iOS 10 is an extremely significant upgrade for Siri, which has become smarter, and more open. Here’s what’s new:
Open Siri
This is the big one. Apple has opened up Siri to third-party app developers. Previously, you could ask Siri to “Send a Message”, and the virtual assistant would happily open up the native Message app. However, in iOS 10, you’ll now be about to ask Siri to “Send a message with WeChat” and if you were a user of that particular third-party messaging app, Siri would be able to communicate with the app in order to make your request.
Expect the range of apps to be limited until iOS 10 really finds its feet and more developers build Siri-compatibility into their apps. Based on the services Apple demonstrated when iOS 10 was first announced, the likes of WeChat, Uber and Lyft will be on board, while Facebook and Twitter are already able to communicate via Siri, but other apps might take longer.
Natural language
As usual Siri’s API has been generally improved and Apple says Siri will now respond to a far more natural approach. Do you often find Siri doesn’t quite understand what you say? Well expect it to be far more responsive to more natural speech patterns.
One Siri to rule them all
Here’s another quick upgrade. Have you ever tried activating Siri by saying “Hey Siri” while another Apple device, like an iPad, is also present in the room with your iPhone? Cue a stereo response from both devices. However, in iOS 10, Siri is more unified, and while both devices might wake up in response to your cool, once one starts parsing the information, the other will take a back seat and you’ll receive an answer from just one device.