Voice Control

Voice Control, retroactively referred to as "Classic Voice Control", is a voice recognition feature that preceded Siri. It was activated when holding down the home button. It was re-implemented in newer iOS and macOS versions as an option in the Accessibility settings.

History
Voice Control was first released for the iPhone 3GS in June 2009. A limited "iTunes Control" variant was released with the 3rd-generation iPod touch in September 2009, but could only be used with the remote mic, as it had no internal microphone, and wasn't introduced on the iPad. If Siri is turned off on the iPhone 4S or later, Voice Control will appear. Voice Control can only do certain commands, such as FaceTime or a playing song. For best results, Apple recommends holding the phone to your face, as you would on a call.



A newer implementation of Voice Control was added in iOS 13, iPadOS 13, and macOS 10.15 (Catalina) for users with special accessibility needs. The older voice control feature was thereafter referred to as "Classic Voice Control".

Classic actions

 * Dial
 * Play music
 * Play previous or next song
 * Play songs by
 * Start FaceTime call
 * Start phone call