As the arms race with Amazon’s Alexa continues, Apple’s “Hey Siri” feature has been improved upon in the iOS 11.2.5 beta and is now available to everyone in the US, UK, and Australia.
To invoke the new feature, simply say, “Hey Siri, give me the news,” wherein Siri will begin playing a news digest podcast from NPR by default.
Siri can also switch news sources to other providers such as Fox News, CNN and the Washington Post. In the UK, the audio news digest defaults to the BBC but can be switched to Sky News or LBC. Australians choose from ABC, SBS, or Seven Network.
At present, the audio news digest plays through Apple’s Podcasts app, which may have to be reinstalled if you’ve removed. it.
This feature only works if you invoke Siri with the “Hey Siri” voice command. If you hold down the Home button (or Side button on the iPhone X) to wake up Siri and then ask for the news, you’ll get a list of news stories from Apple’s News app on your screen.
This feature is clearly in preparation for Apple’s delayed-but-coming-soon HomePod release. Though Apple is pitching HomePod as a music-first device, it will necessarily compete with Amazon and Google’s smart speakers and will be expected to have many of the same core functions.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via Macworld