Siri is the voice assistant on Apple devicesequivalent to Amazon's AlexaMicrosoft's Cortanaand Google's Google Assistant. Siri is available across most of Apple's devicesincluding iPhoneiPadMacApple WatchApple TVand HomePod.
You can ask Siri all kinds of questionsfrom simple queries about the weather to more complex questions about everything from sports scores to the number of calories in food. Siri can also enable or disable settingsfind contentset alarms and remindersplace calls and textsand so much more.
This guide covers the basics of Siriincluding some of the commands you can use to activate Siridevices that have Siri includedand devices that support more advanced hands-free "Hey Siri" commands.
Activating Siri
On an iPhone or iPadSiri can be activated by holding the Home button on compatible models or holding the Side button on devices without a Home button. On iOS 14 and lateron the iPhone and the iPadSiri pops up as a small icon at the bottom of the device's displayand on devices capable of Apple Intelligencethere is a Siri glow around the display that denotes that the personal assistant is activated.
On the Macyou can click on the Siri app icon on the dock or the menu baror press and hold the command key and the space bar. On iPhonesiPadsand Macsyou can activate Siri with a "Hey Siri" wake word.
On the Apple Watchyou can say "Hey Siri" to activate Siri. On Apple Watch Series 3 or later with the latest version of watchOSthere's a Raise to Speak feature that lets Siri respond to commands even without the Hey Siri trigger word. Just hold the watch up near your mouth and speak a command. Siri can also be activated by holding down on the Digital Crown.
On first-generation AirPodsa double tap activates Siriand on second-generation AirPodsSiri can be activated with the "Hey Siri" command.
On HomePodsay "Hey Siri" or press on the top of the HomePod to activate Siri.
On the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TVhold down the Siri button on the remote (the button with the microphone) to activate Siri. On the sixth-generation Apple TV or models with the newer Siri Remote (the aluminum remote)press on the side button to activate Siri.
Devices Compatible With Siri
Siri is on almost every Apple deviceand it's built into macOSiOSwatchOSand tvOS. You can activate Siri on Macs running macOS Sierra or laterall Apple Watch modelsthe Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4Kall modern iPhonesall AirPods modelsthe HomePodand the HomePod mini.
Multiple Siri Devices
When multiple devices that can respond to "Hey Siri" commands are availablethe devices will use Bluetooth to determine which one should respond to the request so not all of them answer at once. According to Applethe device that heard you best or the device that was most recently raised or used will respond.
If you have a HomePodthe HomePod will often take precedent and respond to "Hey Siri" requests even when other devices that support the feature are nearby.
Countries Where Siri Support is Available
Siri is available in more than 35 countries around the worldincluding the U.S.UKCanadaAustraliaNew Zealandand many countries in Asia and Europe.
A full list of countries where Siri is available can be found on Apple's Feature Availability website.
Certain Siri features like translationssports inforestaurant information and reservationsmovie information and showtimesdictionarycalculationsand conversions are limited to a smaller number of countries.
What Siri Can Do
Below is a list of some of the commands and questions Siri is able to respond toand some of the actions Siri is able to take.
- Make calls/Initiate FaceTime
- Send/read texts
- Send messages on third-party messaging apps
- Set alarms/timers
- Set reminders/check calendar
- Split a check or calculate a tip
- Play music (specific songsartistsgenresplaylists)
- Identify songsprovide song info like artist and release date
- Control HomeKit products
- Play TV shows and moviesanswer questions about them
- Do translations and conversions
- Solve math equations
- Offer up sports scores
- Check stocks
- Surface photos based on personlocationobjectand time
- Apple Maps navigation and directions
- Make reservations
- Open and interact with apps
- Find files (on Mac)
- Send money via Apple Pay
- Check movie times and ratings
- Search for nearby restaurants and businesses
- Activate Siri Shortcuts
- Search and create Notes
- Search Twitter and other apps
- Open up the Camera and take a photo
- Increase/decrease brightness
- Control settings
- Tell jokesroll diceflip a coin
- Play voicemails
- Check the weather
Apple Intelligence
Starting with iOS 18iPadOS 18and macOS SequoiaApple made Siri more intelligent on devices that support Apple Intelligence. This includes devices with an A17 Pro chip or later or an M-series chip. These chips are included in the iPhone 15 ProiPhone 16 modelsall Macs with Apple siliconall iPads with Apple siliconand the iPad mini 7.
With Apple IntelligenceSiri has a new look. There's now a glow around the edges of the display when Siri is activatedapplicable to iPhoneiPadand CarPlay. On Macthe Siri window can be placed anywhere. The glow animates responsively to the sound of your voice so you can tell when Siri is listening without interrupting other things you're doing.
Apple also added a Type to Siri featureso you can type requests to Siri instead of speaking them. To activate Type to Siriyou can double tap on the bottom of the display. On Macyou need to press the Command key twice to bring up Type to Siri. Type to Siri includes suggested requests so you can get your questions answered faster.
Siri is now able to maintain context between requests so you can ask a question and then reference it in a second reply. If you ask about the temperature in Raleighfor exampleand then follow up with "what's the humidity?" Siri should know you mean in Raleigh. If you stumble over your words when speaking to Sirior change what you're saying mid-sentenceSiri will follow along.
Siri has Apple's product knowledge and support base for answering questions about your device's features and settingsand can even find settings when you don't know the exact name by using natural language search.
Siri ChatGPT Integration
One of the biggest features in Apple Intelligence is Siri's integration with ChatGPT. Siri ChatGPT integration lets Siri hand requests over to OpenAI's ChatGPT. ChatGPT is off by defaultbut you can turn it on in the Apple Intelligence and Siri section of the Settings app.
If ChatGPT integration is enabledSiri will consult ChatGPT for complex requests. Complex requests might include creating an imagegenerating text from scratchmaking recipe ideas based on what's in your refrigeratordescribing what's in a photoand more.
Siri will analyze each request to see if it's something that needs to be answered by ChatGPTbut you can also automatically invoke ChatGPT for a request by using a request like "Ask ChatGPT to give me a chocolate chip cookie recipe." Siri asks your permission before querying ChatGPTbut there is an option to turn off that extra permission step by toggling off "Confirm ChatGPT Requests" in the ChatGPT section of Settings.
You don't need an account to use ChatGPTand it is freebut if you have a paid accountyou can sign in. If you're not signed inOpenAI does not store any of your ChatGPT requestsnor is your information used for training ChatGPT. If you sign inChatGPT can save a copy of your queries. Apple does not store ChatGPT queries.
ChatGPT can be used with Siribut it is also integrated into Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence. With Writing ToolsChatGPT can generate textand with Visual IntelligenceChatGPT can answer questions about what the Camera sees.
Siri
Apple released some of the Siri features in iOS 18.1iPadOS 18.1and macOS Sequoia 15.1but additional Siri capabilities are coming in later updates to iOS 18iPadOS 18and macOS Sequoia. We'll likely see these sometime around the iOS 18.5 update in May. Apple is working on onscreen awarenesspersonal contextand the ability to take more actions in and across apps.
Onscreen awareness will let Siri take actions when you ask something about what's on your display. If you're looking at a photo and want to message it to your friend Ericyou'll be able to tell Siri to "Send this picture to Eric," and Siri will understand and do it.
Personal context will let Siri do more with your personal data like emails and messages. This is an on-device featureand it will let Siri learn more about youwho you're communicating withand how you use your device. Personal context will let you do things like ask Siri to find a specific messageor remind you when you took a photo that you're looking for.
The Siri option to take more actions in and across apps will drastically improve what Siri is capable of. You'll be able to move files from one app to another and control app functions with Siri that you never could before. It'll work in third-party apps as well as Apple's own apps.
Passive Siri
Siri is an active assistant that you can interact withbut Apple has also integrated Siri into other aspects of iOS and watchOSallowing Siri to make proactive suggestions that you can act on.
On the iPhoneiPadand Apple WatchSiri can make various kinds of recommendations. When you're running late for a scheduled meetingfor exampleSiri might suggest that you call your boss either on the Home screen or when you swipe down to search and access the Siri Suggestions options.
In Messages and MailSiri can suggest things like phone numbers or addresses based on what you've typedand in SafariSiri can offer up search suggestions. Siri can do other things like suggest HomeKit scenes to activatesuggest a time to leave when you have an event scheduledsuggest events to add to your calendar from your emailand more. Siri suggestions are all based on your personal device usage habitsso what you see will vary.
On-Device Speech Processing and Personalization
A lot of Siri's speech processing and personalization features are handled on-devicewhich allows for more security than typical personal assistants that use the cloud for everything. Most audio requests are kept entirely on-device and are not uploaded to Apple's serversbut if ChatGPT is engageddata is sent to OpenAIand some Apple Intelligence features also require cloud connectivity.
Apple has designed Private Cloud Computea secure way for devices to interface with Apple servers.
Offline Support
With on-device processing now availablethere are a wide range of Siri requests that can be handled offline. Siri can create (and disable) timers and alarmslaunch appscontrol audio playbackand access Settings options. Apple says Siri can also process Messagessharingand Phone requests.
Siri Privacy
Siri does send data back to Applebut searches and requests are not associated with your identity to keep your personal information safe.
Apple does not sell your data to advertisers or other organizationsand end-to-end encryption is used for all data syncing between your devices and the cloud. Apple does sometimes use Siri recordings for improving Siri's performancebut there's now a toggle to opt out of Siri data collection and usagewhich can be found in our how to.
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