Slowly but surely Apple is moving in. At first it was HomeKit, Apple's central nervous system for controlling various smart home devices. Then came its first smart speaker, the HomePod, a new hub for everything to orbit around.
Running through all of this is Apple’s virtual assistant, Siri. It can turn on your lights, turn down the thermostat, and get your music blasting out, you just need to know the best Siri commands to ask.
You can activate Siri on pretty much all of Apple devices, from your iPhone to your Apple Watch, your Mac to your HomePod, so whether you want to control your HomeKit devices or take charge of a shiny new HomePod, here's a breakdown of the most useful Siri commands to know below.
This guide will help you get to grips with what Apple’s assistant can do, and help you discover the voice commands you’re going to actually use - more than once. Note: You could word a lot of these commands commands a bit differently, so try experimenting.
Siri commands to organise your day
“Hey Siri, how's the weather looking today?”
“Hey Siri, what's in the news?”
“Hey Siri, set an alarm for 9am tomorrow”
“Hey Siri, set the alarm for 7am every week day”
“Hey Siri, what alarms do I have on?”
“Hey Siri, turn the alarm off”
"Hey Siri, snooze the alarm"
“Hey Siri, what's the traffic like?”
“Hey Siri, is [movie name] playing nearby?”
“Hey Siri, did the Warriors win last night?”
“Hey Siri, where's the nearest pharmacy?”
“Hey Siri, will I need an umbrella in San Francisco today?”
“Hey Siri, read my messages”
“Hey Siri, remind me to go to the florist at 2pm”
“Hey Siri, remind me to get milk today”
“Hey Siri, read me my reminders”
"Hey Siri, how many dollars is 50 pounds worth?"
"Hey Siri, what's in my calendar today?"
"Hey Siri, call Dad"
"Hey Siri, what time is it in London?"
Siri voice commands for getting crafty in the kitchen
“Hey Siri, set my kitchen scene”
“Hey Siri, play some cooking music”
“Hey Siri, how many calories in a Twinkie?”
“Hey Siri, turn on the coffee maker”
“Hey Siri, set a timer for 10 minutes”
"Hey Siri, what's in a White Russian?"
"Hey Siri, how many ounces are in a cup?"
“Hey Siri, start a shopping list”
“Hey Siri, add milk to my shopping list”
“Hey Siri, read me my shopping list”
"Hey Siri, boil the kettle"
Siri commands for music and podcasts
“Hey Siri, next/previous track”
“Hey Siri, play some chill/rock/classical music”
“Hey Siri, who sings this song?”
“Hey Siri, add this song to my favourites”
“Hey Siri, move the music to the living room"
“Hey Siri, don't play this again”
“Hey Siri, increase the volume 10%”
“Hey Siri, make a station from this song”
“Hey Siri, add this to my running playlist”
“Hey Siri, play my latest podcast”
“Hey Siri, play the [title] podcast”
“Hey Siri, subscribe to this podcast”
"Hey Siri, play The Cars in here and in the bedroom"
"Hey Siri, play the top song from January 1990"
Siri voice commands for smart home control
“Hey Siri, I'm home”
“Hey Siri, turn on/off the lights” (Fact: HomePod knows which room it's in, so if you're in that room too you can command it without naming the specific room. Otherwise say "Turn off the lights in the kitchen" etc)
“Hey Siri, dim the lights”
“Hey Siri, set the brightness to 50%”
“Hey Siri, turn off the upstairs light”
“Hey Siri, set the temperature to 55 degrees”
“Hey Siri, set my bedroom scene”
“Hey Siri, make the lights blue in the living room”
“Hey Siri, is the garage door open?”
“Hey Siri, did I leave the lights on downstairs?”
"Hey Siri, lock the front door"