Siri gets smarter: 10 new features in iOS 15 and macOS Monterey

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Siri in iOS 15 and macOS Monterey

A common wish of many Apple users is for Apple to give Siri a huge boost in intelligence and usability. Compared to other assistants, Siri often lags behind, which is partly due to the focus on privacy, which means Siri also knows less about you. Still, Apple hopes to make Siri smarter every year, and this year is no different. In macOS Monterey and iOS 15, there are again a number of Siri improvements that are worth checking out. Please note that unfortunately not all improvements are available in Dutch.

  • Siri in HomeKit accessories
  • Schedule Siri HomeKit commands< /li>
  • Easier to query
  • Announce messages in CarPlay
  • Share content on screen
  • Smarter with contacts
  • Siri Shortcuts on Mac
  • On-device processing
  • Offline Support
  • Announce Notifications

#1 Siri Support for HomeKit accessories
Siri can now only be found on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV and HomePod. In other words: exclusively on Apple's own devices. That will change in iOS 15, provided you meet the conditions. Makers of compatible HomeKit accessories such as speakers, thermostats and more can now also support Siri themselves. Siri is also in the thermostat itself. But there are still some limitations. For example, a HomePod is required in the house, because it processes the voice commands. Apple prevents your voice command from being processed by a third-party service, but that also means that this is not of much use in the Netherlands as long as the HomePod is not officially available and therefore also does not work in Dutch.

#2 Schedule HomeKit commands to Siri
Another Siri improvement in iOS 15 related to HomeKit is task scheduling. You can say to Siri “Turn on the lights in the living room at 7pm”. As a result, Siri does not switch on the lamps immediately, but at the time you specified. You can also tell Siri to turn off all lights as soon as you leave. It is therefore a kind of one-off automation.

#3 Easier to ask questions
Compatible with: iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey
Siri now better understands the context of your follow-up questions. For example, if you ask Siri “What time is Madam Tussaud open?”, you can immediately ask “How far is it to get there?”. Siri then understands that you want to know how far it is to drive to the previously requested location, so without having to say this again. This will work for many voice commands, as long as Siri can link your two commands.

#4 Announce messages in CarPlay
Compatible with: iOS 15
Siri can already announce messages if you use AirPods or Beats earphones, but with iOS 15 you can do that in CarPlay too. Siri then says who is sending you a message and reads the content as soon as the message arrives. You can choose the settings for this yourself via CarPlay and also switch it on or off per contact. This is especially useful if there are other people in the car. Also read our overview of CarPlay in iOS 15.

#5 Share content on screen
Suitable for: iOS 15, iPadOS 15
Siri in iOS 15 also makes it easier to share content. For example, if you are viewing a photo, all you have to do is say “Send this to Tim” and Siri prepares a message with the photo attached. This also works for links in Safari or songs in Apple Music. If an app isn't suitable, Siri can automatically take a screenshot and add it to the message.

#6 Siri understands contacts on the screen
Compatible with: iOS 15, iPadOS 15
If a contact is in the picture, you can immediately ask Siri to send a message there, for example. If you see a contact card in your address book, a missed call notification, or a conversation in iMessage, all you have to do is say “Send him a message”. Siri then understands that you want to send the message to whoever is visible on the screen. Currently this doesn't work in beta, but eventually it should work everywhere.

#7 Siri Shortcuts coming to Mac
Runs on: macOS Monterey
In macOS Monterey, Siri Shortcuts comes to the Mac. You can create automations for apps on your Mac and activate them with Siri. It also works with third-party apps. The current Automator app will also remain and you can even transfer automations from there to Siri Shortcuts.

#8 On-device processing
Compatible with: iOS 15, iPadOS 15 (not in Dutch)
In iOS 15, your voice commands from Siri are processed on the device itself, instead of via the server. This means that voice commands are also understood more quickly. But unfortunately that doesn't work in Dutch yet. Only languages ​​such as English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese are still supported. For the time being, your voice command in Dutch will still be processed via the servers.

#9 Offline support
Compatible with: iOS 15, iPadOS 15 (not in Dutch)
For the languages ​​where on-device processing is available, Siri also works offline. So you can ask Siri to set a timer, call someone, send a message, start an app, control music and more. You no longer need an internet connection for these kinds of questions. It thus works in a similar way to early voice control. Unfortunately, this does not work in Dutch yet.

#10 Announce notifications
Suitable for: iOS 15, iPadOS 15 (not in Dutch)
Siri can already announce messages from chat apps, but in iOS 15 Siri can also announce notifications from other apps through the AirPods. The new time-sensitive notifications are always announced, but if you want it from another app, you can enable it separately. Unfortunately, this function does not yet work in Dutch, because only American English is supported for this function.

More about iOS 15
iOS 15 is the major update for the iPhone and iPod touch. If you want to know whether your iPhone is suitable for iOS 15, you will find the answer in our article. We expect the official iOS 15 release in September/October 2021. Find out what else was announced during the keynote in our WWDC 2021 recap!