There are times when yelling “Hey Siri” to make a request isn’t entirely appropriate.
Whether in a coffee shop, on a train, or in a library, it’s the 2020’s equivalent of shouting “I’m on the train!” into your cellphone while you’re, well, on try train.
To go some way towards remedying his, Apple introduced a feature called Type to Siri.
It has an equivalent feature on Mac computers and is designed to help anyone who isn’t in a situation where they can use voice commands or who would prefer to enter their requests in by keyboard more generally.
Siri can be activated on an Apple Watch in three ways.
- By pressing and holding the Digital Crown.
- By saying “Hey Siri” then speaking your request.
- By using the Raise to Speak feature.
If you haven’t used Siri on the Apple Watch yet, be sure to check out our tutorial on how to use each of these methods.
Enable Type to Siri on the iPhone
- Open the Settings app.
- Scroll down to Accessibility.
- Under the General heading, tap on Siri.
- Toggle on “Type to Siri.”
Once Type to Siri is enabled, when you press the Side button (or Home button on older iPhones) to activate Siri, an on-screen keyboard is displayed, prompting you to type in your command.
Type to Siri will process commands in precisely the same way as using speech. So if they enter “Do I have any meetings today?” or “Is it going to be warm today?”, Siri will respond with the same notifications.
Once Type to Siri is enabled, you have to use the feature when activating Siri using the Side or Home button. It’s no longer possible to speak your requests.
However, you can still use “Hey Siri” as expected. Your device will still respond and process any requests made using the voice trigger.
Siri will also respond when using AirPods, either by tapping an earpiece or saying, “Hey Siri.”