Although Apple said during its keynote that the number of requests to Siri is increasing, the truth is that the use of the company's voice assistant does not have the same depth as the rest of the competitors. Especially when compared to Alexa. Still, with the launch of the HomePod mini, they are sure to hope that everything will change. So let's see everything you can ask of Siri.
Hello, I'm Siri
If you're a user of Apple devices, Siri needs no introduction. You will already know that it is Apple's intelligent voice assistant and it is available in practically all of the company's products.
You can use Siri on iPhone and iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, Apple TV, and HomePod (both the original and the new mini version). What's more, even AirPods and CarPlay-compatible devices also allow you to use the voice command that activates it: "Hey Siri."
In addition to the voice command, there are other ways to activate Siri on the company's devices, although the way to do it will depend on each one of them. So, let's take a quick look at how to launch Siri on Apple devices:
- On the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch you just have to do the following. In the case of the iPhone X or higher, press the power button, in the iPad Pro without a home button press the power button and in the rest of the devices with a Home button press and hold it
- In AirPods it is done by double tapping or pressing on the right earphone
- In cars with CarPlay system, if they support Siri Eyes Free mode, you just have to hold the voice command button
- On Apple Watch, press and hold the digital crown for an instant
- On Macs, click the button located in the Dock, Touchbar, or Finder's bottom bar, although you can also go to system preferences and assign a custom keyboard shortcut to launch the voice assistant.
- On Apple TV, simply tap the dedicated button
- On HomePod and HomePod mini touch and hold the top until it starts ringing
As you can see, activating Siri is very simple. It does not matter if you do it by means of a voice command for reasons of convenience or through manual mode. It's up to you how you prefer to summon it, so now let's see what it can do for you.
Another important detail that you should know is how intercom works, a feature that they mentioned during the last keynote of the iPhone 12. Basically it is a personal communication system in the purest style of Drop-In or Alexa Announcements or its counterpart in Google Assistant.
The new intercom function allows you to send audio messages to other devices in the home. You just have to ask Siri and it will automatically be heard throughout the house. So, for example, if you say something on the HomePod mini in the living room, it will be heard on the one you may have installed in the bedroom or any other room.
Although not only between speakers, you can also take advantage of the function with devices such as the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods. The only downside is that even if you have Siri on Macs, you can't use this option, which could also be very useful.
Control your devices with Siri
One of the basic and clear functions of Siri is related to the control of your own devices, and we are not referring to those that you have connected at home but to your iPhone, iPad, Mac, etc. Apple's voice assistant can perform basic actions such as the following, but also very useful to avoid having to do it in a traditional way. For example, you can ask all this:
- Turn Wi-Fi on or off
- Turn Bluetooth on or off
- Switch to Airplane mode
- Raise or lower the screen brightness
- Turn the volume up or down
- Open the settings
- take a picture
- Record a slow motion video
- Open [app name]
- Open the website [page address]
- Create a timer of X time
- Create an alarm
- How much free space I have left (this is only compatible with Siri on the Mac)
Control home automation
If your connected devices are compatible with HomeKit, you can not only add them to the Home application, but also control it through Siri. So you can ask for things like:
- Siri turns lights on or off
- Set the brightness level to X percentage
- Close the door of the house
- Execute the scenes/routines that you have created such as Activate the cinema mode, Bedtime, etc.
What Siri can do on HomePod
If you're using Siri on HomePod or HomePod mini, while many commands will continue to work the same, others may not. This is because it's not exactly the same Siri that's on an iPhone and a HomePod. At least not yet.
In case of using the voice assistant on the company's smart speakers, these are the most useful commands:
- Play song X
- Turn the volume up or down
- pause the song
- Skip to the next song
- Go back to the previous song
- Plays music from (genre, time period, author, group,…)
- Siri who plays the guitar in this song
- siri who is singing
- Siri plays the best songs of (month) (year)
- Don't play this song anymore (it won't play again)
- I like this song (this will make me recommend similar songs to you)
- Play the podcasts of (name)
- Siri, turn off/disconnect. (This turns off the assistant and to activate it again you will have to touch the surface of the HomePod for a few seconds)
Know relevant information about your day to day
One of the most popular uses of any voice assistant is to keep you informed with all the data that may be of interest to you, such as the weather, traffic, outstanding news of the day, etc. So, you just have to ask him things like:
- What is the weather like today, tomorrow or a certain day. For example, one or all of next week
- Do I need to bring an umbrella?
- What will the weather be like in (city)
- How was the soccer game between (team A) and (team B)
- how is the traffic today
- Where can I go to eat
- Ask him to tell you about a nearby pizzeria, Mexican or other type of restaurant
- Take me Home
Let it do math for you
Siri is not only capable of answering general cultural questions, she also has math skills. Therefore, you can ask yourself to perform various operations, such as:
- Convert 50 dollars into euros
- How many are 150 meters in miles or in feet or in yards…
- Multiply, divide, add or subtract these amounts
- What is X percent of Y
- tell me the square root of x
Use Siri as your personal secretary
Apple's voice assistant can also act as a secretary, you just have to ask it to send a message or make a call to that person and it will do it. Therefore, some things related to calls and messages are:
- Call (contact)
- Call (contact) in hands-free or speakerphone mode
- Send a text to (contact name) and say X
- FaceTime (contact name)
- Control Siri-compatible apps
To use the latter it is necessary that the applications support the Apple assistant. To find out if that happens you will have to go to system settings > Siri and see if it is there or not. Thanks to this you will have a better experience and greater integration like the one offered by Apple apps, through which you can create new reminder lists, etc.
Fun things you can ask Siri
Finally, you can also ask Siri certain things that will make you give a funny answer to something that you may already know but you also want to know what the company's own assistant says.
For example, some of these commands are:
- Why did Apple make you?
- What does Siri mean?
- What are you wearing?
- You eat?
- Are you a woman or a man?
- How much do you cost?
- Believe in God?
- Do you have a boyfriend?
- Have children?
- Do you have brothers or sisters?
- How old are you?
- What's your favorite app?
- How much money do you earn?
- Can you dance?
- You sleep?
- What is your favorite color?
- Will you marry me?
- Do I need to hide a body?
- Red pill or blue pill?
- Can pigs fly?
- What did the fox say?
- Can you lend me money?
- Which is the best smart phone?
- Can I change your name?
- Ok Google
Siri what can you do for me
As you can see, Siri is capable of many things. Perhaps more than you may have imagined at first. Even so, there are functions that remain unknown to many users and also situations in which it is not as effective as its rivals. But it is clear that if you have or are going to bet on a HomePod or HomePod mini you will interested in knowing what Siri can do for you.
From here, you can ask them anything that occurs to you, or make requests that you doubt if they will know how to interpret or not. You are likely to be pleasantly surprised. And if not, at least you will already be clear how to get the most out of Siri.