Chapter 7
IN THIS CHAPTER
Setting up Siri on Apple Watch
Reviewing how Siri works on Apple Watch
Using examples to showcase Siri on Apple Watch
Mastering Siri, including many tips and tricks
Trying out a few extra practical ways to chat with Siri
Having fun with Siri’s humor
Although many Apple Watch wearers will interact using their fingers on their wrist-mounted gadget — tapping, pressing, or swiping the screen or accessing the two buttons along the side — you can get more done in less time if you simply talk to your watch.
Already an iconic feature on other Apple products (iPhone, iPad, Mac, HomePod, and Apple CarPlay-enabled vehicles) Siri (pronounced “sear-ree”) is your own voice-activated personal assistant. Using your words rather than your fingers to ask for information or give a command is a very natural, fast, and simple way to get answers to questions, open apps, control your smart home, and much more.
After all, talking to your tech gadget is more intuitive than typing or tapping — and getting a humanlike response is more meaningful too — so Apple Watch wearers will no doubt benefit from the fact that the watch has a built-in microphone and speaker.
An Internet connection is required to send your words to Apple’s servers for processing. So as long as your watch is on the Internet via Wi-Fi or wirelessly tethered by Bluetooth to your iPhone, or if you own a cellular-supported model, Siri might just be the best feature of your Apple Watch. Of course, you might not always be in a place where you can talk openly (such as in a quiet boardroom meeting) or you might not have Internet access at that moment (such as on an airplane without Wi-Fi or cellular support), but most of the time, you can use Siri to give you what you want — and quickly.
But you don’t know where to start, you say? No problem. I cover Siri extensively in this chapter.
Shameless plug alert: As the author of Siri For Dummies, I show you in this chapter all the different ways you can use Siri to get information on your Apple Watch.
You have four different ways to call up your personal assistant on Apple Watch:
Cool, huh?
First, the good news: You probably already set up Siri on your iPhone when you first turned on your device. This gives you access to your assistant on Apple Watch too. As you may or may not recall from previous chapters, your iPhone asked you if you want Siri (and, yes, you can also enable or disable it in the Settings ⇒ Siri & Search area of your iPhone). See Figure 7-1 for a look at the Siri options on iPhone.
When you set up your iPhone, it also asked for your language preference. You have more than 40 options, including English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian — to name a few. Choosing a language and dialect isn’t just so Siri can speak in a language you understand; it’s also to let your new personal assistant better understand you. For example, someone from the United States or Canada will say “Call Mom” differently than an English-speaking person from the United Kingdom or Australia. One might sound more like “Coll mum” or “Cull mam” and so on.
In fact, you can choose from nine different kinds of English for Siri: Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom, and United States (notice how Scotland isn’t in there? Siri isn’t THAT good!). Obviously, Americans have various accents too — differences definitely exist between speakers from Long Island, Boston, Dallas, and Minneapolis, for example — but American English can be vastly different from the English spoken in London or Sydney. Thus, be sure to choose the correct language from the list or you may have some difficulties understanding Siri — and vice versa.
It’s also important to note Siri has a female voice in the United States by default, but you can change it to a male voice if you like. For this reason, I usually refer to Siri as “it” to keep language universal.
To make sure Siri works flawlessly on Apple Watch, you need to first go to Settings ⇒ Siri & Search on your iPhone and flick the toggle to green (“On”) for the following three features:
Other options you have inside the Siri & Search settings on your iPhone:
Before you get started, you need to ensure you have a good Internet connection. As I cover in this chapter, you need to be online for Siri to work. You can see the signal strength of Wi-Fi and cellular on your Apple Watch; without a good connection, you might find Siri inaccessible.
Okay, to connect to Siri:
On your paired iPhone, tap Settings ⇒ Siri & Search.
Make sure that the Listen for “Hey Siri” option is on. On iPhone X or later, make sure that the “Press Side Button for Siri” option is on. On iPhone 8 or earlier, make sure that the “Press Home for Siri” option is on.
On your Apple Watch, tap Settings ⇒ General ⇒ Siri.
Choose whether you want to turn Hey Siri and Raise to Speak on or off. (See the previous section for more information on these options.)
On Apple Watch Series 3 or later, scroll down to Voice Feedback, then choose when Siri speaks.
Options include: Always On, Control with Silent Mode, or Headphones Only.
Before you start talking, remember you can maximize Siri’s performance on Apple Watch by following these tips:
Now, when you ask Siri a question — such as “What’s the weather like in Seattle tomorrow?” — you should see colors dance around the bottom of the watch screen to confirm it’s listening to you. Stop talking after you’re done and you should hear a beep to confirm Siri is now processing your request.
If you make a mistake while asking Siri a question (maybe you accidentally said the wrong person’s name to text) or perhaps Siri didn’t hear you clearly, you can tap the screen to nullify the request and then ask again. You should hear the familiar ping tone to confirm Siri is listening for your new request.
The final thing you should see is when Siri performs your desired action. Siri might open a map, an email message, a calendar entry, a restaurant listing, or show you such information as the score of your favorite team’s last game (without even opening an app). Depending on what you ask Siri, you may see — rather than hear — the information. For example, if it’s a dictionary definition or a numerical equation you’re after, you might hear something like “Here you go” or “This might answer your question” and then Siri shows you the information on the screen. Other times it’ll tell and show you the answer.
With iOS 12 and later, Siri Shortcuts let you quickly perform everyday tasks with the apps you use the most by simply asking for Siri or tapping your Apple Watch or iPhone. You can choose if this works on your iPhone’s Lock screen too. See Chapter 4 on Shortcuts tips and tricks.
When it comes to Siri and Shortcuts, your personal assistant learns your routines across your favorite apps and then your assistant suggests an easy way to perform common tasks. For example, if you typically ask for weather at the same time of day, Siri may prompt you with the info from your favorite weather app. If you like to order a coffee to pick up every morning with the same app, Siri might suggest that beverage you tend to pick.
Now, that’s smart!
To use a Siri Suggestion, just tap it on the Lock screen, or swipe down from the center of your screen to show Search and tap the Siri Suggestion.
You can also add shortcuts to Siri. Look for the Add to Siri button in your favorite apps — with hundreds already supported — and then tap to add with your own personal phrase. Or go to Settings to find all shortcuts available on your device.
As I cover in Chapter 4, you can choose from many different watch faces for your Apple Watch. The aptly named Siri watch face is tied to your personal assistant, updates throughout the day, and shows relevant content and information you might need based on your location, time of day, and routines. For example, you might see calendar events, boarding passes, or your favorites from the Home app (including controlling and monitoring your smart home devices). And the Siri watch face supports Siri Shortcuts. See Figure 7-2 for a look at Siri in action.
To use the Siri watch face:
Everything you can do with your fingers, you can do with Siri — if not more — and in less time. A good way to demonstrate its versatility is to look at a number of built-in Apple Watch apps and some examples of how you can use Siri to get what you want. See Figure 7-3.
Siri works in the main Home screen mode, while accessing the clock, or in any app you find yourself in, such as asking Siri for map directions even though you’re using the Music app at the time.
Some examples of using Siri for time-related tasks include:
Some examples of using Siri for sending and receiving messages include:
Some examples of using Siri for making calls or looking up Contacts information include:
Some examples of using Siri for looking for email include:
Some examples of using Siri for accessing calendar information include:
Some examples of using Siri for fitness-related tasks include:
Some examples of using Siri for looking for directions or for a local business include:
Some examples of using Siri for playing music include:
Speaking of music, introduced to Apple Watch in late 2019 is the ability to “Shazam” a song — that is, finding out the name of the track and who sings it — even over cellular connectivity if you don’t have your iPhone nearby.
As shown in Figure 7-8, when you hear a song that catches your ear you can raise your wrist and ask what it is.
It’s easier than ever to use Siri for a web search on your Apple Watch. The results appear onscreen for you to read and scroll through, and you can tap a URL to take you to the appropriate page. As shown in Figure 7-9, Siri is more helpful than ever before — including the scouring of web pages for you.
Some other examples of a few other random — but fun — things you can do with Siri on Apple Watch include:
Siri is one of the fastest, easiest, and most accurate ways to interact with content on your Apple Watch. But Siri can perform lesser-known yet impressive feats too, and the following sections discuss some of my favorites. Just start your request with “Hey Siri” and Siri asks how it can assist you, as shown in Figure 7-10.
It’s a breeze to ask Siri to remind you of something by time — such as “Tomorrow at 10 a.m., remind me to call the dentist to book an appointment” — but did you know you can set reminders by location too?
For example, raise your wrist and say “Hey Siri, remind me to call Mom when I leave here.” Whenever you leave wherever you are — such as your office, a coffee shop, or a shopping mall — Siri reminds you to call your mom. Your nearby iPhone’s integrated GPS means it’s location-aware.
Another example: Say “Remind me to take out the trash when I get home.” Because Siri accesses your home address from your iPhone’s Contacts app, you won’t be reminded of the chore until you pull into the driveway.
Many Siri users are aware you can dictate your text messages; simply say something like “Hey Siri, text Mary Smith ‘Please don’t forget to call the florist for tomorrow’s event.’”
But did you know you can have your text messages read to you? Raise your wrist or press the Digital Crown button and then say something like “Read my texts.” Once Siri reads a message to you, you can say something like “Reply saying ‘That’s an excellent idea — thanks’” or “Tell her I’ll be there in 20 minutes.”
You can also ask Siri something like “Do I have any texts from Mary?”
Siri includes support from Wolfram|Alpha’s vast database of facts, definitions, and even pop culture information. (For example, ask Siri who shot J.R. or Mr. Burns!) But you can also ask Siri to perform math problems for you. If you’re adding up checks to deposit at the bank, for example, ask Siri something like “What’s $140.40 plus $245.12 plus $742.30 plus $472.90?” and within a moment, you should hear the correct answer (which is $1,600.72).
If you’re out with friends at a restaurant and the bill comes to, say, $200, you can also ask Siri something like “What’s an 18 percent tip on $200?” and Siri tells you how much that is ($36).
Of course, Siri can also handle multiplication, subtraction, equations, fractions, and more. All you have to do is ask!
If you’re not familiar with the Find People app on Apple Watch or Find My app on iPhone, it uses GPS to provide your geographical location to people you choose to share this information with, such as a spouse, kids, grandkids, friends, or coworkers. Once you add consensual people, you can also see their whereabouts on a map — represented by colored orbs — and get the address they’re at if desired.
You probably saw this one coming: You can use Siri to get the most from the Find People app. Raise your wrist and say “Hey Siri, where are my friends?” The Find People app opens, and you should see who’s around and how far they are from you. Now you can send someone a message, such as “Let’s grab a coffee” on your phone. You can also ask Siri something like “Is my husband at home,” “Where’s John Smith,” “Find my sister,” or “Where’s Julie.”
To get started, go to the Find My app on your iPhone to set things up on your Apple Watch and to add friends; you can’t do this from Apple Watch. You can then enjoy this feature because all models have integrated GPS (except the first Apple Watch in 2015).
Siri is pretty funny — if you haven’t yet figured this out from talking to it on your iPhone. In case you haven’t, the following are some fun and cheeky things you can ask Siri for on your Apple Watch — and the kinds of responses you can expect.
Spoiler alert: Only read the bold questions and not the answers if you want to see what Siri replies with on your own!
You don’t expect Siri to recommend a rival Android-powered watch, do you? Instead, it answers this question with “The Apple Watch will show you a really good time” or “I say Apple Watch — hands down” or another answer.
Deep down, Siri might be flattered, but it suggests otherwise. Siri might write something like “You hardly know me” or “That’s nice — can we get back to work now?” or “Impossible!”
If you find yourself bored while wearing your Apple Watch, you can tell Siri how you’re feeling and it replies with something like “Not with me, I hope.” Or it’ll converse with you — be it offering a story, song lyrics, or a poem or engaging in a “knock, knock” exchange if it’s in the mood.
This one borders on the naughty. While Siri was a little reluctant at first, it knows which side its bread is buttered. You might hear “You are” or perhaps something like “I know this must mean something — everybody keeps asking me this question.”
You can ask Siri a profound question, such as “What’s the meaning of life?” and although it might give you a literal translation, you might also see a reply with something cheeky, such as “A movie” or “All evidence to date suggests it’s chocolate.” Or “I don’t know, but I think there’s an app for that.”
After professing my affection for Siri (it writes “That’s sweet,” “I sure have received a lot of marriage proposals lately,” or “You are the wind beneath my wings”), I went for it and asked for Siri’s, uh, hand in marriage. Its reply: “Let’s just be friends, okay?”