Oliver Haslam on July 28, 2021, 9:11 pm

iOS 15 Is Curtailing The Ways Developers Can Have Their Apps Accessed Via Siri

Starting with the fall release of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, and macOS Monterey, Apple is making changes to the way developers and their apps work with Siri. A number of the APIs used by third-party apps are being deprecated, preventing Siri from working with apps that use them.

Apple’s developer support pages say that a number of SiriKit intents and comments are going away this fall, with as many as 22 set to be killed off. One example that MacRumors points to is the fact that Siri will no longer be able to book a ride via apps like Uber.

It’s a similar story for tasks apps, with Siri set to be crippled for apps like Things and OmniFocus.

Alongside removing support for ride-booking apps to integrate with ‌Siri‌, Apple is also cutting back on ‌Siri‌’s ability to integrate with to-do apps. With the new changes, users of popular to-do and note apps, such as Things 3 or Todoist, will no longer be able to create a new task list, delete a task, or amend a note by simply asking ‌Siri‌. The ability to create new tasks, however, will remain.

Apple says that developers need to begin making changes now, although it isn’t being particularly forthcoming as to the reasons for the move.

It’s also an odd move considering the fact Apple’s own apps will still have access to these intents and commands — potentially opening the door for developers to suggest those apps will have an unfair advantage over those created by third parties.