Apple to ease some restrictions on third-party apps using Siri

Apple told Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman that it will ease some restrictions on developers of third-party apps wishing to use Siri, the company’s “personal digital assistant,” following a Bloomberg News story about the rise of in-house software that gets prized default status on iPhones and iPads.  

The tech giant says it will release a software update later this year that will help outside messaging applications work better with the Siri digital assistant. Currently, when iPhone or iPad users ask Siri to call or message a friend, the system defaults to Apple’s Phone or iMessage apps. If you want to WhatsApp or Skype, you have to specifically say that. 

Here’s Apple’s statement to Gurman: “Apple offers our users an experience that is only possible from the integration of hardware, software, and services. From the very first iPhone, we have included apps to provide customers with a great experience right out of the box for making phone calls, playing music, surfing the web, and more. With every generation of iPhone we have advanced the built in capabilities for our customers with a few default apps designed for great performance, long battery life, seamless integration, and industry-leading protections for security and privacy. We have also created the App Store, the safest place to get apps, so customers can choose from millions of apps to find the ones that further enhance their iPhone. In the few categories where Apple also has an app, we have many successful competitors and we’re proud that their success is responsible for almost 2 million U.S. jobs in a thriving multibillion dollar market for developers. Our North Star is always to create the best products for our customers and that is why iPhone has the highest customer satisfaction in the industry.”