How to manage message announcements on iPhone and iPad

By Joseph Keller
published

Powerbeats on iPhone
Powerbeats on iPhone (Image credit: iMore)

With iOS 13.2 and iPadOS 13.2, you can get voice announcements from Siri for messages sent to you while you're wearing your AirPods. Right now, this feature only works for Messages, but Apple has said that it will work with third-party messaging apps as well with iOS 13.2 launches later this year.

With message announcements, you'll receive an audio notification in your AirPods or Powerbeats Pro when you receive a message. Siri will announce the sender, then read you their message. You'll be asked if you want to reply, after which you say "Tell them [your message]." You won't have to say "Hey Siri" to respond. As of right now, and keep in mind that this feature is still in beta, this feature only works with headphones with Apple's H1 wireless chip. First-generation AirPods don't seem to be supported at this time.

Here's how you manage your message announcements.

Apple occasionally offers updates to iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS as closed developer previews or public betas (opens in new tab). While the betas contain new features, they also contain pre-release bugs that can prevent the normal use of your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, or Mac, and are not intended for everyday use on a primary device. That's why we strongly recommend staying away from developer previews unless you need them for software development, and using the public betas with caution. If you depend on your devices, wait for the final release.

How to turn on message announcements

  1. Put your AirPods in your ears.
  2. Connect your AirPods to your iPhone or iPad.
  3. Tap Announce Messages with Siri.

Pair AirPods, tap Announce Messages with Siri

(Image credit: iMore)

This is only necessary the first time you put in your AirPods when running iOS 13 or iPadOS 13 on your device. It does seem to be necessary each time you connect your AirPods to a device running either system.

How to turn off reply confirmations

  1. Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Tap Notifications.

Open Settings, tap Notifications

(Image credit: iMore)
  1. Tap  Announce Messages with Siri.
  2. Tap the switch next to Reply without Confirmation to have Siri send your reply to a message as soon as you finish speaking, rather than reading it back to you.

Tap Announce Messages with Siri, tap switch

(Image credit: iMore)

How to turn off message announcements

  1. Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Tap Notifications.

Open Settings, tap Notifications

(Image credit: iMore)
  1. Tap Announce Messages with Siri.
  2. Tap the switch to turn them off.

Tap Announce Messages with Siri, tap the switch

(Image credit: iMore)

How to manage Siri message announcements for a specific app

  1. Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Tap Notifications.
  3. Tap Announce Messages with Siri.

Open Settings, tap Notifications, tap Announce Messages with Siri

(Image credit: iMore)
  1. Tap Messages.
  2. Tap the switch to turn message announcements for this specific app on or off.
  3. Tap to choose which kind of contact you get notifications for: Everyone, Recents, All Contacts, or your Favorites.

Tap Messages, tap switch, tap a type of contact

(Image credit: iMore)

Questions?

If you have any questions about message announcements in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, let us know in the comments.

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Joseph Keller
Joseph Keller

Joseph Keller is the former Editor in Chief of iMore. An Apple user for almost 20 years, he spends his time learning the ins and outs of iOS and macOS, always finding ways of getting the most out of his iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac.

3 Comments
  • This is pretty disappointing. There is no reason this should be limited to H1 chip AirPods. Also, why isn’t this working on CarPlay? There really needs be an option to announce the message and ask if you want it read instead.
  • Agreed on the CarPlay support, I was really looking forward to this, half the time I miss the messages in my car which ruins the whole point of hands-free. I don't really want to have to ask Siri every 10 minutes whether I have messages or not…
  • For some reason this option doesn’t show up in my girlfriends iphone. She’s on 13.2 and even has Powerbeats pro. But it doesn’t show up in Settings >Siri & Search