Read Me First

Welcome to Take Control of Siri, Second Edition, version 2.0, published in December 2020 by alt concepts inc. This book was written by Scholle McFarland and edited by Joe Kissell.

Siri is the hands-free, time-saving, and fun technology that ties everything together on your Apple Devices. Whether you want to ask a question, make a call, find your iPhone, or set a timer, Siri is often the fastest way. This book explores how to get the most out of Siri on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch, Mac, HomePod, and Apple TV.

If you want to share this ebook with a friend, we ask that you do so as you would with a physical book: “lend” it for a quick look, but ask your friend to buy a copy for careful reading or reference. Discounted classroom and Mac user group copies are available.

Copyright © 2020, Sawyer McFarland Editing. All rights reserved.

Updates and More

You can access extras related to this ebook on the web (use the link in Ebook Extras, near the end; it’s available only to purchasers). On the ebook’s Take Control Extras page, you can:

• Download any available new version of the ebook for free, or buy any subsequent edition at a discount.

• Download various formats, including PDF, EPUB, and Mobipocket. (Learn about reading on mobile devices on our Device Advice page.)

• Read the ebook’s blog. You may find new tips or information, as well as a link to an author interview.

If you bought this ebook from the Take Control website, it has been added to your account, where you can download it in other formats and access any future updates.

Basics

This book explores how to get the most out of Siri on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch, Mac, and HomePod. Take Control has other books that can help you lock down the basics of using some of these devices, such as:

• To learn more about using your iPhone and iPad, see Take Control of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 by Josh Centers.

• To learn more about the Apple Watch, see Jeff Carson’s Take Control of Apple Watch.

• To learn more about using Apple TV, see Josh Center’s Take Control of Apple TV.

Activate Siri

I cover all the ways you can activate Siri on all your Apple devices in the chapters Activate Siri By Touch and Activate Siri with Your Voice, but here’s the CliffsNotes version for the most commonly-used device—the iPhone: Press and hold the Home button at the bottom of your phone (iPhone 8 and earlier) or the side button (iPhone X or later). Siri is listening when you see an orb pulsing at the bottom of the screen or feel two vibrations.

What’s New in the Second Edition

The second edition of Take Control of Siri is updated for iOS 14.3 and iPad OS 14.3, as well as macOS Big Sur and watchOS 7. (The Mac-specific instructions in this book should work for Catalina or later. Much of what I describe here also works in earlier versions of macOS, but somewhat differently than what you’ll read here.) Along with hundreds of small changes in the book, larger revisions include:

• Instead of taking over the whole screen of your mobile device, Siri now appears as a small widget at the bottom of the screen (iPhone) or bottom-right corner of the screen (iPad). This means you can keep an eye on other information while you make your query. The difference shows in screenshots throughout the book.

• If you have AirPods—or in some cases, Beats headphones—Siri can now Announce Incoming Messages on AirPods (and More) and let you reply hands free.

• Tired of your Siri mixing up you and your teen or spouse’s music preferences? Teach HomePod to Recognize Different Voices so it responds to each of you appropriately.

• Siri includes more ways to Ask About Health, including symptom-based coronavirus guidance.

• Siri now gathers knowledge from a variety of websites. The result is it can get answers to more questions without kicking you out to a general web search. See Ask About Random Facts.

• Whether you’d like to hear a collie or a cuckoo, now you can Ask Siri for Real-World Sounds.

• If you need a little help relaxing, or like to fall asleep to white noise, you can use Siri to Tap into the HomePod’s Ambient Sounds.

• Chained to Apple Maps no more, Siri now can use Google Maps for driving, cycling, walking, or transit directions. It can even access your contacts so you can get directions to a friend’s house by name. See Use Google Maps Instead.

• When your message requires some nuance, use Siri to Send an Audio Message instead of a text one.

• You can still use Siri to Translate a Phrase, but you might want to use iOS 14’s new Translate app instead.

• If you’re tired of family members ignoring their phones, use Siri to Turn Your HomePod into an Intercom to get their attention.

• In responses to issues with Siri recordings, Apple changed some of its privacy settings and policies. One result is that you can now delete your information. See Understand Siri and Your Privacy.