You may have heard people talk about Siri or have overheard people say to their phone, “Hey Siri”, but what is Siri? Siri is Apple’s virtual assistant, and can help users in many ways. Siri is available on most Apple products equipped with iOS 4 and higher including the iPhone, iTouch, iPad, Apple TV, and Apple Watch. In this article, we will give an overview of Siri’s basic features as well as some information consumers can utilize to maximize what Siri can help them with.
How To Use Siri
Siri is very easy to use on Apple devices. If Siri isn’t automatically activated on your device, go to Settings, then scroll down and click Siri. You can toggle Siri on or off. If you have a later device (iPhone 6 and up, etc.) you can utilize the function “Hey Siri” when Siri is charging. In Siri’s menu, you can also change her voice to his voice, change the language, or give Siri an accent.
Siri’s Basic Features
What is Siri? The more important question is, Why Siri? There are many things Siri can help with, but here are some things users commonly ask Siri to do for them.
Directions
Siri can provide directions to a destination, restaurant, or any other point of interest. Simply say, “Directions to the nearest movie theater” or “Directions to 123 Main St.”. Siri will open up the Apple app “Maps” automatically rather than another mapping app. If you have another app preference, you can ask Siri to open up that app and then do voice to text or type in where you want to go.
Messages and Phone Calls
Siri can send people messages, make phone calls, or start Face Time for users. Just ask Siri to send “Send message to Jen” and then say what you want. When you are finished, Siri will ask if you want to send the message. You can also say “Call Frank Smith” or “Facetime with Amy Tyler” and as long as those people are already in your contact, Siri will set it up for you.
Scheduling
Users can ask Siri to create, update, or cancel an event in their calendars. Just say “Schedule and appointment/meeting with Jacob Sunday at 1pm” or “Cancel my dinner on Sunday night”. You can also view your schedule by saying something like, “What is on my calendar tomorrow?” and Siri will show everything that is scheduled for you.
Web Search
One of the most common requests Siri fulfills is searching the web to answer users’ questions (she doesn’t know everything, after all). If you give Siri that she doesn’t understand, like “Top 10 authors of 2017”, you can either say “Who are the top 10 authors of 2017” or “Search the Web for top 10 authors of 2017”. Either will pull up results from the Internet. If you click one of her suggestions, she will take you to Safari, so you’ll have to search separately if you want a different web app.
Weather
To get the weather say “What is the weather” and Siri will show you today’s forecast for your location. You can also say “five day forecast” and Siri will show you the weather for the next five days. If you’re interested in knowing past weather information, you’ll have to ask Siri to search the web for you.
Open Apps
Siri can also open apps on your phone to play music, games, or start a conversation. Just say “Open Spotfiy” or “Open Instagram”. Although Siri can open up apps, she isn’t much help once they are open.
Siri Easter Eggs
Similar to Alexa Easter Eggs, Siri is constantly being updated and given new tricks for funny or entertaining responses. Siri can tell jokes.
User: Siri, tell me a joke.
Siri: What do you get if you cross a kangaroo with an alien? A mars-upial.
What is Siri doing with all these silly jokes? Siri will also give witty responses if you say:
“What is 0 divided by 0?”
“Siri, beatbox”
“Why are fire trucks red?”
“What does the fox say?”
Try them for yourself!