Type to query is coming to Siri with iOS 11.
One of iOS 11's many (many, many) unsung features from the "even more iOS features" slide during Apple's Monday keynote? An accessibility feature called "Type to Siri."
It's exactly what it sounds like: A textual interface where you can write your queries to Siri, rather than ask them. When iOS 11 comes out in the fall, users will be able to turn on "Type to Siri" in their accessibility settings, which will let you write your commands to Siri, rather than shout them into space.
As of now, Type to Siri is an accessibility feature: It's designed for folks who may not be able to speak their queries and need a keyboard (or other switch control-based device) to do so, and a huge boon for them, too.
But even those without need for accessibility features may love this feature — Google's Assistant offers both a text and type interface, allowing for quick and quiet answers to questions when a typical voice query won't do, and a similar Siri option should prove very helpful for a variety of folks. The feature will also be available for macOS High Sierra when it launches in the fall, as well.
Apple occasionally offers updates to iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS as closed developer previews or public betas for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac (sadly, no public beta for the Apple Watch). 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 Type to Siri
- Open the Settings app.
- Navigate to General > Accessibility > Siri.
- Enable the toggle at the top of the screen that reads Type to Siri.
- Trigger Siri by holding down the Home button.
How to use your voice when Type to Siri is enabled
Even if you have Type to Siri enabled, you can still use your voice with Siri in a couple of ways.
Option 1: Use "Hey Siri"
- Open the Settings app.
- Navigate to Siri & Search and make sure Listen for "Hey Siri" is toggled On.
- Trigger Siri by saying "Hey Siri," followed by your query.
Option 2: Use dictation
- Open the Settings app.
- Navigate to General > Accessibility > Siri.
- Enable the toggle at the top of the screen that reads Type to Siri.
- Trigger Siri by holding down the Home button.
- Tap the Dictation button on your keyboard to dictate your query.
How to use Type to Siri in iOS 10 and before
In iOS 10 and earlier, Apple still offers a way to talk to Siri via typing: It's just a little more cumbersome.
- Press and hold the Home button on your iPhone or iPad, or say "Hey, Siri" to activate Siri.
Dictate a request.
- Tap on the text you spoke in order to change your query.
Make your changes and then tap Done on the bottom right of the keyboard.
You can also just tap a single word that you want to change, thanks to Siri's word suggestion options.
Questions?
Are you excited for this feature to come to iOS 11? Let us know below.
Reader comments
How to type a request to Siri instead of speaking
'Take that Google Assistant'?
How is this an in-your-face-style statement when Google Assistant already does this and Siri is just catching up (months from now)?
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Wait, really? That was not possible? Cortana can do this since the start and 99% of the time i type to her instead of talking.
That's not how Siri is supposed to work though, you're supposed to talk, this was the original design. On the iPhone 7, Siri works well both outside and inside, there's really no reason you should need to type to it, unless you're in an area where you have to be quiet
"Catching up"
Typing to Siri is an accessibility feature for people who are disabled and as such struggle or can't talk to Siri. The whole premise and idea behind voice assistants is that you use your… voice. It was never designed to work another way, this was Google's and Microsoft's decision to make it work with text. Using a voice assistant with text is like navigating an iPad with a stylus.
Don't the iPad Pro's have a companion accessory called the Apple Pencil?
For drawing, yes. Navigating the interface is supposed to be done with your finger, hence Steve Jobs' stylus comment
Not to mention that it is restricted to only one mode of operation. Judging by where Apple stuck this, the single mode of operation will remain for the foreseeable future. Oh and, BlackBerry 10 Assistant had this 3 years ago.
I'm really really starting to feel like I'm missing out on the benefits of modern iCivilization by staying on iOS. Apple is literally trolling us at this point. They cannot be this out of touch.
Apparently, they can. I am not sure if they are running up against some kind of architecture limitations. It is very strange. iOS 11 feels like .1 upgrade, not a version.
That's because it's an "accessibility" feature, not a normal feature. Siri isn't designed to be used with text, you're supposed to talk to it, that's the original design. It was Microsoft and Google's decision to make it work with text, but that was never Apple's idea
Google Assistant already does this...
Thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious!
Siri is designed to be used with your voice anyway, so this makes 0% difference to me and many others
This may get me interested in using Siri. Hopefully others will be polite in public and use the typing interface.
Eh what? This is an accessibility feature and as such you can only use one method of input at a time. You're supposed to talk to Siri, and it's designed to be used in public
Except that it unnecessarily disturbs the peace.
Does it? You're asking something for a few seconds at most, that's it. It doesn't disturb the peace anywhere except in a room where you have to be quiet, such as a library or business meeting
Restaurants, subway and train cars, elevators, open offices, walking in the park, et cetera.
Let's go through that list:
Restaurants - This is fine, people chat at restaurants so it's perfectly fine to use Siri. Good use for Siri here is for splitting the bill
Subway/Train cars - Depends on the subway/train, but certain areas are "quiet areas" and others aren't. The non-quiet areas are fine to use Siri in. Good use for Siri here is to see when you'll reach your stop.
Elevators - This is fine, albeit if you feel uncomfortable specifically in elevators then you're not on them for long so it's not too big of a deal.
Open office - Depends on the office, but generally if you're allowed to chat then you can use Siri. Use Siri as your calculator or for other office tasks.
Walking in the park - Perfectly fine, parks generally aren't very noisy so this is a great place to use Siri
So really it's not nearly as bad as you're making out, most of those are fine, and elevators doesn't really count since you're there for at most a couple of minutes
Hey Google Assistant! You know that thing you have been doing for a while? I will soon be able to do too! How you like me now !!
"Hey, my name is Ziich47, and I'm going to wait for the iOS 11 posts so I can tell everyone how this feature was copied from X, or how this feature was already available on X"
Has nothing to do with Google. Have you used Assistant or Cortana lately? Apple is the outlier here. Everyone else figured this out years ago and aren't restricting it to Accessibility. This is an insulting (improvement). Leaves Siri still half useless to many of us as we don't have time to constantly toggle this throughout the day.
Assistant launched as voice only. Google added text I put because they listen to their customers pretty much more than Apple these days (shockingly).
Siri is designed to be used with your voice the same way the iPhone is designed to be used with touch. Google didn't listen to their customers, they simply provided an alternative method for using the assistant since your voice outputs text. But just because Google or Microsoft do it doesn't mean Apple should. Siri was designed from the start to be used with your voice, it makes no sense for Apple to change that.
Don't give me that exaggerated bullsh*t that it's useless to the majority, Siri can be used in most places, unless you're one of the odd people that thinks speaking to your phone makes you look like silly (hint, it doesn't, it's called a technology advancement)
So Google Assistant and Cortana were not designed to be used with voice? Google added a feature to their assistant but they didn't listen to their customers but Apple added the same feature because they listened to their customers?
As already stated, Apple has added this solely for accessibility purposes, hence why it's in the "Accessibility" section. If you turn on the accessibility option, you're given a text field until it's switched off, it doesn't really give you both options at once. There is the dictation button when the accessibility option is enabled, but that means you have to manually click the dictation button every time.