iOS 11.2.5 beta lets Siri play podcasts when you ask for news , II Apple Seeds Third Beta of iOS 11.2.5 to Developers , II Apple readies Siri for the HomePod by adding a podcast-powered news brief

As of beta 2, iOS 11.2.5     includes a new feature that allows Siri to play daily news podcasts when queried about the news. Siri will offer up news shared by The Washington Post by default, but you can also choose to switch to Fox News, CNN, or NPR. 

The new audio news feature is invoked when using Hey Siri or asking Siri about the news when using CarPlay or with headphones connected. If you activate Siri using the side button or Home button of a device, Apple news headlines are shown instead. It's not clear what other new features, if any, will be included in the iOS 11.2.5 beta. We didn't discover any other noticeable outward-facing changes in the first two iOS 11.2.5 betas, so it's possible this update focuses mainly on bug fixes and security improvements aside from the Siri news update. 

If that's the case, we may not know the extent of what's in the update until it sees a public release. Apple is supposed to be releasing an iCloud Messages feature that was pulled from the iOS 11 release, but there has been no indication of when we can expect iCloud Messages to be reintroduced. One of the very first use cases, and probably the first practical use case, of voice-activated virtual personal assistants was speaking the news out loud. Perfect for times when you couldn’t even spare a glance at your phone’s screen but still want to keep updated with current events. But while almost all AI assistants are capable of that, Siri is getting one new ability in the latest iOS beta: the ability to stream news podcasts instead of just blurting out headlines and summaries

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More than just a new ability, this feature seems to be designed with the still to be launched HomePod in mind. After all, it only works when there is no accessible display, which is exactly what Apple’s first smart home speaker is. It is Apple’s way of making news consumption more enjoyable on such a screen-less device with limited direct touch controls.

That said, the feature naturally works on iPhones and iPads but only under specific circumstances. In order to trigger the news podcast stream, you’ll have to activate Siri by voice or have earphones connected or be in CarPlay mode. In any other condition, like using the home button to start Siri, you’ll simply get the old behavior that shows headlines in text.

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iOS 11.2.5 beta lets Siri play podcasts when you ask for news , II Apple Seeds Third Beta of iOS 11.2.5 to Developers , II Apple readies Siri for the HomePod by adding a podcast-powered news brief