Bet You Didn’t Know Siri Can Do All This


Ah, Siri. Some hate her, some love her. The ones that get the most out of Siri know exactly what she can and can’t do. Here’s a cheat sheet to everything Siri’s capable of — and some of it is sure to surprise you.

Siri is a lot more useful than most iPhone users give her credit for. Did you know:

siri timer eggSiri can set a timer.

Cooking in the kitchen and need an egg timer? Siri’s there for you. In fact, Siri can set a timer for anything you can think of. Siri will also accept timer commands like “Start,” “Stop,” “Pause,” “Reset,” and “Resume.”

Best Syntax:

“Set a timer for __ minutes.”
“I need an egg timer.”

siri alarmSiri can set an alarm.

Who needs a boring old alarm clock when Siri can do the same thing and more using nothing but your voice? Tell Siri what time you want to wake up in the morning, and she’ll take care of the rest. She can also change settings or cancel an alarm.

Best Syntax:

“Set an alarm for __.”
“Wake me up in 6 hours.”

siri clocks timeSiri can tell you what time it is (anywhere in the world).

Yeah, so it’s not that big a deal that Siri can tell you what time it is, when you can just look at your lock screen and see for yourself. What is more useful is that you can ask Siri what time it is anywhere in the world. You can also ask about sunrise and sunset times around the world.

Best Syntax:

“What time is it in London?”
“When is sunrise?

Siri can help you plan your day.

If you keep a very thorough and detailed iOS Calendar, Siri can alert you to meetings, classes, or other appointments you have scheduled. Siri will also help you set up your Calendar and schedule things, so you don’t have to type them in by hand.

Best Syntax:

“Do I have lunch plans today?”
“When is my next dentist appointment?”
“I have a Calculus test tomorrow morning at 10.”

siri weatherSiri can tell you the weather conditions and forecast.

With all due respect to Al Roker, Siri is one great meteorologist. Ask Siri pretty much anything you want to know about the weather forecast (today, tomorrow, this week, etc.) or the current conditions, and she’ll have the answer. And just like the time, you can also ask about the weather for anywhere in the world.

“Tell me about today’s weather.”
“Will it snow this week?”
“What’s tomorrow’s high temperature in Orlando?”

siri distance mapsSiri can use Maps and GPS.

Siri can show you your current location on the map, your destination, and any address or physical location (like the Statue of Liberty) in the world. Want to know how far away you are from someplace, or how long it would take to get there? Just ask.

If you use Find My Friends, Siri can tell you where your friends and loved ones are, too.

“Where am I?”
“How far away is Alcatraz?”
“How long will it take to drive home?”
“Is my wife home from work yet?”

Siri can find nearby places you need, like gas stations, restaurants, movie theaters, and more.

Sure, you can ask for the nearest McDonald’s. But Siri can get a lot more specific than that. If your car breaks down, Siri can find you a gas station within walking distance. Or say you need reservations for this week for a party of two. Siri will find a restaurant at which you can make those exact reservations — and even make them for you.

Best Syntax:

“Find the closest gas station.”
“What new movies are out this week?”
“Where’s the best seafood place in Dallas?”

siri gas station siri restaurant dinner reservations siri movies now playing

Siri can tell you just about anything you want to know about film.

Ask, and Siri will search film history — drawing largely from Rotten Tomatoes — to tell you a film’s release date, cast, director, and runtime. Siri can even help you purchase movie tickets.

Best Syntax:

“Who directed __?”
“Who starred in __?”
“When did __ come out?”
“How long is __?”

siri-movies-1 siri-movies-2

siri-movies-3 siri-movies-4

siri sports scores statistics statsSiri can help you stay on top of your favorite sports.

Siri has direct access to all pro sports scores, individual stats, game dates, and more.

Best Syntax:

“Who won last night’s game?”
“What are LeBron James’ career stats?”
“When is the next 49ers game?”

siri stock market holdings tradingSiri can keep you up-to-date on the stock market.

Siri can tell you just about anything you want to know about current market conditions, or the day’s activities. Sure, you can check Bloomberg or the Wall Street Journal for more details, but if you just want the facts, Siri will tell you what they are.

Best Syntax:

“What’s the NASDAQ at?”
“What’s Facebook’s stock price?”
“What did Apple close at?”
“How are the markets today?”

Siri can take notes for you.

Got an idea in the car, but can’t stop to jot it down? Just tell Siri. Siri will start a Note with whatever information you provide, and can even add info to an existing Note.

Best Syntax:

“Create a new note.”
“Note that I spent $5 on breakfast.”
“Add ‘frisbee’ to my ‘At the Park’ note.”

siri notes siri note

siri remindersSiri will remind you about anything you want, at any time or location.

iOS Reminders app interfaces directly with Siri, so you can create a to-do list or a more urgent reminder that’s based on time or GPS location conditions.

Best Syntax:

“Remind me to call the doctor tomorrow morning.”
“Remind me to walk the dog when I get home.”

siri text messageSiri can call, text, email, or FaceTime anyone for you.

Regardless of how you interact with friends, co-workers, and family, Siri can do all the heavy lifting for you. Instead of going to the Messages app and typing in the recipient and your message, just tell Siri to do it. Siri will also check your messages, voice mail, email, and so on.

Best Syntax:

“Call my wife.”
“Tell Bob that I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Do I have any new email?”
“Read last text message.”

Siri can Tweet or post an update to Facebook for you.

Just tell Siri what you want to post, and it’s done. Sadly, Siri can’t post photos (yet).

Best Syntax:

“Tweet my location with ‘Best steak ever!'”
“Post on Facebook ‘Had a fantastic time at Carl’s party tonight.'”

siri facebook siri weather

siri googleSiri will search the web via Bing or Google — your choice.

Siri defaults to Bing, but if you prefer Google, just ask for it.

Best Syntax:

“Search the web for ‘iPads on sale.'”
“Google ‘Facebook cover photo size.'”
“Bing ‘best flatscreen TVs.'”

Siri can launch any app for you.

As long as you use the correct name of the app in question, Siri can open it for you. That’s all she can do with your apps for now; deeper interaction is expected in the future.

Best Syntax:

“Open Chrome.”
“Launch Clear.”

siri musicSiri can play music for you.

Request a song, an artist, genre of music, or your own playlist. Siri understands them all, and will even shuffle your tracks. (Note that Siri can only interact with the music stored on your device; Siri will not find/play music on the Web or in another app like Spotify.) Siri will also obey your “Play,” “Pause,” and “Skip” commands while your music is playing.

Best Syntax:

“Play some jazz.”
“Play U2.”
“Play my ‘Working Hard’ playlist.”

Siri can answer factual questions.

Siri can interface with Wolfram Alpha to answer your factual questions, such as math, science, literature, and history.

Want to impress your friends? Ask Siri what planes are flying overhead right now.

siri fact search wolfram alpha siri flights airplanes above overhead

siri sing a songSiri can show off her personality.

Siri’s sense of humor or her sassy answers to your snarky questions are well documented. Among her many tricks, Siri can tell jokes, sing songs, and tell you stories.

 

 


 

So what do you use Siri for?


Kokou Adzo

Kokou Adzo is a stalwart in the tech journalism community, has been chronicling the ever-evolving world of Apple products and innovations for over a decade. As a Senior Author at Apple Gazette, Kokou combines a deep passion for technology with an innate ability to translate complex tech jargon into relatable insights for everyday users.

8 Comments

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  1. Apple needs to come up with the ability to use Siri as your alarm..Siri waking you up with a good morning and a run down of the weather or something like that instead of a song or tone..get cracking apple

  2. can Siri tell me the weather then my calendar of events and respond to snooze voice commands or will i have to set 2 separate alarm events?