Announce Notifications with Siri on AirPods or Beats

When you’re wearing compatible AirPods or Beats headphones, Siri can announce incoming notifications, which you can then reply to instantly, hands-free.

With AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 (both models), you can use head gestures alongside Announce Notifications to accept or decline calls and more without using your voice.

Turn Announce Notifications on or off

To use Announce Notifications, your compatible headphones* need to be paired with an iPhone or iPad running iOS 15 or iPadOS 15 or later, you’re wearing the headphones and your device is locked.

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Tap Notifications.

3. Tap Announce Notifications.

4. Turn Announce Notifications on or off.

When Announce Notifications have been turned on, Siri will announce incoming notifications from apps, such as Messages and Reminders, and from supported third-party apps. If the app you're using classifies a notification as time sensitive or as a direct message, Siri plays a tone, then announces the notification automatically.

If you customise Control Centre on your iPhone or iPad to include Announce Notifications, you can use Control Centre to turn the feature on or off quickly.

Choose which notifications Siri announces

1. On your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Notifications > Announce Notifications.

2. Tap Messages.

3. Select either Time Sensitive and Direct Messages or All Notifications.

If you’re receiving multiple notifications at once, you can stop Siri from announcing them all by taking out one of your earbuds or removing your headphones.

Reply to notifications

For apps in which you can send a reply, such as Messages, you can reply to the notifications that Siri announces on compatible headphones or in a vehicle that supports CarPlay:

1. Wait for Siri to read the notification. Siri then listens for your reply.

2. Tell Siri that you’d like to reply, then speak your message. Say something like "Reply 'I'm on my way'" or "Tell her 'I'll meet you there'". When you stop talking, Siri reads your reply back to you and asks if you want to send it.

You can also use head gestures to reply to notifications.

If you can’t hear Siri announcements

If you can’t hear Siri announce your notifications, try these steps:

1. Make sure you're using a compatible device.

2. Make sure your AirPods or your compatible Beats headphones are paired to your device in Settings > Bluetooth.

3. Go to Settings > Notifications > Announce Notifications and make sure Announce Notifications is turned on.

4. Make sure your iPhone or iPad is locked and its screen is dark. Siri doesn't announce messages if you're using your device.

Use head gestures with AirPods

You can respond to phone calls, notifications and Siri by moving your head with AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods 4 (both models), and the latest version of iOS or iPadOS installed on your iPhone or iPad. On macOS Sequoia or later, you can also respond to questions from Siri using head gestures.

Turn on head gestures

• On iPhone or iPad, wear your AirPods, go to Settings > [your AirPods] > Head Gestures, then turn on Head Gestures.

• On Mac, wear your AirPods, choose Apple Menu> System Settings, click [your AirPods], then turn on Head Gestures.

Use head gestures to respond to Siri

To use head gestures to respond to Siri, make sure you’ve turned on Announce Calls and Announce Notifications.

• To accept a call or reply to notifications and messages, nod your head up and down.

• To decline a call or dismiss notifications and messages, shake your head from side to side.