The recent iOS 11.2.5 update added new functionality to your iPhone’s personal assistant. Now, other than calling, translating, changing settings and answering your questions, Siri will play the latest news for you as well. And don’t worry, you won’t actually have to listen to Siri’s snarky voice reading out the news. Siri will play short daily news audio clips from various reputable publications.
Currently, Siri News feature is available in the US, UK, and Australia (but you can access this functionality anywhere by switching your device’s region to the United States). Alternatively, if you don’t want to switch your region, you can get similar functionality by installing Google Assistant app.
How to Use Siri News
The way feature works is a bit peculiar. It will only work when invoked using the Hey Siri hot word. If you ask Siri to read you the news after manually invoking Siri, all you’ll get is a list of latest stories on the screen.
This feature was designed to be used hands-free and without looking at the device. It works when you’ve got your headphones on (it works really well on AirPods), via CarPlay and when you’re using enabling Siri using the Hey Siri feature. Which means this feature is only available on iPhone 6s and higher. Siri News feature via headphones seems to be working for all iPhones.
Invoke Siri using the Hey Siri functionality and say “Hey Siri, play the news”. Siri will then start playing the latest audio news from your preferred source using the Podcasts app. Also, note that this feature won’t work if you don’t have the Podcasts app installed.
You can also ask for specific news categories including Sports, Business or Music.
Tap on the Open Podcasts button to view the audio section in the Podcasts app. Here, you can pause playback and fast forward.
Read more: 9 Cool Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do with Siri
How to Change Sources
When you ask Siri to play the news, you can slightly change the command. You can say “Hey Siri play the business news” to listen Bloomberg’s content. Similarly, ask for Music news and Sports news as well.
You can even change the source while Siri is playing the news. Just say “Switch to Washington Post” and Siri will change the source on the fly. The following general news sources are available right now: ABC, Apple Music, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, ESPN, Fox News, LBC, NBC, NPR, SBS, Seven Network, Sky News, The Washington Post.
Read more: How to Type to Siri on iPhone and iPad in iOS 11
How Do You Get Your Daily News Fix?
How do you stay on top of the news? Share with us in the comments below.
