Perplexity's New iOS Voice Assistant Works Where Siri Still Can't
Perplexity has updated its iOS app with a new Voice Assistant feature, bringing conversational AI capabilities to Apple devices, including older iPhones and iPads that don't support Apple Intelligence. The update allows iPhone users to interact with Perplexity's AI assistant through voice commands even when navigating away from the app.
The Voice Assistant can perform various tasks such as the following, given the requisite user permissions:
- Drafting and sending emails
- Sending messages and making calls
- Controlling smart home devices
- Providing Apple Maps directions and traffic updates
- Setting reminders
- Booking Ubers
- Scheduling and editing Calendar events
- Playing Podcasts, including search and subscribe
- Playing music and videos
- Answering general knowledge questions
- Making reservations via booking sites
Voice Assistant can browse the web and perform multi-app actions to complete these functions directly from the Perplexity iOS app.
The update includes a shortcut for Voice Assistant that can be added to the Lock Screen or assigned to an iPhone's Action button, making Perplexity a viable substitute for some of Apple Intelligence's
delayed conversational AI enhancements for Siri, which are still likely months away from release.
Perplexity leverages the power of large language models like OpenAI's GPT-4.1, Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro, Anthropic's Claude 3.7 Sonnet, and xAi's Grok-2. The iOS app currently lacks the screen sharing capability found in the Android version of Perplexity, where the assistant can see and interact with content on the user's screen. Perplexity syncs across devices and is a free download with in-app subscriptions from the App Store. [Direct Link]
Popular Stories
You'd think things would be slowing down heading into the holidays, but this week saw a whirlwind of Apple leaks and rumors while Apple started its next cycle of betas following last week's release of iOS 26.2 and related updates.
This week also saw the release of a new Apple Music integration with ChatGPT, so read on below for all the details on this week's biggest stories!
Top Stories
i...
Next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with under-screen Face ID, and the front camera will be moved to the top-left corner of the screen, according to a new report from The Information's Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu.
As a result of these changes, the report said the iPhone 18 Pro models will not have a pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout at the top of the screen....
Since the beginning of December, Apple has been pushing iPhone users who opted to stay on iOS 18 to install iOS 26 instead. Apple started by making the iOS 18 upgrades less visible, and has now transitioned to making new iOS 18 updates unavailable on any device capable of running iOS 26.
If you have an iPhone 11 or later, Apple is no longer offering new versions of iOS 18, even though there...
Since the AirPods Pro 3 launched, there have been complaints from users who have noticed a static-like sound or a crackling issue when using the earbuds, particularly when Active Noise Cancellation is on but no media is playing. Users have also run into strange high-pitched whistling sounds that happen intermittently.
We shared the issues back in late October, and despite two subsequent...
There's now a dedicated Apple Music app for ChatGPT, which allows ChatGPT to make music recommendations and build playlists.
Apple Music can be added to ChatGPT through the Settings section in the Mac app, website, or iOS app. Apple Music is listed under the apps option, and connecting to it requires signing in with your Apple Account for authorization purposes.
ChatGPT can be used to...
There has been a whirlwind of rumors over the last few days, sourced from leaked internal software designed for the iPhone and the Mac, and news sites like The Information. Below, we have a quick recap of everything we've heard this week, which serves as a guide to Apple's product plans in 2026 and beyond.
We've organized the info by likely release date, though there are some products that...
Samsung has officially unveiled the Exynos 2600, the world's first 2 nanometer mobile system-on-a-chip (SoC), built on the company's Gate-All-Around (GAA) process. The 10-core ARM-based design aims to deliver improved performance and efficiency for flagship devices like the upcoming Galaxy S26 series.
The chip uses Arm's latest cores and supports new instructions for improved CPU speed and...
Apple Maps no longer offers a Flyover feature that provides users with automated tours of notable landmarks in major cities. The Flyover option appears to have been nixed around when iOS 26 launched, but its removal went largely unnoticed.
Flyover city tours were introduced in 2014 with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, using Flyover imagery to generate an aerial tour. Most cities with Flyover...
