Stop talking to your phone: How to use Type to Siri
You don't have to use your voice to speak to Siri. The post Stop talking to your phone: How to use Type to Siri appeared first on Popular Science.
Among the changes ushered in with iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS 15.1 Sequoia is a new Type to Siri option. This means you can carry on a conversation with Apple’s digital assistant without having to talk out loud, which is helpful when you’re in a quiet library, busy subway car, or anywhere else you can’t really use voice control.
The ability to type to Siri has actually been available on Apple devices for several years now, but previously it was hidden away in the Accessibility settings and not all that easy to find. Now Apple has given it much more prominence in its operating systems, so typing is just as straightforward as talking.
Everything works the same when you’re typing to Siri as when you’re talking to Siri, including the new ChatGPT extension, which you can enable from the Apple Intelligence & Siri screen in Settings (iOS and iPadOS) or System Settings (macOS). You can also switch between typing and talking as needed.
The new Type to Siri options
To get the new Type to Siri options on your Apple devices, you first need to enable Apple Intelligence, if you haven’t done so already: Choose Apple Intelligence & Siri from Settings (iPhones and iPads) or System Settings (Macs), then turn on the Apple Intelligence toggle switch at the top.
You’ll see a variety of Siri settings on the same screen, letting you set your preferences for how you communicate with the digital assistant. With Apple Intelligence enabled, you can use a combination of typing and talking (even within the same conversation) without having to reconfigure these options each time.
On iOS or iPadOS, open Settings, head to Apple Intelligence & Siri, then tap Talk & Type to Siri: Turn on the Type to Siri toggle switch, and you can then double tap at the very bottom of the screen to launch the typing interface, no matter which app you’re in. Siri will respond with text too.
On macOS, it’s a little different: Type to Siri is automatically enabled when Apple Intelligence is turned on, so you won’t find a separate toggle switch for it. To type to Siri, simply click on the Siri icon on the menu bar, or use the shortcut specified under Keyboard shortcut on the Apple Intelligence & Siri page (by default, you need to press either Cmd button twice).
Whether you’re using a mobile device or a computer, you’ll see you can switch back to voice commands with a tap or a click on the microphone icon inside the Siri interface. Enabling Type to Siri won’t require you to use the text interface every time you want to interact with the digital assistant.
The old Type to Siri options
As mentioned above, you could already enable Type to Siri as an Accessibility option in iOS, iPadOS, and macOS—though the setting wasn’t as easy to get to, and it didn’t work quite as fluidly as it does in its updated form. This option remains available if you don’t have Apple Intelligence enabled on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Or if you don’t want the ChatGPT extension.
On iOS or iPadOS, open Settings and choose Accessibility > Siri, then enable Type to Siri—the typing input can then be launched with a double-tap on the side button. On the same settings screen, you can set Siri to always respond with text, with voice, or with whichever method you’ve initiated the conversation with.
Voice interactions are still available with Type to Siri turned on. If you head to Apple Intelligence & Siri in iOS or iPadOS Settings, you can still set your device to respond to “hey Siri” commands even if Apple Intelligence is disabled. You get the older version of Siri, without extras like the aforementioned ChatGPT integration.
If you’re using macOS, open System Settings from the Apple menu, then choose Accessibility > Siri and enable Type to Siri. Once that option is enabled, to start typing to the digital assistant, click the Siri button on the menu bar or hold down the mic button (F5) on your Mac keyboard (Siri automatically responds with text too).
To change the shortcut button, from System Settings choose Apple Intelligence & Siri. As on iPhones and iPads, from the same screen you can enable or disable voice control for Siri too, via the Listen for setting—so it is possible to use voice activation for Siri as well as typing out your commands.
The post Stop talking to your phone: How to use Type to Siri appeared first on Popular Science.
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