How to Use Siri

Ultimate Guide: Using Siri for iPhone and iPad

What Is Siri?

Siri is a great tool that Apple created that lets you use your voice to send messages, schedule meetings, place phone calls, and more. You open Siri on your iPhone or iPad and you simplt ask Siri to do things just by talking the way you talk. Siri is amazing at understanding what you say and knowing what you mean. Sounds simple, but it is really hard to do. As always Apple makes it very easy to use and it is life changing once you get the hang of it.

It understands what you say. It knows what you mean. Talk to Siri as you would to a person. Say something like “Tell my kids I running late for dinner” or “Remind me to call Gary.” Siri not only understands what you say, it’s smart enough to know what you mean. So when you ask “Any good italian restaurants around here?” Siri will reply “I found a number of italian restaurants near you.” Then you can say “Hmm. How about burgers?” Siri remembers that you just asked about restaurants, so it will look for burger restaurants nearby.

It helps you do the things you do every day. Siri makes everyday tasks easier. It figures out which apps you like to use for specific tasks, and it finds answers to queries through sources like Wikipedia and Yelp. It plays the songs you want to hear, gives you directions, wakes you up, even tells you the score of last night’s game.

It takes dictation. iPhone converts your words into text. Use dictation to write messages, take notes, search the web, and more. Dictation also works with third-party apps, so you can update your Facebook status, tweet, or write and send Instagrams.

 

How to Use Siri

Whenever you say Hey Siri, your iPhone will be ready. You can tell it to find you a nearby restaurant, call somebody, play a certain artist and so on. It is important that when communicating with Siri you use regular conversational language like “Hey Siri, I want Italian.”

A summary:

  • Press and hold the iPhone’s physical “Home” button to open Siri. You will hear two quick beeps to tell you that Siri has woken up and is waiting to do your bidding.
  • Once Siri has opened, ask a question or ask Siri to perform a task such as emailing or texting. Siri will automatically detect when you have stopped speaking, but you can optionally press the microphone icon to show you have finished speaking.
  • If you requested Siri to do something such as send an email or text, Siri will show you a draft of the proposed message before it is sent.  To send the message,  say “send” or touch the “send” button.

You can speak in a natural way when asking for help from Siri.

Cool Siri Features

Siri can do a lot. Trying to figure it all out and truly see how Siri can make life easier is hard without understanding some of the truly amazing things Siri can help with. Below are some cool Siri features that we use all the time.

  • Turn Bluetooth Off. Use Siri to turn Bluetooth and other settings like WiFi on and off simply by saying, “Turn Bluetooth Off.”
  • Convert Currency. Traveling to another country? Siri can convert currency on the spot. Siri “How much is 30 Dollars in Pesos?”
  • Pick a New Siri Voice. Don’t like Siri’s voice? Change the gender to get a new voice.
  • Book a Table. Siri works with Yelp and Open Table. You can not only find restaurants, but you can also get a reservation. “Find a table for two at a Mexican restaurant on Sunday at 6pm”.
  • Control Music. Tell Siri you want to listen to music and it will start playing your iTunes library. You can be broad or very specific here, even telling Siri to “play Beyonce”.
  • Open Favorite Apps. You can open apps using Siri. Makes getting things done much faster.
  • Post to Facebook and Twitter. Open Siri and say, “Post to Facebook” or “Post to Twitter” and tell Siri what you would like posted.
  • Set Reminders for a Date. If you need to remember to do something you can set reminders. “Remind me to call dad on the first Friday of every month.” or “Remind me to take the trash out this Wednesday.”
  • Set Reminders for Locations. Once Siri knows where you live and work you can tell the assistant to remind you to do something when you get to a location. Just say, “Remind me to grab the eggs when I get home.” We love this feature.
  • Find Out How Long Until Your Arrive. If you are using the iPhone for navigation and you need to know how long you have left to get to a location simply ask Siri, “What’s my ETA” and she will provide an estimate.
  • Check Sports Scores. Ask Siri what the score is for the team name, or ask when the team plays next to get ready to watch.
  • Check Your Flight Status. If you need to know if your flight is on time you can say, “Check the Status of Flight American Airlines 18″.
  • Open Specific Settings. Instead of tapping through multiple settings screens say, “Open Siri Settings.”
  • Calculate the Tip. Ask Siri” How much is a 20% tip on a $120 bill?” The service calculates the amount and shows you the amount to tip.
  • Solve Math Problems. If you need to perform more complicated math calculations like adding fractions and decimals or finding square roots and more just ask Siri and you’ll likely get an answer faster than grabbing your calculator.
  • Find Out When Holidays Are. Ask Siri, “When is Columbus day?” and it will tell you the date and day of the week it falls on.
  • Find Your Friends. If you use Find My Friends you can say, “Where is Bill?” or “Find my kids.” to locate friends.
  • Find the Time in Another City. If you need to check the time in another city ask Siri “What time is it in Sydney?” and you’ll see and hear the time as well as how many hours ahead or behind they are.
  • Find Movies Playing. If you want to know what movies are playing “What’s playing at the Loews in Time Square? shows the movies playing.
  • Find the Best Restaurant Nearby. Sometimes you want the best food available, and with Siri it’s easy. Say, “Find the best burger joint around.”
  • Say, Take a Picture. If you don’t want to say, “Open the camera.” and wait to choose the app you want, just say, “Take a Picture” and Siri will open the stock iPhone camera so you can take a picture with no waiting.

List of Siri Commands

Define relationships for Siri

  • “Call me Susan”
  • “My husband is ‘Bob Shipley’”
  • “My brother is ‘Spiro Greggs’”
  • “‘Whitney Carey’ is my mom”
  • “My boss name is ‘Peter Pan’”

Ask Siri to make a Phone Call or FaceTime

  • “Call Bob”
  • “Call my husband on mobile”
  • “Call home”
  • “Redial last number”
  • “Check my recent calls”
  • “Check my voice mail”

Ask Siri to Send Text Messages (SMS)

  • “Send a message to my husband saying ‘Let’s eat out tonight’”
  • “Send a message to my husband saying ‘I am running late’”
  • “Text my mom Let’s have dinner tomorrow”

Ask Siri to Read Text Messages (SMS)

  • “Read my new messages”
  • “Read it again”

Ask Siri to Reply to Text Messages

  • “Reply ‘I love you too’”
  • “Reply ‘I will arrive in 15 minutes’”
  • “Call him on mobile”

Ask Siri about Voice Mail

  • “Do I have new voice mail?”
  • “Play my last voice mail”
  • “Play voice mail from my husband”

Ask Siri to make a FaceTime Call

  • “FaceTime my wife”
  • “Make a FaceTime call to Gary “

Siri Email Commands

  • “New email to Nick D”
  • “Email Bob and say ‘I am going you the proposal this weekend’”
  • “Email mom about my next visit”
  • “Check email”
  • “Read my last email”
  • “Do I have any new messages?”
  • “Reply ‘Hey Bob, let’s watch Wheel of Fortune tonight”

Ask Siri to Locate Friends and Family

  • “Where is my wife?”
  • “Is my wife at home?”
  • “Who is near me?”

Siri Commands for Calendar

  • “Schedule a meeting with Greg tomorrow at 11 PM”
  • “Schedule a conference call with Nick today at 10 AM”
  • “New appointment with Gary Wednesday at noon”
  • “Reschedule 4 PM meeting to 5 PM”
  • “What’s on my calendar today?
  • “What’s on my calendar tomorrow?
  • “What’s on my calendar for Friday?”

Ask Siri to set a Reminder

  • “Remind me to check the mailbox”
  • “Remember to stop by the bank”
  • “Remind me to call mom at 2 PM”
  • “Remind me to leave work at 5 PM”
  • “Remind me to water the flowers when I get home”

Ask Siri to Create Notrd

  • “Create note: Idea for new business”
  • “Note that I spent $45 on lunch today”
  • “Find my song list note”

Time and Alarm Functions

  • “Set an alarm for 6 AM”
  • “Wake me up tomorrow at 6 AM”
  • “Wake me up on weekdays at 6 AM”
  • “Wake me up on weekends at 6 AM”
  • “Wake me up in 3 hours”
  • “Show all alarms”
  • “What time is it?”
  • “What is today’s date?”
  • “What time is it in New York?”
  • “Set the timer for 16 minutes”
  • “Show the timer”
  • “Reset the timer”
  • “Stop the timer”
  • “Resume the timer”
  • “Change timer”

Ask Siri for Maps and Directions

  • “How do I get home?”
  • “Directions to home”
  • “Directions to my Bob’s home”
  • “Show my current location”
  • “Show me Union Square”

Ask Siri about Local Businesses

  • “Find burger joint near me”
  • “Find Dunkin Donuts near me”
  • “Good Italian restaurants near me”
  • “Find a gas station near me”
  • “Show me the closest hospital”

How to play Music using Siri

  • “Play rap music”
  • “Play work playlist”
  • “Play the album ‘The Reeducation of Lauren Hill’”
  • “Play ‘Beat It’”
  • “Pause music”
  • “Stop music”
  • “Resume music
  • “Play previous track”

Ask Siri about the Weather

  • “What’s the weather like today?”
  • “What’s the temperature outside?”
  • “What’s the weather for tomorrow?”
  • “What’s the forecast for this weekend?”
  • “Check next week’s forecast for New York”

Ask Siri to check Stocks

  • “How is the stock market doing today?”
  • “What is the Dow at?”
  • “Where is the Nasdaq at today?”
  • “Show me the stock information for Apple”

Ask Siri to search the Web

  • “Search the web for best smartphones”
  • “Search Google for top hip hop albums”
  • “Search Yahoo for cool upcoming movies”
  • “Search Bing for what’s happening in Beirut”
  • “Search for images of Brad Pitt”

Ask Siri to Launch an App

  • “Play Dots”
  • “Open Music”
  • “Launch Contacts”

Ask Siri to Change Phone Settings

  • “Turn on airplane mode”
  • “Turn on Wi-Fi”
  • “Turn on Bluetooth”
  • “Turn on ‘do not disturb’”
  • “Is Bluetooth on?”
  • “Open Phone Settings”

Ask Siri to Post to Facebook & Twitter

  • “Post on Facebook ‘On my way to mom’s house for the weekend’”
  • “Tweet what an awesome time I had today”
  • “Tweet visit iPhoneMom website for cool tech tips“
  • “Tweet ‘Who are you voting for this election’ hashtag politics”

Ask Siri about Movie Theaters

  • “What movies are coming out this weekend?”
  • “What movies are playing near me?”
  • “Find movie theaters in Garden City NY”
  • “Find movie theaters near me”
  • “What are the best movies playing right now?”
  • “What comedy movies are playing”

Siri and Movies

  • “Show me reviews of the movie ‘Dumb and Dumber’”
  • “Show me ratings for ‘Dumb and Dumber’”
  • “Play the trailer for ‘Dumb and Dumber”
  • “Who directed “Shawshank Redemption”
  • “When was the movie ‘Shawshank Redemption’ released?”
  • “Who starred in the movie ‘21 Jump Street’?”
  • “What movie won best picture in 2000?”

Siri and Restaurants

  • “Show me restaurant information for McDonalds in Garden City”
  • “Table for four in Manhasset Sunday Night”
  • “I need a reservation tonight at Bryan and Coopers tonight”
  • “Show me good Italian restaurants near me”
  • “Show me reviews for Mim’s in Roslyn”

Ask Siri about Sports

  • “Show me basketball scores from Sunday”
  • “Show me NBA ladder”
  • “When do the Knicks play next?”
  • “Show me the Knicks season schedule”
  • “Show me career statistics for Carmelo Anthony”

Math & Siri

  • “What is the tip on $180?”
  • “What is the square root of 49?”
  • “What is 2 to the 5th power?”
  • “How many ounces in a cup?”
  • “How much is $100 in English pounds?”
  • “What is 21 x 4?”

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