Apple will soon allow iPhone users in Japan to use the side button to trigger a third-party assistant. It is laying the groundwork for this change in iOS 26.2.
The company also posted a detailed blog post on its developer blog, providing more insight into this change.
Launch another voice assistant with iPhone’s side button
iOS 26.2 beta 3 contains a new “SystemVocieAssistant” system app. There are also code strings related to the Side Button app. As discovered by MacRumors, this includes snippets such as “Press and Hold to Speak is not available while the Side Button is assigned to %@” and ” %@ is not available for use with the Side Button in your region.”
Soon after, Apple published an article on “launching your voice-based conversational app from the side button of iPhone.”
“In Japan, people might place an action on the side button of iPhone that instantly launches your voice-based conversational app,” says Apple in its article.
The post confirms that iPhone users in Japan will soon be able to launch third-party voice assistants with the side button. It notes what changes and app intents developers must integrate into their apps to take advantage of this change.
Once updated, Japanese iPhone users can long-press the side button to trigger Gemini, Alexa or other compatible apps.
Laws are pushing Apple to open up iOS
Apple is making this change to comply with Japan’s Mobile Software Competition Act. It mandates that Apple open iOS’s core functionality to third-party apps, including for voice assistants.
The act goes into effect in December 2025. So Apple will most likely make the necessary changes live with iOS 26.2, which should drop later this month.
The EU’s Digital Markets Act also requires Apple to open iOS to third-party voice assistants. So, even if the feature is initially limited to Japan, Apple could soon expand it to the EU.
Rajesh has been closely following and writing about the latest happenings in the world of mobile for nearly a decade now. While he prefers Android, he does not deny the superiority of Apple’s products and ecosystem.
