iHeartRadio Is Now Easily Accessible From Siri Suggestions!

If you’re an iPhone user, you probably ask Siri a handful of helpful, everyday questions ranging from “What’s the weather?” to “Where's the closest grocery store?” and “How are the Boston Bruins playing?” But what if you could also use Siri to serve your podcast taste and music addiction? Well, now you can! David Brooks, an iHeartRadio software engineer introduced this intuitive feature as a Hack Day project. If you have iOS 12 or a newer iOS version, you can use these Siri Shortcuts to listen to quickly listen to music and podcasts with iHeartRadio!

These Siri Shortcuts automate your phone to match your everyday tasks and listening, and there are two ways to use them: Siri Voice or Siri Suggestion Shortcuts.

With Siri Voice Shortcuts, custom commands will trigger your iPhone to play specific podcasts or music selections. It’s a pretty easy shortcut to set up: first, tap the “…” action menu next to any station or podcast. Then tap “Add to Siri” and you will be prompted to add a custom or suggested voice shortcut for the station or podcast. So if you’ve found the perfect iHeartRadio station to wind down to, filled with artists like Sturgill Simpson, Bon Iver and James Blake, you can customize Siri to play that station when you say “Siri, time to wind down.” Or if you’re always listening to iHeart’s Rap Party playlist before a night out on the town, customize your phone so that it plays every time you say “Siri, time to party!”

If you’re interested in Siri Suggestion Shortcuts, they’re intuitive as well, just find a station or podcast you love on the iHeartRadio app and play it. The stations you listen to the most will be automatically registered with Siri locally on your device. Using signals like location, listening history and time of day, Siri learns when you use the app and what you prefer. Soon, Siri will start sending suggestions for relevant iHeartRadio stations that you’re sure to love right onto your search and lock screens.

Happy listening!