Siri is thirteen years old, which is hard to believe. Just four years after the first iPhone was released, in 2011, Apple unveiled its digital assistant on the iPhone 4S. Since then, Siri has advanced significantly, opening up new ways to do things just by speaking.
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Siri’s hands-free capabilities may be really helpful whether you’re attempting to start your white noise app while soothing a wailing infant, sending a text while driving, or converting metric while cooking.
Apple’s own documentation on what Siri can do for you is short and doesn’t cover almost every activity you can accomplish with voice commands on your iPhone. Did you know, for instance, that you can now use your voice alone to restart your iPhone?
Check out these nine secret Siri voice commands to find out more about what you can accomplish with your iPhone just by speaking.
Learn more about Siri and the iPhone by exploring the newest features in iOS 17 and how to use Amazon Alexa on your iPhone’s home screen in lieu of Siri.
‘Hey, Siri’ is no longer necessary.
You may now activate Siri on your iPhone without saying “Hey, Siri” as long as you’re running iOS 17. By just saying “Siri,” your iPhone will start to listen for any voice instructions you give it. Saying “Siri, set an alarm for 8 a.m. this coming Thursday” is equivalent to saying “Hey” in this situation.
iOS 17’s Siri
Now you only have to say “Siri.”
Aguilar Nelson/CNET
Ask Siri to read you an article in Safari.
Additionally, if the site is compatible with the Reader View function, you may have Siri read you any article, short story, or other webpage. Make sure the Show Reader option isn’t grayed out and press the AA symbol in the upper left corner of a site to see whether Reader View is functional.
Say something like “Siri, read this to me,” or “Siri, I want to listen to this page,” to have Siri read a Safari website to you. You may adjust Siri’s speaking tempo to make the voice assistant talk more or less quickly by tapping the new Listen to Page button in the upper left corner.
Find stored passwords for applications and websites quickly.
With the iCloud Keychain, Apple enables you to save your login credentials on all of your Apple devices, including your iPhone. You can see your stored passwords for websites, apps, and your Apple ID in iOS by going to Settings > Passwords, but Siri will allow you to retrieve them more quickly.
You may ask Siri to “Show me the password for (app/website)” and it will take you to the password page in your settings in no time. You must use Face ID or Touch ID to go in before you can see the password. The password or username may then be copied to your clipboard.
Restart your iPhone.
A fast restart of your iPhone will often resolve software issues, such as a slowdown in the operating system or an application that keeps force-closing. To turn off your smartphone, just press the home button and the volume button for a little while, then slide. However, there is a simpler method for rebooting.
Read more: You’ll Want to Know About This New Siri Voice Command on Your iPhone
Without using your hands, you may ask Siri to “Restart my phone” and then respond “Yes” when asked to do so.
Requesting that Siri restart the iPhone
To be sure, you may also touch on Restart.
Nelson Aguilar/CNET screenshots
Disable a bothersome alarm
When your alarm goes off, you’re either not close to your iPhone or you can’t locate it because it’s hidden in your sofa cushions or beneath your covers. If you don’t snooze or cancel your iPhone alarm, it will continue to sound for fifteen minutes. However, you may use your voice to silence it.
You may instruct Siri to “Turn off my alarm” even if it is screaming loudly. Indeed, just saying “Hey, Siri” will also prevent your alarm from going off. Using any Siri command will permanently turn off the alarm, unlike the snooze option.
Use the Find My feature to locate friends or relatives.
You may monitor not just your Apple devices but also those of your loved ones, friends, and family members with the Find My function. You can use Siri to rapidly find out where someone is if you’re using Find My to monitor their position, such as your sister or significant other.
“Where is (contact name)?” ask Siri. and the precise location of the individual will be shown to you in a little Find My box that pops up at the top of the screen. Additionally, Siri will provide their location’s estimated address and distance. Tapping the Find My window will take you to the Find My app, where you can receive directions to the person’s location, get in touch with them, and more.
Translate phrases or words from other languages.
In addition to the standalone software, your iPhone comes with Apple’s Translate function, which lets you swiftly translate languages from almost anyplace on the device, including text messages, online browsers, and Siri.
With only your voice, you may ask Siri to translate a single word or whole phrases. “Translate ‘My head hurts.'” is an example. If you say, “I think I’m going to sleep,” in Spanish, Siri will first read your phrase in the native tongue before translating it. You may use the play button in the Translate box to hear the translation once again.
Not all of the 17 languages that Translate now supports—including Spanish and Chinese—can be utilized with Siri.
The iPhone’s Siri translate function
A preview of what you said and the translation will be shown in this pop-up that will show up at the top of your phone.
Nelson Aguilar/CNET screenshot
Configure reminders according to where you are.
An effective productivity tool for your iPhone is the Reminders app, which helps you recall tasks like making phone calls, sending emails, or making online purchases. However, you may utilize Siri to generate a location-based reminder notice if you don’t require constant reminders about everything on your to-do list.
Say “Remind me to pay my internet bill when I get home” to Siri, for instance, and a reminder will be generated to remind you to pay your payment when you get home. The reminder should appear on your phone the next time you go home (which you may specify in Contacts or Maps). In addition to home and work, you may set your location to a nearby park or Target, but Siri will want you to confirm the precise address.
Obtain instructions to your parked vehicle.
Have you lost sight of your automobile when parked at an airport? Finding your way back to your car might be challenging, particularly if you didn’t make a mental note and you’re in a big garage or parking lot with hundreds of other cars. Luckily, all you have to do is ask Siri, and your iPhone will typically know where you parked.
“Get me directions to my car” will cause Siri to launch the Maps app and provide you with walking directions to the location where it believes your car is parked. In order to determine where your vehicle is parked, your iPhone records your moving speed and the other devices it is linked to, such as your car audio.