Apple may finally let users switch from Siri to another voice assistant

Update November 18: The feature is limited to iPhones in Japan for the time being.

Apple has just released the third beta of iOS 26.2 as it eyes a likely December release. The update isn’t a huge one, but it does bring some interesting improvements, such as further tweaks to the Liquid Glass interface, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and enhancements to Apple Podcasts. Under the hood, however, the update revealed something even more interesting: the ability to replace Siri with another voice assistant.

How Apple plans to let users swap Siri for another option

Code hidden in iOS 26.2 beta 3, which is now available to developers, reveals that Apple has been developing a new framework to allow users to choose a different default voice assistant. It’s still unclear how exactly the feature will work, as it’s currently disabled for users, but references in the code give us an idea.

As seen by Macworld, there will be a new section in the Settings app to let users choose another voice assistant as the default. When another voice assistant is selected, it can be activated using the side button just like Siri. In previous betas of iOS 26.2, Macworld had already found evidence that Apple was experimenting with customizable controls for the side button on the iPhone.

Although the code is quite preliminary, it suggests that third-party voice assistants will also be able to show some kind of special interface on the iPhone’s Home Screen (known internally as Springboard) instead of simply opening a separate app.

For example, such a feature could allow users to switch from Siri to ChatGPT or Gemini at a higher level system, with deeper integrations.

In recent years, Apple has been making iOS more open when it comes to choices such as setting default apps for certain actions. Today’s findings align with a Bloomberg report from May, which claimed that Apple was planning to let users switch from Siri to another voice assistant to comply with European Union regulations. Developer documentation from Apple points to a launch in Japan later this year, but it’s unclear whether it will expand to other regions.

Of course, the option should also satisfy users who have been unhappy with Apple’s own virtual assistant, especially given that the company has yet to deliver the new generation of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence. But again, the feature may end up being limited for users in the EU.