What you need to know

  • Apple is beginning to roll out support for radio stations accessible via Siri search.
  • iPhone, iPad and HomePod users will be able to access over 100,000 radio stations just by asking Siri.
  • The radio stations will be sourced through iHeartRadio, Radio.com and TuneIn.

Apple is beginning to roll out support for native radio support through Siri on iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 that will make over 100,000 radio stations instantly accessible via Siri search. First spotted by 9to5Mac, users on the iOS 13 beta can now access some radio stations through Siri.

The feature was first teased at WWDC in early June and promised users of the iPhone, iPad and HomePod over 100,000 radio stations by just asking Siri. Apple stated the feature would work through sourcing radio apps iHeartRadio, Radio.com and TuneIn.

At that time, Apple confirmed the feature would be available in the fall with the public release of iOS 13, but the functionality is already showing up for users on the beta. You can ask your Apple device to play a radio station and it will start playing it if it supports it. Playsback is done through the Music app and works the same way as playing regular music does.

For instance, asking my HomePod to "play radio station BBC Radio One" results in the Siri response"Playing BBC Radio One, provided by TuneIn." and the audio starts playing. You can also start other radio stations just by saying their name.

As Siri tends to be, functionality has been a bit finicky. Not saying the proper phrasing will result in Siri reverting to searching through Apple Music to find the query.

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Apple users will get to enjoy the feature once it rolls out publicly in the fall. For now, it's only reserved for beta users, which you can still access through the public beta if you so choose.

Everything new with iOS 13