You can say, “Open Calendar” or “Play Angry Birds” or “Launch Calculator.” If you don’t learn to use Siri for anything else, for the love of Mike, learn this one.
Thanks to “Hey Siri,” you now have a front-seat conversationalist, a little software friend who’s always happy to listen to what you have to say-and whose knowledge of the world, news, sports, and history can help make those cross-country drives a little less dull. This requirement ensures that it won’t drain your battery.) The exceptions: the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, which can listen for you even on battery power. (Having to listen constantly for the “Hey Siri” command is exhausting for your iPhone it uses a lot of power. Just remember that most iPhones don’t respond to “Hey Siri” except when they’re plugged in and charging. Anytime you want to ask Siri something, just say, “Hey Siri” at the sound of the double-beep, say your thing. The screen asks you to say “Hey Siri” three times, then “Hey Siri, how’s the weather today?” and “Hey Siri, it’s me.” That’s all Siri needs to learn your voice.Īt that point, you’re good to go. Otherwise, a lot of people would be freaked out when they say things like “Jay’s weary” or “Space? Eerie!” and the phone double-beeps in response.Īs soon as you turn on Allow “Hey Siri” the training screens appear. In iOS 9, you have to do a quick training session to teach Siri what you sound like. Turn on “Hey Siri.” Open Settings→ General→ Siri and turn on Allow “Hey Siri.” (It comes turned off.)
Furthermore, Apple continues adding to Siri’s intelligence through software updates. (Well, you can ask.)īut, as you’ll soon discover, the number of things Siri can do for you is rather impressive. You can’t ask Siri to clean your gutters or to teach you French. You don’t have to separate your words or talk weirdly you just speak normally. It doesn’t matter if you say, “What’s the weather going to be like in Tucson this weekend?” or “Give me the Tucson weather for this weekend” or “Will I need an umbrella in Tucson?” Siri understands almost any variation.Īnd she understands regular, everyday speaking. She’s been programmed to respond to casual speech, normal speech. Most speech-recognition systems work only if you issue certain limited commands with predictable syntax, like “Call 445–2340” or “Open Microsoft Word.” But Siri is different. No special syntax is required you don’t even have to hold the phone to your head. Siri is a crisply accurate, astonishingly understanding, uncomplaining, voice-commanded servant. Siri, it turns out, is a Norwegian word meaning “beautiful woman who leads you to victory.” (Co-creator Dag Kittlaus named Siri. But that’s not where Siri’s name came from. The spinoff was run by the Stanford Research Institute (SRI). It’s where you’ll find the icons of the people you contact most often, nearby shops and restaurants, and news you may be interested in.īelieve it or not, Siri is a spinoff from a Department of Defense research project called CALO (Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes), which Wikipedia describes as “the largest artificial-intelligence project ever launched.” In a very real way, therefore, Siri represents your tax dollars at work. Second, you can say, “Remind me about this when I get home” (or “tonight”), too-“this,” meaning whatever web page, email message, or Notes note you’re looking at right now.įinally, Siri is the brains behind the new “proactive” search screen, the one to the left of the first Home screen. First, she can round up photos or videos according to their date, location taken, or album name (“Show me all the pictures I took in Sea World last year”). In iOS 9, Siri has gained some new skills.
Instead of pressing the Home button to get her attention, you just say, “Hey Siri.” (The 6s and 6s Plus can respond even when running on battery power.) You can even ask her, “What song is that?” or “Name that tune.” She’ll identify whatever song is playing in the background, just as the popular Shazam app does. Siri displays a beautifully formatted response and speaks in a calm voice. You can also ask questions about movies, sports, and restaurants. You can say, “Wake me up at 7:45 a.m.,” or “What’s Chris’s work number?” or “How do I get to the airport?” or “What’s the weather going to be like in San Francisco this weekend?” Second, there’s Siri the voice-controlled minion. First, there’s dictation, where the phone types out everything you say. Siri, the iPhone’s famous voice-recognition technology, is actually two features.