel. This short tutorial shows you how to share your estimated time of arrival hands-free on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
How to show Siri captions for all spoken text on iPhone and iPad
Follow along with our tutorial if you’d like to turn on handy onscreen captions for all Siri dialogue to verify that you heard the assistant’s response correctly.
How to always show speech transcriptions of your Siri requests on iPhone & iPad
Follow along with our tutorial to learn how to enable real-time Siri transcription of your speech for all requests on your iPhone and iPad, so that the assistant works like in iOS 13.
Alexa for iPhone gains voice activation, but it’s hardly hands-free as Amazon is calling it
I’m having a major problem with the “hands-free” part, and here’s why.
Siri voice in Germany gets a quality boost thanks to machine learning
Siri in Germany appears to have finally received upgraded voices but it’s a way overdue update, arriving almost three years after the English voices were significantly improved via the iOS 11 update, which launched back in 2017.
iOS 14: downloadable custom voice synthesizers to replace built-in speech voices
iOS 14 could let you replace the default Siri voice feedback with something a bit more punchy, like a custom voice synthesizers for “Space Odyssey”‘s HAL 9000 computer.
Tip: ask Siri on your iPhone or iPad to take you back to the Home screen, hands-free
Learn about the new Siri Home screen voice command in iOS 13.4 that enables you to quickly go back to the Home screen, hands-free, on your iPhone and iPad.
How to override iOS Facedown Detection to use “Hey Siri” when iPhone is face down or covered
Learn how to temporarily override Facedown Detection so your iPhone responds to the “Hey Siri” wake-up phrase even when it’s kept with its face down on a table or covered.
Ethical question: should you disclose smart speakers like HomePod to guests?
If you own a smart speaker like HomePod or a similar device that comes with an always-on assistant, should you make visitors aware they might be recorded at all times?
Apple to keep reviewing computer-generated transcriptions of your Siri audio requests
After an iOS update with a Siri grading opt-in drops, Apple will continue reviewing computer-generated transcriptions of your Siri audio requests regardless of your opt-in status.
