Apple introduced the ability for users to say “Hey Siri” and provide hands-free voice commands to Siri in 2014 with iOS 8. It was limited to basic actions and information queries, but the technology has improved dramatically in the last decade.
How to set up “Hey Siri”
Open the Settings app
Scroll down and select “Siri & Search”
Toggle on “Listen for ‘Hey Siri'”
The procedure is identical for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch and their respective Settings apps.
Macs can also listen for “Hey Siri,” but only in models released in 2018 or later for MacBooks and in 2020 or later for iMacs. The toggle is in the same location, but this time in System Preferences.
HomePod, HomePod mini, and AirPods have “Hey Siri” enabled by default.
“Hey Siri” commands and phrases
This is a list of the many things you can command Siri, and it is by no means complete. The natural language processing that Siri performs means that many of these requests can be said in many different ways, also.
Make phone calls: “Call Mom.”
Hang up a call: “Hang up.”
Send messages: “Send a message to Nelson” or “Ask Dad, where are the keys?”
Read back previous messages: “Read back previous messages.”
Get directions: “Get directions home”
Play music: “Play music I like” or “Play ‘Georgia’ by Vance Joy.”
Stop music: “Stop playing” or “Play something else.”
Ping nearby devices: “Where is my iPhone.”
Set a timer: “Set a timer for 10 minutes” and set multiple timers by naming them, “Set a noodle timer for 8 minutes.”
Check on a timer: “How much time is left on the timer?”
Stop an alarm: “Stop” or “Stop the alarm” or add a person’s name if their device is alarming and belongs to your Apple Home.
Control HomeKit devices: “Turn on the lights” when commanding a HomePod in the room you’d like to turn the lights on in. Or, provide a zone, “Turn on the lights downstairs.”
Set a Reminder: “Remind me of this” for something you’re looking at in an app like Safari. Or “Remind me to take out the trash when I get home.”
Take a photo with the Camera app: “take a photo” or “take a selfie.”
Play media: “Play the next episode of ‘Ted Lasso'” or “Start playing ‘Prehistoric Planet’ in the Living Room.”
Ask for information: general queries can be thrown at Siri, and results will vary. “When did ‘Cinderella come out?” or “When is the next showing of ‘Super Mario Brothers The Movie?'” or “What day does Easter fall on?” or “What’s the Redsocks score?”
Create Calendar events: “Create a Calendar event on April 14 for a doctors appointment at 3 p.m.”
Calculations and random chance: “What is 4,400 divided by 3?” or “Flip a coin” or “roll a dice” or “roll two dice.”
Activate Shazam: “What song is this?”
Siri has access to nearly every app you have installed on your iPhone. See how each app interacts with Siri and Spotlight by opening the “Siri & Search” menu in Settings.
Siri also has several Easter eggs that come and go.
Giving these commands will result in a unique response from Siri, but engineers don’t always keep them active forever.
“Tell me a joke”
“knock knock”
“Tell me a story”
“Tell me a poem”
“Who let the dogs out?”
“May the force be with you”
“What is zero divided by zero?”
“What is your favorite color?”
“What is your favorite song?”
“What is the meaning of life?”
“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”
“Blue pill or red pill?”
“Do you obey the three rules of robotics?”
“Can I name you Jarvis?”
“Where can I hide a dead body?”
“Will you be my friend?”
“Why did the chicken cross the road?”
“What is your gender?” or “Are you a boy or a girl?”
“What do you look like?”
“What are you wearing?” or “will you marry me?”
“What does the fox say?” — try multiple times
Asking about Google, Android, or Microsoft will result in Siri saying it’s a fan of Apple.
“Sing for me” or “Beatbox” or “Can you rap?”
New Easter eggs are being added all the time. Try saying common phrases from movies, books, or pop culture to get unique results.
