iOS 14 is bringing much-awaited enhancements to Apple’s digital assistant Siri. The company has made the Siri interface compact so that it no longer takes up the entire screen of your iPhone when triggered. The improvements aren’t limited to interface though. With iOS 14, Siri has also picked up some handy new features, one of which is the ability to send audio messages or voice messages easily.
The good news is, the functionality isn’t limited to your contacts who are on iMessage. You can send an audio message via Siri to any contact on your phone. So yes, it will work with your friend’s Android device too. Even better, if the recipient is not on your contact list then you can simply read out the entire mobile number with country code to share the voice message using Siri. Follow the steps below to know how you can use Siri to send voice or audio messages on the iPhone.
How to Send Audio Messages on Your iPhone Hands Free
Step #1: Wake up Siri
Invoke Siri on your iPhone using Hey Siri voice command or by long-pressing the power button.
Step #2: Ask Siri to Record Audio Message
Now say Send an audio message to [Contact Name]. If there are multiple contacts with the same name saved on your device or if Siri is unsure which contact you’re referring to, then it will ask you to choose one from a selection displayed on the screen. If the contact is not saved on your phone, then spell out the mobile number to Siri. For example, you can say Send an audio message to +1 9xxxx9xxxx (Mobile number)
Step #3: Record Your Message
After Siri responds with OK, recording, speak whatever it is you want to include in the audio message. Siri will transcribe your speech in real-time at the bottom of the screen to show that it can hear you accurately and clearly. In my experience, there doesn’t appear to be a limit to how long you can record for.
Don’t keep your phone too far from you. For best results, try to keep the device near your mouth.
Step #4: Confirm Your Recording
Stop speaking for a few seconds and Siri will recognize that you have finished recording. It will showcase the recorded message for your confirmation. You will see a small preview of the conversation at the top with the audio message duration.
Step #5: Send or Cancel or Re-record Message
If you are satisfied with the recorded message then say send. If you want to make changes then simply say, record it again and Siri will go back to re-recording the audio message.
Now, open the Messages app and you will see the recent audio message being sent out in the conversation thread. Keep in mind that these audio messages will get deleted after a couple of minutes unless they are saved. This is the default behavior of iOS. However, you can keep them permanently by tweaking an option in the Settings app. Go through the step below.
How to Prevent Audio Messages from Being Deleted in Messages App
Step #1: Open Messages App Settings
Open the Settings app on the iPhone and scroll down to the Messages app.
Step #2: Keep Audio Messages Permanently
Navigate to Audio Message > Expire and select Never from the Expire menu.
As of now, the ability to send an audio message through Siri is limited to the Messages app only. You can’t compose and share audio messages with third-party instant messaging apps like WhatsApp or Telegram.
Sending audio messages via Siri is just one of the many features Apple announced at the online-only WWDC event. Don’t forget to check out the 100+ new iOS 14 features for iPhone that we have discovered so far. Have you installed the iOS 14 beta on your iPhone yet? How’s your experience so far? Sound off in the comments section below.
Learn how to use the cool new iOS 14 features with our step-by-step guide:
- How to Use Picture in Picture for Videos and Calls on iPhone
- How to Use Back Tap on iPhone to Launch Apps, And Other Cool Tricks
- How to Add, Remove, or Customize Widgets on Your iPhone Home Screen
- How to Hide Home Screen Pages on iPhone
- iOS 14: How to Use App Library on iPhone
- How to Check Battery Level of Bluetooth Devices Connected to Your iPhone
