Siri has been with us longer than most people would think. The artificial intelligence (AI) assistant was the product of SRI International's (formerly known as Stanford Research Institute) decades-long research into AI. As such, Siri is the first of its kind, per SRI International.
SRI, International is an independent, nonprofit research institute that is the birthplace of some of Silicon Valley's most important innovations, with Siri being one of those, per the Institute's About Us page.
Since it was unveiled as an integrated feature of the Apple iPhone 4S in October 2011, the virtual personal assistant has seen many upgrades and features added to it. Today, people can use Siri to list down their grocery shopping, set up alarms, and even hold a sort of conversation with Apple's virtual personal assistant by just long-pressing an iPhone's home button or uttering the wake-up phrase "Hey, Siri."
Here are some voice commands you may or may not know that can help you out in your everyday life and make you feel like a tech-savvy character like Marvel Comics' Tony Stark or give you a little giggle to brighten things up.
Keep in mind that for you to issue voice commands to Siri, you have to wake Siri up by saying the wake-up phrase "Hey, Siri," long-pressing an iOS device's Home Button or the center button of an Apple Earpods, or double-tapping either ear on a pair of Apple Airpods.
Siri Basic Voice Commands
If you want to send a simple text message to someone, wake Siri up and say "Tell [name] I am on my way," or "Tell [name] I am going to the store." To read new messages, tell Siri "Read my new messages," or "Check Email."
Apple seems to haven't yet programmed Siri to read specific messages from people, so don't expect Siri to do so when you order it to do that.
To have Siri call someone, wake Siri up and say "Call [name]," or "Call the Fire Department." You can also use the nicknames you set for specific persons in place of their names for easy reference.
Emergency numbers, such as 911, work as well.
You can also command Siri for other things, such as knowing the weather, time zone conversion, and quick maths. To know what the weather is through Siri, wake it up and say, "What's the weather today?" or "Do I need an umbrella?"
As for time zone conversion, ask Siri "What time is it in [country or state]?" or any of the question's variations like "What's the time in Oregon?" does the trick.
As for quick maths, wake Siri up and ask a mathematical question, such as "What's 140 times 3?" Business Insider mentioned that Siri can calculate math problems from simple ones to the ones that involve tip calculations.
Additionally, turning the flashlight on and off is as simple as telling Siri, "Turn on flashlight," and "Turn off flashlight." Saying "lumos" and "nox" can also turn the flashlight on and off, respectively, and make you feel like you're a wizard or witch from the world of Harry Potter.
Siri The Comedian
Siri is not just for simple, everyday commands. Apple's virtual personal assistant can also crack a few jokes here and there when commanded to do so.
Yes. Siri does have its repertoire of jokes to refer to when asked for a joke or two from the simple knock-knock jokes to puns so bad, you can't help but laugh.
To have Siri start a knock-knock joke, wake it up and say, "Knock Knock." Siri will repeat this line, but only to start its joke. Follow Siri's prompts to complete and hear its joke.
If you want a more direct approach, wake Siri up and say, "Tell me a joke," per Macrumors. This command will have Siri pull one of its puns on you, which could be bad, or a knee-slapper, depending on your sense of humor.
Finally, Siri can also hold a conversation or two with someone. However, don't expect anything as advanced as the AI responses from the movie "Her."
Pocket-Lint has a few examples you can try on Siri:
- What is your best pick-up line?
- How do I look?
- Can you stop time?
- Do you love me?
- What is zero divided by zero?
