Everybody likes to learn a few tips that will save them time, so I’ve identified a dozen things Siri will do for you that you may never have come across before.
Talk on your speaker phone
Working on something and you need to call a friend? Open Siri up, and tell it, “Hey, Siri, call (your friend) on speaker.” Siri will dial your contact and launch the conversation using your speakerphone.
This is just as useful in the office as it is in the kitchen.
Siri will Find that iPhone
Mislaid your iPhone? Ask Siri, “Find my iPhone,” and your smart assistant will show you a list of all the devices you own and ask you, “Which model?” Choose the relevant model, and Siri will let you play a loud sound on your mislaid device.
Have Siri remind you to get back to something
I’ve published this tip before, and it was very well-received, so I thought I should mention it here: Siri will remind you of almost any content you are interacting with — email, texts, web pages, podcasts.
All you need to do is ask Siri when in the content (on an open email, website, etc.) to “Remind me of this.” Siri will create a Reminder with a link back to that specific item of content. You can even ask it to set a reminder to a certain time: “Remind me of this at 10am Thursday.”
Who is calling please?
You can have Siri tell you who is calling so long as they are included within your Contacts book. Set this up in Settings>Phone>Announce Calls. You must then choose how often you want this to happen:
- Always
- Headphones & Car
- Headphones Only
- Never
Twitter tip: What’s trending?
I use Twitter a lot. It’s the best barometer of what is happening of all the social networks. Did you know that you can say, “Hey, Siri, what’s trending?” and it will show you all the currently trending topics on the social network?
Use Siri to change some of your iPhone Settings
Siri can’t do everything, but it can enable AirPlane mode, as well as switch off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Do Not Disturb (or switch them on again). You can even ask Siri to change the screen brightness and open the camera and take a Selfie.
Use Siri to send money
If you use Apple Pay Cash, you can send money directly to other Apple Pay users. Just tell Siri, “Pay Jonny Evans $1 million.” (Alas, my fate is to live with a diminishing sense of hope.)
Siri can set up a meeting for you
Not only can you ask Siri to call people and dictate and send emails and messages, but you can also ask it to arrange meetings for you. Ask Siri to “Schedule a meeting with [person concerned, who must be identified in your Contacts book]." Siri will schedule the meeting and send invitations to the contact(s) you mention.
Need to move that meeting to a different time or date? Siri can do that, too. Just say, “Move my 10:30 to 3pm.”
Siri can open a website
You can ask Siri to open a website for you. Spend a little time exploring Siri Shortcuts, and you’ll be able to automate a morning routine of all the websites you want to take a look at every morning.
What’s on schedule for today?
If you use your calendar effectively, you can reach for your iPhone in the morning and ask Siri, “What’s on my calendar today?”
Use Siri to make lists
“Hey, Siri, add “Finish my tax return” to my To Do list.” “Hey, Siri, add caviar and champagne to my weekly shopping list.” Siri can add items to your existing lists, create Notes, and more.
Pop into the shops
Even enterprise professionals need to get to the shops, but when you’re working late, you can easily find out if your local store is open. Just ask Siri: “How late is [store name] in [place name] open?” Now you’ll know what time you need to get there.
I do hope these Siri skills come in useful this season. Here are 142 more Siri tips you might enjoy.
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