We all know Siri, the Apple assistant that helps us with all kinds of tasks, like setting an alarm, giving us the weather, or finding out the age of a famous person. However, for the current era, it falls short, at least while we wait for its renewal in iOS 26.4.
Therefore, Apple has decided to test a new system with which you can change Siri for another assistant of your choicesomething similar to what happens with the default browser, or the map app that you use as a GPS, not focusing so much on its products, but rather on giving the user more freedom.
Switch iPhone Assistant on Side Button
Apple has announced that iPhones in Japan will have a new option for the side button. Previously, that button always opened Siri, Apple's voice assistant. With the iOS 26.2 update, users will be able to choose another voice assistant app to open when pressing that button. This means that you will not have to use only Siri if you prefer another application to speak and receive responses, especially because, as we said, there are more modern and complete ones today.
The function allows any voice conversation app to be activated directly from the side button. For developers, Apple explained how to prepare your app: you need special permission in Xcode and define what is called an “app intent” to indicate what the app will do when the button is pressed. In addition, the app must start an audio session to be able to hear the user from the first moment. All this may sound complicated if you are not a programmer, but basically it means that the app will have to be ready to talk to you, as soon as you open it from the button, so any of the current ones will not work, and although ChatGPT and others will end up implementing it, they still would not be there.
For now, This change will only be available in Japan, at least in the first phase. There is no exact date for it to arrive in other countries, but it is expected to be part of the iOS 26.2 update. This is interesting because it shows that Apple is allowing more flexibility to use other voice assistants, something that was very limited before. Furthermore, we are in no hurry, since, as we said, companies will still need to adapt it, so it may be that, when this happens, we will also have it in Spain and other countries.
In short, if you live in Japan and have an iPhone, soon you will be able to use the side button to open a voice assistant other than Siri (we'll see how many there are). This can make your experience more comfortable if you prefer another system. If you are in another country, you will still have to wait. Apple's idea is that people can choose and personalize their iPhone more, although it remains to be seen if this feature will reach all users outside of Japan (which should happen, especially in Europe, with regulations that force Apple, in a way, to do this).
And you, do you think it was necessary, or will you continue using Siri? Leave us a comment with your opinion about it.
