Apple won't let you use Siri to hail rides or make payments anymore
- 29 July, 2021 01:09
In a quiet move that could cause a loud backlash from users and developers, Apple has announced that numerous Siri interactions with both Apple and third-party apps will no longer be supported in all new and existing OS releases once iOS 15 lands this fall. This list is fairly extensive and includes common actions such as book a ride through Uber and searching for photos.
As spotted by Macrumors, Apple has posted a new support page called Deprecated SiriKit Intent Domains that informs developers that once iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, and watchOS 8 are released this fall, some SiriKit intent domains will be deprecated. As Apple explains, when a user makes a request that is no longer supported, Siri will reply that it can't support the request.
There isn't any work the developers need to do to update their apps, though Apple cautions app makers to update any promotional activities that highlight the functionality. However, the changes will undoubtedly affect both users and developers who rely on Siri to enhance the functionality of their app. For example, the ability to interact with a car's radio, climate control, and seat settings using CarPlay have all been removed in iOS 15. Here's the full list:
CarPlay
- Set Audio Source in Car
- Set Climate Settings in Car
- Set Defroster Settings in Car
- Set Seat Settings in Car
- Save Profile in Car
- Set Profile in Car
- Set Radio Station
Lists and Notes
- Append to Note
- Create Task List
- Delete a Task
Payments
- Pay a Bill
- Search for Bills
- Transfer Money (between accounts)
Photos
- Search for Photos
- Start Photo Playback
Ride Booking
- List Ride Options
- Request a Ride
- Get the Ride Status
- Cancel Ride
- Send Ride Feedback
Visual Codes
- Get Visual Code
VoIP Calling
- Search Call History
It's not clear why Apple is removing the functionality that was introduced in iOS 13. Some of the deprecated interactions will be frustrating and confounding for users. For example, you can no longer delete a task from a task list but you can add one. Apple does note that ride-hailing in Maps will continue to be supported.
This limited functionality presumably won't apply to Apple's own Reminders app, but we'll have to test it. Apple added several new Siri enhancements in iOS 15, including offline support, fast on-device processing, and onscreen context, but none of the new features seem to directly impact any of the interactions being deprecated.
