Siri is an intelligent digital personal assistant by American tech giant Apple, Inc. It is part of Apple’s iOS operating system and helps you get things done on your device by merely saying what you need done.
About Siri
Although part of the iOS, Siri was originally created by an independent developer, who made it available in the App Store. It was eventually acquired by Apple in April 2010 when Siri, Inc. was contemplating making the app available to BlackBerry and Android device users.
The digital personal assistant’s name is the short form of the Scandinavian name Sigrid, which means “beauty” and “victory.”
What Can Siri Do?
Siri allows users to do a variety of tasks on their phone by talking to it. It is different from regular personal assistants that require memorising specific keywords and commands to have tasks performed.
This is because Siri incorporates a natuaral language engine that enables it interprete and respond normal chats.
You only need to speak to it in your normal voice – as when talking to another human – to get the personal assistant to do what you need.
Siri works straight out of the box without you needing to teach it what to do. You can ask it to make calls, send text messages, find directions, search for information, play a song and set a reminder, amongst others.
If you are lost on what to do, you can even ask the personal assistant to tell you what you can do with it. Siri can work with almost all integrated apps on compatible devices, including FaceTime, calendar, weather, contacts, Shazam, Twitter and Maps.
Using Siri
It is advised to enter your personal information and relationships with contacts on your phone to get better experience on Siri. This information will be helpful when you need the personal assistant to find places, get directions or call a family member or friend.
The Home button on your device needs to be held down for some seconds to fire up Siri, then talk what you need done. Alternatively, you can say ‘Hey, Siri’ to start using the intelligent personal assistant, if the feature is already enabled.
Siri is available for the iPhone 4S or later, iPad (3rd generation and above), iPad Mini and iPod Touch (5th generation or later). Like Cortana, Siri is not available in all countries, though it is available in more countries compared to its major competitor.
