Apple made several improvements to Spotlight in iOS 15. One is the addition of Siri Suggestions.
Apple’s “personal digital assistant” now makes suggestions for what you might want to do next, such as call into a meeting or confirm an appointment, based on your routines and how you use your apps. As Apple notes, for example, Siri might help when you do any of the following:
- Glance at the Lock Screen or start a search: As Siri learns your routines, you get suggestions for just what you need, at just the right time.
- Create email and events: When you start adding people to an email or calendar event, Siri suggests the people you included in previous emails or events.
- Receive calls: If you get an incoming call from an unknown number, Siri lets you know who might be calling—based on phone numbers included in your emails.
- Leave for an event: If your calendar event includes a location, Siri assesses traffic conditions and notifies you when to leave.
- Type: As you enter text, Siri can suggest names of movies, places—anything you viewed on iPhone recently. If you tell a friend you’re on your way, Siri can even suggest your estimated arrival time.
- Search in Safari: Siri suggests websites and other information in the search field as you type.
Above the keyboard, Siri also suggests words and phrases based on what you were just reading. - Confirm an appointment or book a flight on a travel website: Siri asks if you want to add it to your calendar.
- Read News stories: As Siri learns which topics you’re interested in, they’ll be suggested in News.
To change where Siri Suggestions appear:
Go to Settings > Siri & Search, then turn on or off any of the following:
- Allow Notifications
- Show in App Library & Spotlight
- Show When Sharing
- Show When Listening
(This how-to is based on my experiences and info on Apple’s support pages.)
