Hey “Siri”, what can you do for me?

Do you use Siri in your everyday life? It’s a voice command service that many iPhone users don’t use to its full capacity. It’s actually incredible what Siri can help you accomplish. As we talk to our clients, we now understand that it’s not that people don’t want to use it, it’s more so “how can I use Siri?”

Let us help. It’s time to refresh your memory on what Siri can do for you.

Control your devices

Siri will help you control all kinds of settings on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. You can ask Siri to:

  • Turn Wi-Fi on/off
  • Turn Bluetooth on and off
  • Switch to Airplane Mode (you’ll need to disable it again manually)
  • Brighten and darken the display
  • Raise and lower the volume
  • Turn on Low Power Mode
  • Open Settings
  • Take a Pano shot
  • Open [name of app]
  • Open [name of site] website
  • Set a timer for [state time]
  • Set an alarm
  • Flip a coin, roll a dice

Time and weather

  • What time is it in [name a place]?
  • When is sunset tonight?
  • When is it sunrise in Tokyo?
  • What’s the weather in Tokyo?
  • What’s the weather in Tokyo this weekend?
  • Will I need an umbrella today?
  • What’s the weather going to be like today?
  • What will the weather be like this weekend?
  • How hot will it be next week?
  • What was the score in the Leafs game?
  • When is the next Arsenal match?
  • What’s [Apple] stock trading at today?

Conversions and calculations

  • What is $50 in Euros?
  • What are 120 meters in feet?
  • What is 7 plus/times/divided by/minus 3?
  • What is the square root of 9?
  • What is 20 percent of [number]?
  • What are 5 cups in liters?
  • What’s the tip for $127?

Translation services

  • How do you say [word or phrase] in French?
  • How do you say where is the train station in Spanish?
  • How do you say how much is this in Italian?

Find yourself, get there

Many of these commands assume you’ve taken time setting up some of your most frequently visited locations (home, work, mom’s house, etc.) in Contacts/Maps.

  • What’s the traffic like to work?
  • What’s a good Indian restaurant near me?
  • What’s the best Indian restaurant near me?
  • Show me the nearest gas station?
  • What are the traffic conditions near [name of place]?
  • What restaurants are near me?
  • Where is the nearest museum?
  • Where is the nearest Wi-Fi hotspot?
  • Where is the nearest [name of a place]?
  • What movies are playing near me?
  • Show me the bus route to [place]
  • Direct me to [name and address of place]
  • Take me to [name of place] on foot
  • Get me home
  • Check flight status of [name and number]
  • Find me an Uber
  • What airplanes are above me?

Messaging and calls

  • Call [a contact, name, business]
  • Call [contact] on speaker
  • Send a message to [contact name]
  • Sent a text to [name], and let them know I’m running a little late
  • Send an email to [name]. Subject: [Whatever you like]. Body: [I just wanted to send you all my Bitcoin, what’s your wallet address (or whatever you want to say).]
  • Start a Facetime call with [name]
  • Post to Twitter (or another social media feed)
  • Read my new email
  • If an app is enabled to work with Siri (in Settings>Siri), you can also ask Siri to do things with those apps, so you might ask it to send [name] a message in [app name].

Lists and stuff

  • Make a list called [name of list]
  • Add [item] to shopping list (or another list)
  • Take a note in my [name of list]
  • Remind me to switch on the oven in an hour
  • Remind me to take out the trash when I get home
  • Remind me to call [name] when I get to [place]
  • Wake me up at [time]
  • When is my next meeting?
  • Set up a meeting at [time and date]
  • What’s on my calendar for [date]?
  • Do I have a meeting at [time] on [date]?
  • What day is January 2?
  • When is Mother’s Day?
  • When is [contact]’s birthday?
  • Siri will remind you of whatever you are looking for on your screen, for example website, note, email, text message. Just say, “Remind me of this.” and Siri will set a Reminder that also includes a link back to the original item.
  • You can also set a time for the Reminder: “Remind me of this at 11am Thursday.”

Photos and video

  • Want to take a photo? Ask Siri, “Take a photo.”
  • Or take a selfie, “Take a Selfie”
  • Record a video
  • Take a slo-mo video
  • Show me my panoramic photos
  • Show me photos of [name of a person identified by Faces]
  • Show me photos I took in Lisbon [or another place]
  • Open my [name of] album
  • Show me photos from [place]
  • Show me photos from [date]
  • Show me videos from [name of place]
  • Scan a QR Code

Music and entertainment

  • Listen to [Taylor Swift]
  • Listen to [“Sweet Caroline”]
  • Listen to [chilled out music]
  • Play my workout music
  • Listen to [Mumford & Sons] on Apple Music
  • Next song, Skip song
  • Play/Pause the music
  • Play some music
  • Shuffle my
  • After this play [name of song]
  • Play the top songs of 1994
  • Play more like this
  • What song is this?
  • Play my Norah Jones station
  • Play something completely different
  • I like this song (good to use with Apple Music)
  • Add this song to Favorites
  • What’s this song?
  • Who sings this?
  • Tell me about this artist
  • What music is playing? (To identify sounds in a place you are in)
  • Play (or download) the [name of podcast]
  • What’s the synopsis of The Ozark?

Search machines

Siri will search for information, so you can ask it the kind of questions you might go online to resolve, such as

  • Show me [chicken] recipes?
  • Show me pasta recipes?
  • How do I make a [Burt Reynolds]?
  • What’s in a [Burt Reynolds]?
  • How many calories are in lard?
  • How much fat is in lard?
  • Who founded Apple?
  • Who directed the Lord of The Rings?
  • What is Game of Thrones?
  • Who is in the cast of Oceans 11?
  • Who is, what is, more information about [a celebrity]
  • How far away is Mars?
  • How tall is [name of famous landmark]?

Imagination is the only limit here, but so long as you can find it online, Siri will help you find it here.

You can also search items on your device, for example:

  • Find emails about Apple
  • Find my nearest friends
  • Define [word]
  • Search the App Store for [app name or category of apps]
  • You can also use the microphone in some apps to dictate new messages and notes.

Apple Pay

  • Where can I use Apple Pay?
  • Show me coffee shops that take Apple Pay?
  • Gas stations that accept Apple Pay?

HomeKit controls

  • Turn off the kitchen light
  • Boil the kettle
  • What’s the temperature in the living room?
  • Is the front door locked?
  • And if you have scenes, you can ask Siri to set them up — you can even have it set up your nighttime HomeKit settings by saying “goodnight.”

Do you want more ideas to ask Siri? Just ask “what can you do?” to open up a great list to get you what you need. 

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