With the upcoming iOS 10 update, Siri will have a whole bunch of new tricks up her proverbial sleeve geared towards making our lives easier — including being able to get us a ride when we need it. Indeed, knowing how to use Siri to order an Uber in iOS 10 (or a Lyft, if that’s how you roll) may end up being one of the most useful things to take away from the update. As digital assistant software gets more and more advanced, third party app integration is likely going to gain steam, streamlining our day-to-day existence as it goes.
To be fair, the announcement that Siri would be able to call users an Uber or Lyft ride on command isn’t new; Apple detailed exactly what the digital assistant’s app integration will look like in a press release dated Sept. 1, 2016. But after Apple's keynote presentation on Wednesday confirming when iOS 10 will arrive (Sept. 13!), we’re now officially allowed to be excited. And you know what? The feature is pretty dang cool from what I can see. In addition to being able to book rides with Uber and Lyft, the iOS 10 version of Siri will also include the potential for integration with apps like Skype, making communicating with others easier than ever. According to Mac Rumors, six types of functions will be supported by Siri integration: "Ride booking, messaging, photo search, payments, VoIP calling, and workouts."
The magic happens via SiriKit for developers, which, as The Next Web points out, isn’t without its complaints; for example, it’ll probably be a while before Siri integration is a common feature for third party apps. But being able to get yourself a ride anywhere and at anytime is a good start — so for the curious, here’s how to order an Uber or Lyft using Siri
1. Make Sure You Have Uber Or Lyft Installed And An Account Set Up
It won’t work if you don’t, so do that first.
2. Open Siri
There are a couple of ways to do this: You can either press down and hold the home button; or, if you have “Hey, Siri” set up and you’re plugged into a power source, you can just say “Hey, Siri” to your phone.
3. Tell Siri What You Want
You could ask her to take you home in an uberX; you could ask her to get you a Lyft to a specific location; and so on and so forth. Once you’ve let her know what you’re looking for, Siri will tell you how long it will take a driver to get to you; in the case of Uber, she’ll also let you know roughly how much the ride will cost.
4. Make The Request
Confirm that you want to request the ride, and bam — your ride is booked. Travel well, my friends.
iOS 10 has been in public beta since July of 2016; it’s due out for its official launch on Sept. 13.
Images: Lucia Peters/Bustle; Apple (2)
