Siri is about to get friendlier with your other apps

With the launch of iOS 10 last year, Apple gave third-party app developers the option to add Siri integration for the first time, though the opportunity was limited to apps in certain categories. With iOS 11, that restriction looks likely to be lifted.

As reported by Reuters, Apple will open up Siri to more categories of apps, though you shouldn't expect to see thousands of extra commands suddenly become available, in the style of the Amazon Echo - Apple still wants to keep some control over the process, the report says.

Currently, apps focused on ride sharing, messaging, photos, payments, fitness and in-car entertainment can be set up with Siri, though it's not clear which additional categories will get added. We should hear the news officially at Apple's annual WWDC developer conference which starts on Monday.

Siri vs Google vs Alexa

Apple usually reveals its plans for the next version of iOS at WWDC so we should be hearing a lot more about the future of its mobile operating systems besides improvements to Siri. Recent rumors suggest Apple will have a standalone Siri speaker to unveil too.

Of course Apple will be paying attention to - and feeling the pressure from - the work that its rivals are doing with their own digital assistant apps. At Google I/O last month the emphasis was very much on ways Google would be improving the AI that works behind the scenes in products like Google Assistant and Google Home.

Meanwhile the Amazon Echo has been a runaway success, thanks in part to the thousands of different apps and integrations users can access through the Alexa assistant. By the time Apple updates iOS later this year, Siri will probably have a few more integrations of its own to show off.