One of the common complaints about Siri is the vocal component -- speaking to ‌Siri‌ must be done verbally, which can be embarrassing and inconvenient in social situations. Apple hasn't provided a clear cut solution like an integrated ‌Siri‌ and Spotlight search feature, but iOS has had a Type to ‌Siri‌ feature since iOS 11.

Type to ‌Siri‌ is a function designed for those who are unable to speak, but it can be enabled by anyone who would like to try typing to ‌Siri‌ instead of speaking to ‌Siri‌.

Enabling Type to Siri

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Choose "General."
  3. Select the "Accessibility" section.
  4. Scroll down and "‌Siri‌."typetosiri1
  5. Toggle on "Type to ‌Siri‌."

With Type to ‌Siri‌ enabled, when the Home button (or Side button if your device doesn't have a Home button) is pressed to activate ‌Siri‌, it brings up the keyboard and an option to type a command to ‌Siri‌. Typed ‌Siri‌ commands work just like spoken ‌Siri‌ commands - ‌Siri‌ will respond to questions like "What's the weather?" or "What movies are playing nearby?"

typetosiri2
When you have Type to ‌Siri‌ turned on, it's an all or nothing setting. All commands must be typed if you access ‌Siri‌ through the Home button or Side button. If you say "Hey ‌Siri‌," though, ‌Siri‌ will respond to spoken questions as normal, so you can use spoken commands alongside typed commands in this way. ‌Siri‌ will also respond to voice commands when the AirPods are connected and the personal assistant is activated, either via a tap on the AirPods or by saying "Hey ‌Siri‌" handsfree on AirPods 2.

Related Forum: iOS 12

Top Rated Comments

bob122989 Avatar
106 months ago
“Siri, turn WiFi off, for real.”
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cariacou Avatar
106 months ago
The all or nothing is the big killer here.
I'd love type to siri 60% of the time, but they Hey Siri is not reliable enough for the rest. Bummer...

It seems that it would be really easy to bring both up at the same time: Keyboard + Vocal Siri
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jclo Avatar
106 months ago
That’s perfect and very handy for deaf user like me.

Say if I have iPhone X, how will that work since there’s no home button? Was curious.
You'll bring up Siri from the side button.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
supertomtom Avatar
106 months ago
Even though it’s an all or nothing setting, you can still use “Hey Siri” to activate Siri the normal way.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

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...
iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps. More features and changes will follow in future ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones Coming Soon

Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released by the end of next week. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
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 Siri Glow

Some Apple Employees Have 'Concerns' About iOS 26.4's Revamped Siri

Sunday October 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings. iOS 26.4 will...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

New iPad Pro Has Six Key Upgrades Beyond M5 Chip

Saturday October 18, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more. With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
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," ...
m4 macbook air blue

M5 MacBook Air Coming Spring 2026 With M5 Mac Studio and Mac Mini in Development

Thursday October 16, 2025 3:57 pm PDT by
Apple plans to launch MacBook Air models equipped with the new M5 chip in spring 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is also working on M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models that will come early in the year. Neither the MacBook Pro models nor the MacBook Air models are expected to get design changes, with Apple focusing on simple chip upgrades. In the case of the MacBook Pro, a m...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

M5 Chip Achieves Impressive Feat in 14-Inch MacBook Pro Speed Test

Friday October 17, 2025 7:10 am PDT by
The first alleged benchmark result for the M5 chip in the new 14-inch MacBook Pro has surfaced, allowing for some performance comparisons. Based on a single unconfirmed result uploaded to the Geekbench 6 database today, the M5 chip has pulled off an impressive feat. Specifically, the chip achieved a score of 4,263 for single-core CPU performance, which is the highest single-core score that...