Apple has made a number of improvements to the Spotlight search function and its in-device personal assistant Siri in the most recent iOS 17 upgrade. Although there are no significant changes, Siri and Spotlight have both gotten upgrades that make them more user-friendly and effective.
The wake phrase “Hey Siri” is no longer required to invoke the personal assistant in iOS 17. Now that users only need to say “Siri” to engage the function, there is a more smooth and natural interface. For instance, Siri understands and responds to requests like “Siri, can you tell me what time it is?”
Siri’s capacity to answer to numerous consecutive queries without requiring reactivation is another noteworthy advancement. Users can use a single Siri command to have Siri carry out multiple actions without pausing, such as asking for the time and then requesting to send a message to a friend.
In iOS 17, Siri can now read articles from websites in Safari.
The personal assistant, Siri, may read the content of a web page by saying “Siri, read this to me,” as long as Reader View is enabled on the website. Additionally, Siri has playback controls that let users manage their reading session from the Lock Screen.
Additionally, Siri messaging now gives users the opportunity to select a messaging app when sending a message from a list of available options. In addition to Apple’s built-in Messages app, users can choose third-party apps like Telegram and WhatsApp to send messages using Siri.
Now that Siri can be used in StandBy mode, a charging iPhone can serve as a hub for the home. Siri presents findings in a new full-screen, landscape UI when in StandBy mode. The current temperature and weather condition icons, for instance, will be included in the results if the user queries about the weather.
The total number of “British” Siri voices now stands at four thanks to the addition of two additional voices in iOS 17. Users in the United Kingdom who favour a regional accent will benefit from this upgrade.
In India, iOS 17 allows users to mix English and other languages including Hindi, Telegu, Punjabi, Kannada, or Marathi in their Siri requests. With this improvement, customers can communicate with Siri in their own languages for a more individualised experience.
In iOS 17, there have also been enhancements to Spotlight search outcomes. To make it simpler for consumers to distinguish between available options, results now display new colours and app icons. For instance, users will see a Safari symbol in place of the previous magnifying glass indicator if a search result advises hitting Safari to conduct a web search for cats.
App shortcuts are now available in Spotlight’s top hits section when searching for a specific app. For instance, Spotlight will show a direct link to the Favourites album from the search UI if a user frequently opens their Favourites album in the Photos app.
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