WhatsApp update brings iOS 10 compatibility, letting people send messages just using Siri
The same trick works with any updated messaging app, and for calls too
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Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
If you’re using an iPhone, WhatsApp just got a lot more useful.
The company has pushed out its update for iOS 10, meaning that it’s now compatible with the variety of useful features that the new iPhones update includes. And many of those are most important for things like WhatsApp.
The new iOS update brings huge improvements to Siri, which is now much smarter. Those changes are central to apps like WhatsApp, because the two can now be integrated.
So, finally, asking Siri to “Send a message on WhatsApp to John saying hello”, will actually make that happen. A special window will pop up with a preview of the message, just like has long happened with the built-in messaging app, and you can then send it off to people.
And you can even choose WhatsApp or any other messaging platform as the default way of getting in touch with specific people. So if your friend refuses to use text messages, for instance, you won’t have to any more – your phone will default to sending them texts in WhatsApp.
Those same changes have been brought to a range of other apps, like Uber. You can now ask Siri to call you a cab – and she or he will be able to do it, by talking to the Uber app.
WhatsApp also benefits from the changes introduced in CallKit, which allows other apps to work like the phone app always has. When someone rings you on WhatsApp, for instance, it will take up your phone’s screen like a normal call and you’ll have the option to accept or reject it, or send a message telling the person why you can’t talk.
At the very least, the move is a relatively uncontroversial change for an app that has taken a huge amount of criticism in recent weeks. The company announced late last month that it was going to start sharing information about its users with Facebook, prompting protests and anger.
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