VIA “computerworld.com” by Jonny Evans

While we wait to see how Apple’s new Photos app performs in the real world in which most people have over 5GB of photos they don’t want to pay the company to store in iCloud, I’ve put together yet more handy ways Siri can improve your life.

Find a lost owner

If you come across a lost iPhone that’s protected by a passcode and want to return it to its owner just press the Home button to activate Siri and ask: “Siri, who owns this iPhone?” Siri will give you the contact details of the owner. You can decide if this is a super-useful feature or potential crime problem.

Quick camera

So long as your unlock your iDevice first, Siri is the fastest way to launch the Apple Camera app to take a photo – so if you want to get a picture fast, use your voice. (It will also switch Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and AirPlane mode settings for you).

Get yourself home

So long as you’ve assigned an address to your contact card, you can ask Siri to take you home any time you need it to. This also works for a hotel when travelling — just add it as a contact. Now, if you get lost in the foreign town, you can ask Siri to take you to the hotel. It will give you turn by turn directions taken from Maps, and tell you how long the journey will take.

Remind me

Ask Siri to remind you to do stuff and it will do just that. You can even ask it to remind you of things in certain locations (“Pick up milk when I get to work.”)

Wake-up call

Ask Siri to wake you in four hours and it will set an alarm for you.

Looking for a movie?

Want to watch a film, but not sure what movies are on show? Ask Siri “What’s playing nearby?” and it will source a list of films available. You can watch trailers and read reviews to help you decide.

Find that bar/hotel

Looking for a local hotel or bar? Just ask Siri to quickly search for you – it will even show you how far away from you each location is.

Calculate this

Trying to figure out a 10 percent service charge when eating out? Just ask Siri to do the calculation for you — you can ask it to figure out any sum. No need to reach for a calculator. (This also works for conversions, “how many kilometers in 11 miles?”)

Who’s who

It’s worth taking the time to teach Siri who matters to you: “Eric is my brother,” or “Sam Smith is my lover.” In the future you can ask for that person by name or relationship “Siri, call my brother.” You can set people up by profession as well: doctor, lawyer, chiropractor, keeper of the owls.

Text

Now you’ve taught Siri who’s who, you can ask it to dial calls, send texts or emails to these people.

When sending a text, keep it simple — something like, “Text my mom that we’ll be 20 minutes late.”

You can also ask Siri to check email and respond on your behalf, use this kind of structure: “Send email to mom about lunch and say ‘We are caught in traffic and are will be 20 minutes late.” Siri will ask you to confirm the message and then send it on your behalf.