One of the common complaints about Siri is the vocal component -- speaking to ‌Siri‌ must be done verbally, which can be embarrassing and inconvenient in social situations. Apple hasn't provided a clear cut solution like an integrated ‌Siri‌ and Spotlight search feature, but iOS has had a Type to ‌Siri‌ feature since iOS 11.

Type to ‌Siri‌ is a function designed for those who are unable to speak, but it can be enabled by anyone who would like to try typing to ‌Siri‌ instead of speaking to ‌Siri‌.

Enabling Type to Siri

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Choose "General."
  3. Select the "Accessibility" section.
  4. Scroll down and "‌Siri‌."typetosiri1
  5. Toggle on "Type to ‌Siri‌."

With Type to ‌Siri‌ enabled, when the Home button (or Side button if your device doesn't have a Home button) is pressed to activate ‌Siri‌, it brings up the keyboard and an option to type a command to ‌Siri‌. Typed ‌Siri‌ commands work just like spoken ‌Siri‌ commands - ‌Siri‌ will respond to questions like "What's the weather?" or "What movies are playing nearby?"

typetosiri2
When you have Type to ‌Siri‌ turned on, it's an all or nothing setting. All commands must be typed if you access ‌Siri‌ through the Home button or Side button. If you say "Hey ‌Siri‌," though, ‌Siri‌ will respond to spoken questions as normal, so you can use spoken commands alongside typed commands in this way. ‌Siri‌ will also respond to voice commands when the AirPods are connected and the personal assistant is activated, either via a tap on the AirPods or by saying "Hey ‌Siri‌" handsfree on AirPods 2.

Related Forum: iOS 12

Top Rated Comments

bob122989 Avatar
94 months ago
“Siri, turn WiFi off, for real.”
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cariacou Avatar
94 months ago
The all or nothing is the big killer here.
I'd love type to siri 60% of the time, but they Hey Siri is not reliable enough for the rest. Bummer...

It seems that it would be really easy to bring both up at the same time: Keyboard + Vocal Siri
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jclo Avatar
94 months ago
That’s perfect and very handy for deaf user like me.

Say if I have iPhone X, how will that work since there’s no home button? Was curious.
You'll bring up Siri from the side button.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
supertomtom Avatar
94 months ago
Even though it’s an all or nothing setting, you can still use “Hey Siri” to activate Siri the normal way.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro models 1

First iPhone 17 Pro Design Leak Claims Surprising Return to Aluminum, Rectangular Camera Bump, and More

Monday November 25, 2024 8:07 am PST by
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will offer "significant design changes," The Information's Wayne Ma reports. The two flagship iPhone 17 models will be the first high-end iPhones to feature an aluminum frame since the delineation of the iPhone lineup into Pro and non-Pro models. In recent years, lower-end iPhone models such as the iPhone SE and iPhone 16 have featured aluminum...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Rectangle Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Already Rumored to Have These 8 New Features

Wednesday November 27, 2024 12:19 pm PST by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch for 10 more months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. An imaginative iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models so far: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro ...
airpods pro bulbs

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now: AirPods, iPads, and More

Friday November 22, 2024 5:28 am PST by
Black Friday 2024 is tomorrow, and as always this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals. Right now, this includes big savings on popular Apple products like AirPods, Apple Watch, MacBook Air, iPad, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

18 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Wednesday November 27, 2024 5:05 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in early December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island single camera

'iPhone 17 Air' Features Revealed in New Report: As Thin as 5mm, Single Speaker, and More

Monday November 25, 2024 8:40 am PST by
The Information's Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu today published an in-depth report about the "iPhone 17 Air," revealing several new details about the device. The report said prototypes of the device have a thickness of between 5mm and 6mm, which would make it the thinnest iPhone ever. In comparison, iPhone 16 models are 7.8mm thick and iPhone 16 Pro models are 8.25mm thick. Due to this...
new streaming black friday

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, and Peacock

Wednesday November 27, 2024 7:30 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, and Peacock. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link...
ipads early bf deals

7 Best Black Friday iPad Deals for 2024

Saturday November 23, 2024 1:44 pm PST by
We're less than one week away from Black Friday on November 29, and Best Buy and Amazon currently have all-time low prices across Apple's entire iPad lineup. This includes Apple's 9th and 10th generation iPad, iPad mini 7, iPad Air, and iPad Pro. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which...
M4 M4 Pro vs M4 Max Feature

When to Expect New M4 MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro Models

Tuesday November 26, 2024 4:08 am PST by
Apple's fall 2024 Mac announcements have included new iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro models, all of which debuted with variants of Apple's M4 chip. Apple intends to update the rest of its Mac lineup with M4 series processors over the next 12 months, which will make it the first time that Apple has used the same chip generation across all of its Macs. This means we can expect new M4...