The Best Funny and Useful Siri Commands for iOS and MacOS

Posted on the 01 February 2021 by Thiruvenkatam Chinnagounder @tipsclear

Siri is one of the best virtual assistants out there, and it's available on almost all Apple devices, including iOS and macOS. However, Siri is only as useful as the operator which is why you need to learn the tricks to get the most out of it.

The commands you use can get the job done, but they might not be the most efficient way to use Siri. We teach you the commands that can help you with everything from calculations to managing your device's settings.

Activate Siri

If you can't speak to Siri, the feature may be turned off. To activate Siri, go to Settings> Siri and search and switch Tap Home for Siri sure. Once activated, you can activate Siri in several ways.

  • Press and hold the Home or Side button.
  • Go to Settings> Siri and search and activate Listen to "Hey Siri". When finished, you can activate Siri by saying "Hey Siri" out loud.
  • If you are using the Earpods, press and hold the center button.
  • If you have an Apple Watch, you can activate Siri by double-tapping the button below the crown.
  • If you're using AirPods, double-tap one of the pods.
  • If you're using a Mac, click the Siri icon in the menu bar.

Controls for calls, voicemail, messages, and e-mail

  • "Call [name or number]. "
  • "Facetime [name or number]. "
  • If you want to start a call using the loudspeaker, you can say "Call [name or number] on the speaker. "
  • "Consult my voicemail" or "Consult the voice messages of [name]. "
  • "Check my messages" or "Check my e-mails".
  • "Read my new messages" or "Read my new e-mail".
  • "Send an email to [name]. Siri will then ask you to provide the subject and message. You can also say the entire order at once like this: "Send an email to [name], about [what you say here will be the subject], and say [what you say here will be the message]. "

Commands to control your device settings

  • "Switch on switch off [Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular data, Do Not Disturb, Night Shift, or Airplane Mode]. "
  • "Take a photo / selfie."
  • "Increase / decrease the brightness."
  • When listening to music, you can say "Increase / Decrease volume".
  • Open [app or game].

Commands for currency conversions, calculations, and timers

  • "What is [say the amount and name of currency] in [say the name of the currency]. "
  • You can also convert any other measurement. For example: "What is 335 meters in feet?"
  • "What is [number] plus / minus / divided / multiplied by [number]"Or" What is the square root of [number]. "
  • "Set a timer for [say the amount of time]. "
  • "Set an alarm for [time]. "
  • To calculate a tip, you can say "What [percentage] of [number]? "
  • "What is [say the name of the company] share price? "
  • "What weather is it today?" or "What's the weather like in [say the country or city]. "
  • "What time is it [say the country or city]. "

Controls to set appointments, alarms, lists and reminders

  • "Check my meetings."
  • "Schedule a meeting with [name] at [day and time]. "
  • "Remind me to [say what to remind you about] at [say when you want Siri to remind you]. "You can also add a location to your reminder. For example: "Remind me to call John when I get home."
  • If you need to know which day falls on a certain date, you can ask "What day is December 25?" You can also say "How many days until December 25?"
  • "Make a list called [name of list]. "
  • "Add items to the list [name of list]. "

Navigation and movement controls

  • "Where am I?" or "What is my position?"
  • "Show me the closest [gas stations/type of restaurants/malls/etc.]. "
  • "How do I get to [destination] through [car/foot/bike]. "
  • "Take me Home."
  • "What are the traffic conditions" or "What are the traffic conditions nearby [name location]. "
  • "How long before arriving at [destination]. "
  • "Check the flight status of [airline and flight number]. "
  • "Show me the bus route for [destination]. "
  • "Do I need an umbrella?"

Search commands

  • "Open [name of app]. "
  • "To define [word]. "
  • "Search the App Store [name of app or category of apps]. "
  • Ask any question and Siri will search the internet. For example: "How do you cook an omelet?"
  • "Search for notes / email on [say some keyword related to what you're searching for]. "
  • "Find friends nearby" or "Where is [name of friend]. "
  • Find pictures by saying, "Show me pictures of [date] or from [name - if you have assigned names in the People album]. "
  • "Find / download the [name of artist] Podcast. "

Entertainment, sports and music controls

  • "Show me the [sports team or game] scores. "
  • "Play music" or while listening to a song, you can tell Siri to "pause / stop / skip" or "play next / previous song".
  • "To play [name of song]. "
  • "Like this song."
  • "What is this song?"
  • "Play more like this."
  • "Listen to songs by [group or artist]. "
  • "Listen to the best songs from [year]. "
  • "What films are showing nearby?" or "What are the screening hours of the films [name of movie/name of cinema]. "
  • "Play a game" or "Games" or "Show me games" or "Show me driving / platform / Mario games".

Use third-party apps

Besides the ability to open apps, Siri can also perform actions or dive into specific apps to bring you the information you want, when you want it. Siri will monitor how you use the apps and suggest Siri Shortcuts - a convenient way to get things done using the apps you use the most on your phone. You'll find these suggestions in Settings> Siri & Search. You can add shortcuts by recording a phrase that Siri will identify and activate the shortcut. For example, you can say "Order as usual" to trigger a particular food order in the Caviar app or "Take the Scenic Drive" to avoid traffic in the Waze app. You can even create shortcuts that can combine custom actions across multiple apps. There are so many different ways to use Siri Shortcuts that you will be amazed at how useful your phone is.

While Apple has yet to compile an official list of apps that can use custom Siri Shortcuts, this Reddit post has created a major resource list of supported applications, such as Amazon Kindle, Adobe Lightroom, and Pandora. The list also gives you tips on how to optimize shortcuts with each app. You can use commands such as:

  • "Send one [name of messaging app] Message to [name of contact]. "
  • "Bring me a Lyft for [name of destination]. "
  • "Post a message to [Facebook/Twitter]. "
  • "Pay [name] $ 20 with [PayPal/Square]. "

Fun stuff

It's great that Siri can help you streamline your phone experience and find answers to your important questions or display directions while you drive, but Siri is also good for a little fun. She can act as a real "magic ball of eight" for all your silly "what if" questions, surprising you with her willingness to come up with spontaneous responses to commands like "flip a coin" or "roll the dice".

There is a lot of funny questions you can ask it, and Apple regularly adds new Siri answers. She will shock you everyday with innovative new answers to personal questions that are sure to put a smile on your face. For example, if you've ever wondered what Siri's favorite color is, what she dreams of, or if she will go on a date with you, ask her.

Editor's recommendations

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-siri-commands/