Open Siri

From the Home screen or any app, press the Home button or the headset clicker button — if the headset has one — for several seconds.

The Siri screen appears, showing the “What can I help you with?” prompt. Siri also plays a tone to indicate that it is ready to take your commands.

When your iPad is connected to a power source, you can also activate Siri by saying “Hey Siri” if the Allow “Hey Siri” feature is turned on in Settings.

Send an E-Mail Message

Say “E-mail” and the contact’s name, followed by the message. Siri creates an e-mail message to the contact and enters the text. Review the message, and then tap Send to send it.

You can also say “E-mail” and the contact’s name and have Siri prompt you for the various parts of the message. This approach gives you more time to collect your thoughts.

If your Contacts list has multiple e-mail addresses for the contact, Siri prompts you to choose the address to use.

Set an Alarm

Say “Set an alarm for 5AM” and check the alarm that Siri displays.

You can turn the alarm off by tapping its switch ( changes to ).

Send a Text Message

Say “Tell” or “Text” and the contact’s name. When Siri responds, say the message you want to send. For example, say “Tell Kelly Wilson” and then “I am stuck in traffic, but I’ll be there in an hour.” Siri creates a text message to the contact, enters the text, and sends the message when you say “Send” or tap Send.

You can also say “Tell” and the contact’s name followed immediately by the message. For example, “Tell Bill Sykes the package will arrive at 10AM.”

Set a Reminder for Yourself

Say “Remind me” and the details of what you want Siri to remind you of. For example, say “Remind me to take the wireless transmitter to work tomorrow morning.” Siri listens to what you say and creates a reminder. Check what Siri has written; if the reminder is correct, you need do nothing more, but if it is incorrect, tap Remove to remove it.

Set Up a Meeting

Say “Meet with” and the contact’s name, followed by brief details of the appointment. For example, say “Meet with Don Williamson for lunch at noon on Thursday.” Siri listens and warns you of any scheduling conflict. Siri then displays the appointment for you to check.

If you tap Confirm, Siri sends a meeting invitation to the contact if it finds an e-mail address. Siri adds the meeting to your calendar.

Insert Punctuation

To insert punctuation, use standard terms: “comma,” “period” (or “full stop”), “semicolon,” “colon,” “exclamation point” (or “exclamation mark”), “question mark,” “hyphen,” “dash” (for a short dash, –), or “em dash” (for a long dash, —).

You can also say “asterisk” (*), “ampersand” (&), “open parenthesis” and “close parenthesis,” “open bracket” and “close bracket,” and “underscore” (_).

For example, say “buy eggs comma bread comma and cheese semicolon and maybe some milk period nothing else exclamation point” to enter the text shown here.

Insert Standard Symbols

To insert symbols, use these terms: “at sign” (@), “percent sign” (%), “greater-than sign” (>) and “less-than sign” (<), “forward slash” (/) and “backslash” (), “registered sign” (®), and “copyright sign” (©).

For example, say “fifty percent forward slash two greater than ninety-seven percent forward slash three” to enter the computation shown here.

Insert Currency Symbols

To insert currency symbols, say the currency name and “sign.” For example, say “dollar sign” to insert $, “cent sign” to insert ¢, “euro sign” to insert €, “pound sterling sign” to insert £, and “yen sign” to insert ¥.

For example, say “the cost is dollar sign six or euro sign five per person” to enter the text shown here.

Control Layout

You can control layout by creating new lines and new paragraphs as needed. A new paragraph enters two line breaks, creating a blank line between paragraphs.

To create a new line, say “new line.” To create a new paragraph, say “new paragraph.”

For example, say “dear Anna comma new paragraph thank you for the parrot period new paragraph it’s the most unusual gift I have ever had period” to enter the text shown here.

Control Capitalization

You can apply capitalization to the first letter of a word or to a whole word. You can also switch capitalization off temporarily to force lowercase:

Say “cap” to capitalize the first letter of the next word.

Say “caps on” to capitalize all the words until you say “caps off.”

Say “no caps” to prevent automatic capitalization of the next word — for example, “no caps Monday” produces “monday” instead of “Monday.”

Say “no caps on” to force lowercase of all words until you say “no caps off.”

For example, say “give the cap head cap dining cap table a no caps french polish period” to enter the text shown here.

Insert Quotes and Emoticons

To insert double quotes, say “open quotes” and “close quotes.” To insert single quotes, say “open single quotes” and “close single quotes.”

To enter standard emoticons, say “smiley face,” “frown face,” and “wink face.”

For example, say “she said comma open quotes I want to go to Paris next summer exclamation point close quotes” to enter the text shown here.

Find Information About Sports

Launch Siri and ask a question about sports. For example:

“Siri, when’s the next Patriots game?”

“Did the Lakers win their last game?”

“When’s the end of the NBA season?”

“Can you show me the roster for the Maple Leafs?”

Find Information About Movies

Launch Siri and ask a question about movies. For example:

“How good is the movie Hell or High Water?”

“Siri, where is the movie Let’s Be Evil playing in Indianapolis?”

“What’s the name of Jason Statham’s latest movie?”

“Who’s the star of Nine Lives?”

Find a Restaurant

Launch Siri, and then tell Siri what type of restaurant you want. For example:

“Where’s the best Mexican food in Spokane?”

“Where can I get sushi in Albuquerque?”

“Is there a brewpub in Minneapolis?”

Address a Query to the Wolfram Alpha Computational Knowledge Engine

Launch Siri, and then say “Wolfram” and your question. For example:

“Wolfram, what is the cube of 27?”

“Wolfram, minus 20 Centigrade in Kelvin.”

“Wolfram, tangent of 60 degrees.”

“Wolfram, give me the chemical formula of formaldehyde.”

Find Out What Music You Are Listening To

Launch Siri and ask a question such as “What song is this?” or “Do you know what this music is called?” Siri monitors the microphone’s input, consults the Shazam music-recognition service, and returns a result if there is a match.

Translate to Another Language

Launch Siri, and then say “Translate to” and the name of the language, such as “Translate to Spanish.” When Siri prompts you for the text, speak it. Siri announces the translated text and displays it on-screen, together with a Play button () that you can tap to play the audio again.

Choose a Hardware Keyboard

You can connect a keyboard to any iPad by using Bluetooth, which is usually effective and convenient for most purposes. For the iPad Pro, you can get one of Apple’s Smart Keyboard models, which connect via the custom Smart Connector on the iPad Pro models.

Many types of Bluetooth keyboards work well with iPads, but it is a good idea to verify the compatibility of any particular model before buying it. Keyboards designed specifically for the iPad, or for iOS devices in general, often include dedicated keys for functions such as displaying the Home screen, controlling the volume, and launching apps.

One option is to get a keyboard case designed specifically for the iPad model you have. This approach works well if you do not already have an iPad case, it is convenient for you to keep the iPad in the keyboard case, and you do not plan to switch iPad models in the near future. Some keyboard cases fully enclose the iPad, whereas others act as a protective cover for the screen but leave the iPad’s back exposed.

For more flexibility, you can get a Bluetooth keyboard designed for use with iOS but not customized for any particular device. You can then use the keyboard with any iOS device.

For the greatest flexibility, you can use any Bluetooth keyboard that is compatible with iOS; this includes Apple’s wireless keyboards for the Mac. For example, if you already have a Bluetooth keyboard, you may want to see if it works with your iPad. A Bluetooth keyboard can be active with only one device at a time.

Connect the Keyboard to the iPad

Once you have gotten your keyboard, connect it to your iPad. This section assumes you are using Bluetooth.

Unlock the iPad, press Home to display the Home screen, and then tap Settings () to display the Settings screen. Tap Bluetooth () to display the Bluetooth screen, and set the Bluetooth switch to On ().

Turn the keyboard on, and then put the keyboard into pairing mode. How you do this depends on the keyboard, so you may need to read its documentation, but it often involves either pressing a dedicated pairing button or pressing and holding the power button until lights begin flashing in a particular pattern.

Tap the keyboard’s button in the Devices list on the Bluetooth screen in Settings. The Bluetooth Pairing Request dialog opens, showing a pairing code. Type this code on the keyboard and press or to authenticate the connection.

Configure the Keyboard

After connecting the keyboard, you can simply type on it after tapping a text field on the screen. But you can also change the keyboard layout if necessary.

To change the keyboard layout, press Home to display the Home screen, and then tap Settings () to display the Settings screen. Tap General () to display the General screen, and then tap Keyboard to display the Keyboards screen. Tap Hardware Keyboard at the top of the screen to display the Hardware Keyboard screen, and then tap the language you are using, such as English. On the screen that appears, such as the English screen, tap the layout you want, such as Dvorak or U.S. International – PC.

Enable Handoff on Your iPad

To enable your iPad to communicate with your Mac, you need to enable the Handoff feature. Press the Home button to display the Home screen, tap Settings () to open the Settings app, and then tap General () to display the General screen. Tap Handoff to display the Handoff screen, and then set the Handoff switch to On ().

Enable Handoff on Your Mac

You also need to enable Handoff on your Mac. To do so, click Apple () on the menu bar and then click System Preferences to open the System Preferences window. Click General to display the General pane. Click Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices ( changes to ). You can then click System Preferences on the menu bar and click Quit System Preferences to quit System Preferences.

Work on the Same Task on Your Mac and Your iOS Devices

With Handoff enabled, you can easily start a task on one device, pick it up on another device, and finish it on a third. For example, you can start writing an e-mail message on your Mac at home, continue it on your iPhone as you commute, and then finish it on your iPad while waiting for a meeting to start. To perform a handoff, you click or tap the icon that appears on the Dock when a Handoff-compatible app is in use on another device.

Send and Receive Text Messages from Your Mac

Your Mac can already send and receive messages via Apple’s iMessage service, but when your cellular iPad’s Internet connection is available, your Mac can send and receive Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messages directly through the iPad. This capability enables you to manage your messaging smoothly and tightly from your Mac.

Get Your Mac Online with Personal Hotspot

With Continuity, you can use your cellular iPad as a hotspot for your Mac without having to set up the Portable Hotspot feature. Click Wi-Fi () on the menu bar on your Mac and then click your iPad’s entry on the pop-up menu to connect. The iPad’s menu entry on the Wi-Fi pop-up menu shows the signal strength and battery life, enabling you to make sure you don’t run your iPad down unusably low.