It's easy to forget that the iPhone we use every day doubles as a virtual assistant. Sure, Siri may give you sass every now and then, but to make the most of Siri, you need to know specific things to ask. We have a few we want to share, so you can take full advantage of your voice assistant. Hopefully, these Siri commands will help save you some time down the line and make your life a little simpler.
1. Request an Uber or Lyft
Did you know you can hail a ride from these two popular ride sharing apps? All you have to do is say: "Siri, get me an Uber," or "Siri, get me a Lyft." You'll see the fare and driver information, and you can quickly quickly confirm your request.
2. Teach Siri How to Correctly Pronounce Names
Siri may not be saying your friend's name correctly, but you can fix that!
Hold the home button or say, "Hey, Siri" to trigger Siri
Say, "That's not how you pronounce [name.]"
Say your friend's name
Siri will offer four pronunciation options
Select the correct pronunciation
3. Set Reminders
Siri can help remind you to do certain tasks throughout your day that you may forget otherwise. If you have your work and home address added to your contact card in the Contacts app, you can even include locations in your queries. Here are some examples of things Siri can remind you of:
"Remind me when I get home to water the plants."
"Remind me to email Dave when I get to work."
"Remind me when I leave here to stop at the bank."
"Remind me tomorrow at 6 p.m. to call Kevin."
5. Quick Conversions
Siri can convert currencies and measurements such as distance, weight, volume, temperature, and speed. Here are some examples of things you can ask Siri to convert:
"How many gallons is 6 liters?"
"How many grams are in 12 pounds?"
"What's 70 degrees in Celsius?"
"How many feet are in 1 kilometer?"
6. Find Pictures in Your Camera Roll
One of the most frustrating things is when you need to show a friend a photo on your iPhone, but you can't find it because your camera roll is so full. Siri can actually help you access the photos much faster. Here are some commands to try:
"Show me my photos from [location]."
"Show me my photos from [month]."
"Show me my selfies."
7. Define Relationships
A lot of times you'll just assume Siri knows everything, and you may accidentally tell her to call or text your wife, mom, dad, or doctor, but she won't know who these people are unless you specify your relationship first. This is how you do just that:
Just launch Siri and say, "[Name] is my [Boss, Wife, Therapist]."
8. Identify Songs
Have you ever heard a song playing but for the life of you, you just couldn't place it and remember who sings it or what the name of it is? Siri can solve this extremely annoying occurrence with just three magic words:
"Siri, what's playing?"
9. Flip a Coin
Sometimes, you have to settle something with the toss of a coin, but you may not have one. Siri has you covered.
Just say "Flip a coin," and let it all come down to chance.
10. Control System Settings
If you want to change a few settings on your iPhone without opening Settings or sliding up on the home screen to activate the Control Center, there's another way — make Siri do the work for you. Siri can enable and disable the following:
- Airplane Mode
- Bluetooth
- Cellular Data
- Do Not Disturb Mode
- Low Power Mode
You can also adjust brightness. Just say: "Set Brightness to [Percentage]."
11. Post to Facebook or Twitter
Sometimes you may want to post a quick tweet or Facebook status without having to open the app and typing it out. Siri can do it for you, assuming you have your accounts linked and signed up in the Settings app first. After you do that, just say:
"Siri, post to [Facebook or Twitter]."
Then, she'll ask what you want to say.
Tap Post.
12. Take a Picture
If you want easy access to your iPhone's camera, just say:
"Siri, take a picture."
"Siri, take a selfie."
13. Activate FaceTime
You've probably used Siri to make phone calls, but you may not know Siri can make FaceTime calls, too. Just say:
"Siri, FaceTime [Name]."
13. Send Payments
Siri can link to your Venmo and Square Cash accounts for quick and easy payments. Here are examples of what you can tell Siri to pay your friends, roommates, or whomever.
"Pay John Smith $5 for coffee."
"Venmo Sara $850 for rent."
"Send $10 for drinks to Lauren with Cash."
14. See What's Playing
If you want to see what movies are playing, you probably just Google it or use an app. Siri can tell you what films are playing much more quickly, and even display their ratings.
Just say "Siri, what movies are playing?"
Siri will display the closest theaters and their show times.
15. Check Business Hours
When you have a late-night craving for an ice cream sundae and need see if the store's closed, or when you wake up super early and need your coffee fix but don't know if the café is open, Siri has your back.
Just ask, "Siri, what time does [place] [open or close]."
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Check Out These Awesome Accessories That Will Complement Your iPhone
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