An upgrade that has gone somewhat under the radar when iOS12 was released is the enhancements Siri got.

In order to rival Alexa and Google Home, Siri is becoming more than just a personal assistant. Siri is now capable of suggesting tasks by intelligently learning your routines across your installed apps.

For example, if you order the same coffee from Starbucks every morning and the app supports Siri Shortcuts, Siri will recognise this habit. It will then intelligently notify you via a standard notification around that time of day, with your order appearing on the lock screen. All that is left to do is to tap the notification and press the order button.

Also, completely new for iOS12 is Siri Shortcuts, designed to let the user create voice and tap-activated commands that complete a series of tasks automatically. Just look for the Add to Siri button in your favourite apps and tap to add with your own personal phrase. Alternatively, go to Settings on your iPhone to find all shortcuts available on your device.

Siri users are utilising this feature to create their own personalised shortcuts to quickly find out things such as the trending topics on Twitter. This is generated by creating a Shortcut that will allow you to view Twitter’s Moments section with a Siri voice command. This can be accessed by going to Settings > Siri & Search > Twitter > See All and recording your command. You will then be able to ask Siri that command and be told all the trending topics at any given time.

This feature works cross-platform across the entire Apple ecosystem, as long as the device has Siri. This means Siri Shortcuts can be used through your Apple Watch, Apple HomePod and even Apple CarPlay.

SixPorts is exploring this technology further and has already started integrating this intuitive voice feature into our client’s custom apps. Interested? Get in contact today or keep an eye on the blog for more info!