Feature request: Apple should merge Spotlight and Type to Siri on iOS and macOS

5 hours ago 1

Apple has given a lot of attention to Siri in iOS 18 and macOS 15, as the virtual assistant now integrates with ChatGPT and will soon work with Apple Intelligence. One of the changes made is that it’s now easier to interact with Siri just by typing – and I believe this feature should be combined with Spotlight.

Siri and Spotlight should be merged into one

The option of interacting with Siri through typing instead of voice commands is not new. However, with iOS 18 and macOS 15, Siri has a new interface that makes entering text prompts much more intuitive.

On iPhone and iPad, you can simply double-tap the Home Indicator at the bottom of the screen to bring up tge virtual keyboard. On the Mac, Type to Siri is now the default mode for using the assistant, with the microphone button available for those who want to speak.

Siri can be used for a lot of things, from asking the temperature, starting a timer, searching the web, or even finding a specific photo. Early next year, with a future software update, Siri will gain the ability to control apps and even have more knowledge about your personal data to better help you. In some ways, these are the same features already provided by Spotlight.

Even the interface of the new Siri and Spotlight is somewhat similar, especially on the Mac – both are presented to the user as a floating bar on the screen. In fact, I can totally see the current interface of Siri suggestions that appear as you type being used to show Spotlight results as well.

Again, Siri is expected to gain deep integration with apps next year, which will make it much more efficient for searching.

Having similar interfaces to do pretty much the same things seems quite redundant, kind of like Windows having two Control Panels for years. Of course, Apple has just introduced the new Siri and there’s a lot more to come, so perhaps that’s why the company might prefer to wait before merging Siri and Spotlight.