For as long as he can remember, the dream smartphone for Marques Brownlee has been a normal iPhone with Google Assistant instead of Siri. Luckily, there’s a way to make this happen.
One of the coolest new features in iOS is Siri Shortcuts, which allows users to add strings of commands, making Siri a more effective assistant. Siri Shortcuts also lets you reach within apps. For example, if you say, “Start recording,” Siri will open the voice memos app and immediately start recording.
The most useful feature of Siri Shortcuts is when Google Assistant decided to link to it. By adding a shortcut to Siri and setting a phrase to trigger the Google Assistant (such as “Hey Google”), users can immediately start talking to Google Assistant.
While this isn’t a perfect integration, it’s very close to what many have wanted for a while. It’s essentially a replacement for Siri.
There are a few things to keep in mind. For example, users may encounter some weird things when launching the shortcut from a lock screen. However, there are also some really cool things about this integration.
Users can bake in certain shortcuts to Siri, which will show up after a few uses. Marques Brownlee’s favorite command is “Hey Google, tell me the news about orangutans,” which he uses often.
Overall, the integration of Google Assistant into Siri is a game-changer, making Siri a more effective assistant.