iOS 18.4 brings a new Control Center widget for talking to Siri
iOS 18.4 lets you access specific Apple Intelligence and Siri features through your iPhone’s Control Center, thanks to new widgets such as Talk to Siri.
Having a dedicated Control Center button for talking to Siri will come in handy in several specific cases. For example, you may want to use it if you don’t like the assistant to listen for the wake phrase (which reduces battery life). The new control will also be an alternative way to talk to Siri when the side button malfunctions.
It can also be used in place of the flashlight or camera shortcut at the bottom of the lockscreen, and you can bind it to a Back Tap gesture.
There are three new Apple Intelligence and Siri widgets in iOS 18.4, and they’re available on all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with Apple Intelligence, even when Apple Intelligence is turned off. Apple has confirmed that it will release iOS 18.4 the public alongside other updates in April.
iOS 18.4 brings a new Talk to Siri widget for the Control Center, Lock Screen shortcuts and Back Tap gestures
Apple has made other changes to the Control Center in iOS 18.4. The update brings a new section to the Control Center widget gallery, named “Apple Intelligence & Siri”. It includes the existing Type to Siri widget, which used to live in the dedicated Siri section, along with the new Talk to Siri and Visual Intelligence widgets. With these changes, the Siri section has been removed from the Control Center gallery.
As for the Visual Intelligence widget, it lets owners of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models invoke the visual intelligence feature of Apple Intelligence via the Control Center, Back Tap or the Action button. Moreover, visual intelligence can also be assigned to the Back Tap feature or used in place of the flashlight or camera shortcut on the lockscreen. On the iPhone 16 family, a long press of the Camera Control button launches visual intelligence.
Personalized Siri has been delayed
Speaking of Siri, Apple has confirmed that an AI-infused version of Siri with personal context and other capabilities that it previewed at the WWDC24 has been delayed. It plans to release this Siri version “in the coming year” because “it’s going to take us longer than we thought” to deliver the promised features.
That hasn’t stopped the company from advertising the improved Siri features with the iPhone 16 lineup even though buyers were not, and still won’t be able to use those features until at least iOS 19, or more likely iOS 20.
The new Siri features include onscreen awareness, which lets Siri see what you do on the screen so you can say things like “Send this to dad” when viewing an image in the Photo app; personal context, which analyzes your emails, messages and other data to answer questions such as “When’s Mom’s flight landing?”; and in-app actions that will let the assistant chain together multiple tasks across apps.
Apple has also removed the iPhone 16 ad that showcased a more personal Siri. “Equipped with awareness of your personal context, the ability to take action in and across apps, and richer language understanding, Siri will be able to assist you like never before,” the removed video promised. English actor Isabella Ramsey, who starred in the commercial, shared the now-removed ad on her Instagram profile.
Apple has also tweaked a section on the iOS 18 page called “The start of a new era for Siri” to emphasize Siri’s product knowledge more than personal context. The original statement read, “With richer language understanding and awareness of your personal context, Siri is more capable and helpful than ever.” Contrast this with the updated wording, which reads, “With richer language understanding and expansive product knowledge about your devices, Siri is more helpful than ever.”
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