Siri has got a lot of new functions in iOS 10, macOS Sierra and the latest version of Apple TV. The voice controlled personal assistant now works seamlessly with many third party apps. This is the major change which brought by the newest update. Siri’s ability to control non-Apple applications opens up an entire horizon to its functionality. The intelligent personal assistant will even be available on MacBook and iMac with the brand new macOS Sierra.
Beside this third party thing, Apple has also fined tuned Siri’s A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) in iOS 10. The iPhone assistant now comes with enhanced predictive capability, better voice recognition, and other incremental updates. Read on to know about top 10 new features of Siri which are available exclusively in the iOS 10.
Control third-party apps
This is the most important feature of Siri in the iOS 10. For the first time, Apple has allowed its intelligent personal assistant accessible inside third party applications. You can now use Siri to control in-app activities in various non-apple Apple software like Pinterest, LinkedIn, Square Cash, The Roll, Vogue, Pikazo, Looklive, and more. In fact, almost all of the other features in the list are possible only due to this third-party support.
Send messages via WhatsApp, Skype or other messengers
You now can use Siri to send messages through various third party messengers like WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, etc. To do this, you just need some simple voice commands like:
- “Tell Sayan I’ll be late for 10 minutes with WeChat.”
- “Send a WhatsApp to Amit saying, ‘Let me know about the plans for tomorrow.’”
- “Let Rahul know that the train has been cancelled in Skype.”
Book a cab
The new generation Siri comes with the ability to book a cab through a third-party taxi hailing app. Simply ask the personal assistant “Order an Uber” and it will straight away do the needful for you. However, we are yet to test this feature and aren’t quite sure exactly how much automatic the entire procedure is.
Enhanced QuickType Keyboard
In iOS 10, the QuickType keyboard comes integrated with Siri’s advanced A.I. We are not talking about some gimmicky auto correct functionality, but a state of the art auto answering mechanism. Apple’s personal assistant can use all the information it knows about you to draft a reply to a message, search for a location which you might need at that moment, gather information about the things beforehand and so on. Some examples can save your time are as follows:
- Let it be the case; someone has sent you a text asking for the mail ID of someone you know,” Hey can you please give me Anand’s email ID?”. As soon as you type “Anand’s email address is,” Siri will instantly add the required email for you, saving you from the trouble of switching apps and copy / pasting.
- Another situation, your friend asks for your location. Siri will automatically display a current location dialogue box in the QuickType window. You just need a single touch to send your location.
- We all do a small research on our smartphones before selecting a restaurant to dine in. And after selecting the desired one, we proceed to search for its location or book a cab. The new generation Siri will automatically search for the certain eatery as soon as you open a Navigation app or a taxi booking application and launch the QuickType keyboard to type.
- There are times when we chat with our friends or colleagues to organise a meetup or meeting. Siri will learn about the place and timing of the event by going through your messages. Then it will go ahead and mark the date and location of the upcoming occasion in the calendar.
Advanced Apple TV controls – YouTube and Live TV
We all love Siri in Apple TVs. The voice controlled assistant makes it much easier to control the televisions than with the physical remote. Presently, to search anything on YouTube, you need to open the app on Apple TV and then speak out by holding the Siri button. Now, with an imminent update to the Apple TV software, you will be able to search YouTube videos from anywhere Siri is accessible. Just press the Siri key on the Apple TV remote and voice out your queries like “Search YouTube for Note 7 explosion videos”, or “Search Gizmo Times on YouTube.”
In the Apple TV, there are numerous applications that let you enjoy live television, for example, Discovery Go, CBS, Fox Now and much more. Currently, to view any of these channels, you need to open each of the applications and navigate to the specific option to start the live stream. After the oncoming update, you can just shout “Watch Fox Now” or “Watch Discovery” and Siri will directly launch live broadcast of the channel.
With the forthcoming Apple TV update, you will even be able to perform all these functions right through an iPhone with the help of the iOS remote app.
Also read: How to speed up iOS 10 performance
Search for movies based on specific topics
As of now, Siri is unable to search for movies about certain topics. Of course, it can find films based on director, genre, year, actor, title, etc. But, it can’t get into the content of the videos. For example, if you wish to see a film or show specifically about cycling or football, Siri will fail to help you. With the newest update, Apple has significantly strengthened the neural network of the personal assistant. In the new version, you can ask Siri “Show me movies about cricket” or “Find romantic tragedies from the ‘90s” and it will recommend some great films based on the specific topics.
Siri in macOS Sierra
Apple will make it’s A.I.-based personal attendant available in macOS Sierra. So, you shall get to use Siri on your MacBook and iMacs. The personal assistant will sit right on the menu bar. In the PCs it will perform normal functions like setting reminders, getting movie timings, message predictions, initiating voice calls, and switching on / off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc.
Gradually, Apple will all the bring all the Siri features in iPhones to its computers. You should be able to use the assistant to search for files, find a particular photo, look for a certain video, etc. Some probable search commands include, “Show me the PowerPoint project I was preparing last night” or “Find photos I shot in Kashmir”.
Facilitate seamless multitasking for increased productivity
With the Siri being available on the Macs, it will help a lot of hardcore professionals. The personal assistant will surely ramp up your multi-tasking skills and boost your overall productivity. Siri will help you look for an individual document with a simple voice command. Apple will also allow you to drag and drop items directly from the search results right into the project you are working on or pin some selected stuff at the Notification menu for future usage.
While some may find it offbeat for the iPhone-assistant to be available in PCs, Siri actually has a lot of prospective in terms of practicality. The intelligent personal attendant may star in this year’s MacBooks slated to launch on October 27.
Siri in smart homes
Apple has already forayed into the smart home ecosystem with its HomeKit. Now, with the latest generation Siri, you will be to control all the Apple HomeKit-enabled home appliances through simple voice commands. To use the innovative functionality, you will need to the Home app installed on any iOS device. Thus, you can turn off / on lights, activate electronic locks, monitor security cameras, shut down garage doors, switch on / off air conditioners, and so on just with the help of an iPhone or iPad.
With simple voice commands like, “Close the garage door”, “Switch off the air purifier in the living room”, “Lock the main door”, etc., you will have the total control of your house. You can even use the Apple TV as the remote hub and control the smart home appliance from anywhere.
Siri in CarPlay
CarPlay is Apple’s signature iPhone controller for hands-free usage in personal vehicles. Siri is present here too. To access the personal assistant, you simply long press the voice control button placed on the steering wheel of CarPlay complaint cars. With Siri in CarPlay, you can attend calls, listen to voicemails, return missed calls, read or compose messages, control music playback, and much more. All these shall be done in complete touch-free conditions only with the help of voice commands.
With the new third party app support of Siri, you can access various non-apple radio or music streaming apps. You may even listen to audiobooks with services like Audiobooks.com and Audible.
Conclusion
With these pioneering features of Apple Siri, we can already see the bright future of the artificial intelligence based personal assistants. One of the most noteworthy rivals of Siri is the brand new Google Assistant. The latter is equipped with the search-engine giant’s advanced neural network and comes pre-installed exclusively in the Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones.
Control 3rd party app is a unique and useful feature.