Apple Intelligence brings an updated version of Siri to your iPhone in a process that's going to extend into 2025, as the digital assistant on your phone gets smarter and more aware of what's on your screen. But one of the immediate changes arriving with the iOS 18.1 update is the ability to type your questions and commands to Siri instead of speaking them out loud.
The new feature is ideal for those times when you're someplace where discretely summoning Siri is the better option. Maybe you're in a meeting when you'd like the assistant to create a reminder about a task that just came up. Maybe you're asking Siri to look up something you'd rather keep under wraps when you're out in public. Or maybe you just prefer to keep your requests between you and your digital assistant.
Whatever the reason, if you have an iPhone capable of supporting Apple Intelligence and running iOS 18.1 — the software is currently available as a public beta — then you can take advantage of the type to Siri feature. You just need to know how to summon the feature and to make sure that it's enabled.
1. Go to Settings
First, you'll need to make sure that the Talk to Siri feature is enabled if you didn't turn it on when setting up Apple Intelligence on your phone. Go to the Settings app and select Apple Intelligence & Siri from the main menu.
2. Turn on Type to Siri
Select the Talk & Type to Siri menu, and on the ensuing screen, make sure the toggle for the Type to Siri feature is turned on.
3. Use Type to Siri
Whenever you need to use Type to Siri, just tap the very bottom edge of your iPhone screen; a keyboard will pop up surrounded by the glowing interface that indicates Siri is ready to listen. (Or read, in this case.) It may take some practice to tap the right spot of the screen — I've found the closer to the edge you can get the better.
As you type your request, predictive text will appear in the text field and shortcuts similar to what you're typing will appear above. This is meant to save you typing time if you are giving a common command like asking Siri to set an alarm.
And that's all there is to using the Type to Siri feature in iOS 18.1 You can download the iOS 18.1 public beta right now to try it out for yourself.
If you're looking for additional hints on getting the most out of the new Apple Intelligence coming to the iPhone, we can show you how to use the Writing Tools that are now available on your phone. We also can show you how to get summaries of your emails in the Mail app as well as how to make a Memory Movie out of the photos and videos in your Photos library.
