iOS 26.2: Third-Party Voice Assistants in Japan
Following signs of new Side Button functionality in the iOS 26.2 beta 3 update, Apple developer documentation has confirmed that assigning a third-party voice assistant to the Side Button will be a feature available to iPhone users in Japan.
[…]
Apple makes it clear that the option to activate a third-party personal assistant using App Intents will only be available on the iPhone in Japan, not in other countries.
Apparently not even in the EU.
I wonder how well this will work. It sounds like audio doesn’t begin recording until after the app launches, so you may not be able to just press the button and immediately begin speaking like with Siri. And then, I guess, afterwards you’re left in the voice assistant app, whereas Siri gets to work on top of other apps in its own mode. There also doesn’t seem to be a way for third-parties to set a wake word.
Previously:
- White Label Gemini on Private Cloud Compute
- iOS 26.2: App Marketplaces and Browser Choice in Japan
- Japanese Mobile Software Competition Act
- How Apple Fumbled Siri’s AI Makeover
- EU iOS Envy
- The Voice Assistant Battle 2023
1 Comment RSS · Twitter · Mastodon
If only Apple had the capability to draw views from one app onto another, let's call them remote views, without having to switch apps…
https://developer.limneos.net/?ios=18.1&framework=UIKitCore.framework&header=_UIRemoteView.h
https://developer.limneos.net/?ios=18.1&framework=UIKitCore.framework&header=_UIRemoteViewController.h
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/extensionkit/exhostviewcontroller
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/extensionkit/including-extension-based-ui-in-your-interface
Oh…
This is one of these silly malicious compliances again. Make the experience as terrible as possible so nobody wants to use it, and thus, no developer actually implements it.
