US: Siri will no longer default to using Apple messaging

Siri will no longer default to using Apple messaging and phone apps after an iOS update later in the year, according to Bloomberg.

Instead, Siri will intelligently choose the appropriate text or voice messaging app based on your past communication with each contact.
Apple stated it will ease some restrictions on developers of third-party apps, responding to a Bloomberg News story about the rise of in-house software that gets prized default status on iPhones and iPads.

The Cupertino, California-based company plans to release a software update later this year that will help outside messaging applications work better with the Siri digital assistant.

Right now, when iPhone users ask Siri to call or message a friend, the system defaults to Apple’s Phone or iMessage apps. If you want to use WhatsApp or Skype, you have to specifically say that.

Apple appears to be taking the action in response to antitrust claims, one strand of which is that the company abuses its dominant position in order to promote its own apps over third-party ones.