Apple announced that it was opening up a Siri API in June, letting developers tinker and experiment with a variety of apps that can potentially integrate with the voice command assistant for iOS. The move is meant to beef up the capabilities Siri can perform now that it's able to bark at apps to help it do its dirty work.
The API made for some interesting collaborations, and now, Siri has another one, this time with the latest version of Skype, which can now integrate with Siri, allowing users to make Skype calls using voice commands. The voice command needed to perform this function is the same as the one you're used to. If you have a particular person's Skype contact information, simply say "Call," followed by the name and Siri will let you confirm if it came up with the right contact. Once you confirm, Siri will start the call.
Skype 6.25, the latest version of the app for iPhone and iPad is available to download now. Apart from making Skype calls through Siri voice commands, the updated version also allows users to store Skype contact information directly in iOS contacts, removing the need to open the Skype app to initiate audio or video calls and even Skype instant messages.
Skype didn't stop with the integration to just Siri and contacts. Incoming Skype calls will now show up as regular calls, with regular and Skype calls showing up in the same user interface in iOS 10. According to its blog, Skype said that all of these features are also coming to its Skype for Business iOS apps in October. You can download the latest version of Skype for iPhone and iPad now.
As previously mentioned Apple opened Siri's doors to third-party develops via SiriKit, which allows for a host of integration protocols that other apps can perform using Siri and users' voice commands. However, this functionality is limited to six kinds of applications, namely: ride-hailing services, messaging, photo search, payments, Voice over IP calling and health or fitness-related activities.
Siri in iOS 10 handles voice commands issued by the user, analyzes the intent of the command and determines whether the command can be performed by Siri itself. Otherwise, Siri will call forth other apps to help with the command it can't perform on its own. This way, Apple is still the primary gatekeeper of voice commands, and third-party apps are only taken advantage of if their functionality extends far more than what Siri can accomplish. But it still all happens inside Siri, executing commands within instead of opening up the third-party app separately.
On September, Apple released iOS 10 which includes improved Siri voice commands, among other things. Recently, Apple acquired a machine learning company upon which several tech blogs speculated that the acquisition could be a push in Apple's artificial intelligence efforts, possibly for its voice command app.
