ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Siri AI is now open to support by third-party developers.
- Apps will be able to tap into all of Siri’s advanced skills.
- Some apps I’d like to see supported are Amazon, IMDB, and Yelp.
One of the many benefits of the new Siri AI is its ability to work directly with apps on your devicees many of Apple’s own built-in apps and some third-party ones. But with the latest public and developer betas for iOS 27.3, the company is expanding support to all third-party developers
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With App Intents, you’re able to ask Siri to tackle a variety of actions among various built-in and third-party apps. On a basic level, you can tell it to perform tasks such as getting directions, playing music, scheduling meetings, sending messages, adding reminders, and finding photos.
On a more advanced level, you can ask it to do things like organize your inbox, edit a photo, and analyze and help you with your current screen. You could also tell it to combine several actions in one shot, work across multiple apps, and engage in a natural back-and-forth conversation.
Advanced Siri AI features still limited
Siri AI fully supports most built-in apps, including Calendar, Files, Finder, Journal, Mail, Maps, Messages, Music, Notes, Photos, Preview, Reminders, Safari, Shortcuts, and Weather. It does support some third-party apps, but its more advanced features are limited or unavailable.
That’s the gap the new developer betas aim to close. With iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, MacOS 27.3, and VisionOS 27.3, all developers will be able to use Siri AI to fully support and integrate with their apps. For example, instead of manually opening an app like DoorDash or Grubhub to check or change a food order, you can tell Siri to do it for you.
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“Today’s preview allows any app to bring its content and actions directly into Siri AI by using App Intents, making it easier for all apps to tap into Siri AI’s newest capabilities, including personal context understanding, on-screen awareness, natural language, and more,” Apple said in a news release for developers. “So people can just ask for help in their own words, and Siri AI carries out any custom action you’ve built, from checking a delivery to booking a reservation to placing an order.”
As I use many third-party apps on my iPhone and iPad, both personally and professionally, I’m looking forward to enhanced support for the ones I rely on. With that in mind, here are five apps for which I’d welcome the new and full Siri AI integration.
1. Amazon
I often use Amazon on my iPhone and iPad to shop for and purchase items, review my wishlist, and check the status of products I’ve ordered. To do any of those things, I have to open the app and manually go to the right screens. How convenient it would be if I could tell Siri to handle those tasks for me.
“Siri, search for the 512GB 2026 iPad mini on Amazon and add it to my shopping cart.”
“Siri, review my Amazon wishlist for the luggage I recently added and tell me the latest prices.”
“Siri, check the delivery status of the Alexa photo frame I just ordered on Amazon.”
Right now, Siri can’t do any of those things. But if Siri AI and App intents are fully integrated with Amazon, I may just be able to accomplish those tasks in the future.
Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET
2. IMDB
IMDB is my go-to app for getting info on movies, TV shows, performers, directors, and more. After I open the app and run a search, I often want specific details, such as the rating and runtime of a particular film or TV episode.
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To simplify that process, I’ve love to be able to ask Siri: “Siri, search IMDB for the 1935 movie ‘The Bride of Frankenstein,’ give me the running time, tell me where I can stream it, and add it to my watchlist.” If Siri could accomplish all that at some point, it would get a round of applause from me.
Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET
3. Libby
I borrow and read a lot of e-books through my local library systems, and I use the handy Libby app for that. Here, I can search different libraries for books by title, author, or subject. I can then borrow a book and read it through the Libby app or, more typically, through the Amazon Kindle app. For this, I have to manually open the app and search among the various libraries for the book I want.
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Instead, I’d like to ask Siri to do that for me. I might say: “Siri, look in Libby for books about Alan Turing, give me the titles of the ones you find, and tell me which ones are currently available to borrow.”
Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET
4. TodayTix
My wife and I are big theater buffs, and we see a lot of plays on Broadway when we’re in New York and on the West End when we’re in London. Often, I buy tickets through the TodayTix service and app. For this, I’ll open the app, set the location to New York or London, look for a specific play, and then try to find seats for a certain day and time.
If TodayTix is ever fully supported by Siri AI and App Intents, I might be able to ask Siri to track down the right seats for me. I could say: “Siri, look for the play ‘Rent’ in London, give me the available performances for Dec. 5 through 9, and let me know which seats are accessible in the first 10 rows.”
Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET
5. Yelp
As my wife and I often travel and dine out, Yelp is another app I frequently use. Here, I also have to manually launch the app and run searches for restaurants and other places. I then have to try to filter or sort the results based on location, price, and ratings.
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Asking Siri to tackle those tasks would certainly be a time saver. I could ask it to “find the closest Italian restaurants using Yelp and show me ones within a one-mile radius that have earned four stars or higher.”
Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET
With App Intents, Siri AI can already handle advanced, complex, multi-step tasks for built-in apps. With all developers now able to take advantage of this same support, I’m expecting a lot of apps to jump on board. Let’s hope my favorites end up on the list.
