Apple's voice-activated assistant is now a well-known personality in his/her own right, but unless you've taken the time to dig into all the features that Siri offers you might not realize just now capable it is (particularly since the arrival of iOS 7). Here are seven ways to get Siri working harder for you.
1. Find settings
Siri can not only "turn off Bluetooth" but will also help you find a setting if you don't know where it's located. Try asking to "change the font size" or "adjust the screen brightness" or "edit Safari settings," and Siri will direct you to the right options page, with no need for you to search through screens yourself. Call up the app if you want to reconfigure your iOS gadget but aren't sure where the option is (or don't want to go through multiple taps to find it).
2. Passing planes
Ask Siri "what planes are above me right now?" and you'll quickly get the results back thanks to data pulled from the FAA's database and Siri's integration with Wolfram Alpha. Unfortunately, it only works in the US for the time being, but it's a handy option to have if you're wondering where a passing plane is heading to or coming from.
3. Setting power naps
You can tell Siri to "wake me in 40 minutes" and your iDevice's alarm will be set accordingly. This is in addition to the standard alarm clock commands that let you set an alarm for a specific time and date. If you're so jetlagged that you're not sure what time it is but you know you need an hour's shut-eye, Siri has you covered.
4. Movie reviews and times
Siri pulls in data from the Rotten Tomatoes review site, so you can ask it "how good is The Dark Knight Rises?" and get a response based on hundreds of reviews. You might have to pick from a shortlist of potential options if Siri finds several matches, but the process is still pretty painless. You can also ask "how long is The Lego Movie?" just before you sit down in your seat, and get a quick response.
5. World Cup data
If soccer isn't high up on your list of priorities, tune out now, but Siri can tap into all kinds of information about the 2014 World Cup in Brazil in addition to its prowess at covering other sporting events. Ask "when is England v Italy?" or "when does the World Cup end?" to find out when the next match starts or when you can finally escape from the wall-to-wall coverage. Try "who will win the World Cup?" to get the current state of play in the tournament.
6. Find some food and drink
Not only can you search for restaurants and bars nearby, you can also look for specific types of food or beverages, whether that's sandwiches, steaks, coffee or beer. Ask Siri to "find a whiskey" and you'll get back the nearest bars and restaurants where "whiskey" is mentioned in the description or reviews. It's a handy feature to have if you've got a hankering for a particular dish or drink.
7. What's Gizmodo saying?
Twitter and iOS are best buddies these days and you can leverage this in all kinds of useful ways. As well as asking "what's trending on Twitter?" you can also ask what specific people, accounts and handles are saying right now. Of course you'll need to give Siri permission to access the Twitter account on your iOS device if you haven't already done so.
Are there any Siri-based tricks you know about but no one else does? Let us know below... and remember there's more to come in iOS 8.
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