iOS 17: Everything New With Siri and Spotlight

In iOS 17, Apple added a handful of new improvements to on-device personal assistant Siri and the Spotlight search feature. There aren't any major changes, but Spotlight search has improved, and for ‌Siri‌, it's easier than ever to use.

iOS 17 Siri Feature
This guide highlights all of the ‌Siri‌ and Spotlight features and changes in iOS 17.

No More Hey Siri

You can just say "‌Siri‌" to activate ‌Siri‌, dropping the "Hey" that's been used as a wake word for years. ‌Siri‌ will activate when you say the ‌Siri‌ word, so you can speak more naturally.

Hey Siri vs Siri
"‌Siri‌, can you tell me what time it is?" is a phrase that ‌Siri‌ recognizes, for example.

Back-to-Back Requests

‌Siri‌ is able to recognize and respond to multiple back-to-back requests without needing to be reactivated.

You can, for example, ask ‌Siri‌ to tell you the time, and then follow that up with a request to text your friend that you're going to be late all in the same ‌Siri‌ request.

Web Articles

In Safari, there's a new ‌Siri‌ feature that allows the personal assistant to read a web article to you. As long as a site has Reader View available, you can say "‌Siri‌, read this to me" to have ‌Siri‌ read the content on the page.

siri

There are playback tools, so you can fast forward, pause, resume, and rewind from the Lock Screen.

Siri Messaging

When you ask ‌Siri‌ to send a message, you can now tap to select which app you want to send it from. This allows you to send messages not just from Apple's built-in Messages app, but also third-party apps like Telegram and WhatsApp.

siri messaging ios 17
The feature is compatible with any third-party app that has "Use with Ask ‌Siri‌" enabled in the Settings app.

Siri and StandBy

‌Siri‌ can be activated in StandBy mode, the new option for turning a charging iPhone into a home hub. When you ask ‌Siri‌ a question, there's a new full-screen UI that will show the results in landscape mode.

standby siri
If you ask about the weather, for example, you'll see the current temperature and icons that denote the weather conditions.

Siri UK Voices

There are two new "British" ‌Siri‌ voices available in iOS 17, making a total of four.

Siri in India

iOS 17 supports bilingual ‌Siri‌ queries that mix English with Hindi, Telegu, Punjabi, Kannada, or Marathi.

Search results have been improved with new colors and app icons to make it easier to see what's what. If you search for cats, for example, and one of the results is an option to tap into Safari for a web search, you'll see a Safari icon instead of the prior magnifying glass icon.

ios 17 spotlight search

App Shortcuts

When searching for an app, Spotlight now offers App Shortcuts in the top hits section. If you search for Photos and often go to the Favorites album, Spotlight will show you a link to get directly to the Favorites album from the search interface.

photos app shortcuts

Read More

Additional details on the new features in the iOS 17 update can be found in our iOS 17 roundup.

Popular Stories

M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:07 am PDT by
Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models. In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB. Like...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips. The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new iPad Pro to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing ...
maxresdefault

Here's Everything Apple Announced Today

Wednesday October 15, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We didn't get a second fall event this year, but Apple did unveil updated products with a series of press releases that went out today. The M5 chip made an appearance in new MacBook Pro, Vision Pro, and iPad Pro models. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up our coverage and highlighted the main feature changes for each device below. MacBook Pro M5...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
iphone air thickness

Apple Said to Cut iPhone Air Production Amid Underwhelming Sales

Friday October 17, 2025 8:29 am PDT by
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec). The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
Vision Pro M5 Announcement

Apple Updates Vision Pro With M5 Chip, Dual Knit Band, and 120Hz Support

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:14 am PDT by
Apple today updated the Vision Pro headset with its next-generation M5 chip for faster performance, and a more comfortable Dual Knit Band. The M5 chip has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, and a 16-core Neural Engine, and we have confirmed the Vision Pro still has 16GB of RAM. With the M5 chip, the Vision Pro offers faster performance and longer battery life compared...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New 14-Inch MacBook Pro Has Two Key Upgrades Beyond the M5 Chip

Thursday October 16, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with an M5 chip, and there are two key storage-related upgrades beyond that chip bump. First, Apple says the new 14-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 2× faster SSD performance than the equivalent previous-generation model, so read and write speeds should get a significant boost. Apple says it is using "the latest storage technology," ...
MacBook Pro M5 Screen

New MacBook Pro Does Not Include a Charger in the Box in Europe

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:59 am PDT by
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip does not include a charger in the box in European countries, including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and others, according to Apple's online store. In the U.S. and all other countries outside of Europe, the new MacBook Pro comes with Apple's 70W USB-C Power Adapter, but European customers miss out....
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday October 14, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version? According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier...
macbook pro blue

Apple's M5 MacBook Pro Imminent: What to Expect

Tuesday October 14, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is going to launch a new version of the MacBook Pro as soon as tomorrow, so we thought we'd go over what to expect from Apple's upcoming Mac. M5 Chip The MacBook Pro will be one of the first new devices to use the next-generation M5 chip, which will replace the M4 chip. The M5 is built on TSMC's more advanced 3-nanometer process, and it will bring speed and efficiency improvements. ...

Top Rated Comments

TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
29 months ago
For some reason I don't find myself using Siri anymore. Sometimes I forget it's even there.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macguru212 Avatar
29 months ago
Well, I use Siri daily, and if not many times a day. I only wish I could change the name to "Hey, Stupid!"
;)
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ShivneelSingh Avatar
29 months ago
Back-to-back requests, new UK voices, and no more "Hey Siri." Cannot wait for the update!
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fatTribble Avatar
29 months ago
Can we give Siri the computer voice from Star Trek performed by Majel Barrett?
Pleassse?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NightFox Avatar
29 months ago

Well, I use Siri daily, and if not many times a day. I only wish I could change the name to "Hey, Stupid!"
;)
"Hey, Silly" always works for me
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
eicca Avatar
29 months ago
Can’t wait for the accidental Siri trigger rate to skyrocket. Good job Apple, not thinking things through yet again.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)