Siri

Siri's appearance in iOS 9.

Siri is a voice-controlled artificial assistant designed by Apple Inc. Siri is compatible with the iPhone 4S and later; iPad (3rd Generation) and later; iPad Mini and later; and the iPod Touch (5th Generation) and later. Siri allows you to ask it questions in a normal voice and it will "not just hear, but understand the meaning of what you're saying."

Siri in iOS 5

Siri hero — Siri on an iPhone 4s running iOS 5.

Siri was introduced alongside iOS 5 on October 5th, 2011 during an Apple event in San Francisco, California. Apple executives Scott Forstall and Phil Shiller showed off many of the features in the new virtual assistant, and they released with the iPhone 4s on October 14, 2011.

Siri in iOS 6

During the 2012 Worldwide Developer's Conference, Apple introduced iOS 6, featuring several improvements to Siri's capabilities, including the ability to open apps, display sports scores, checking movie times, and reserving restaurant spaces. These updates were released alongside the iPhone 5 on September 12, 2012.

Siri in iOS 7

Ios-7-siri — Siri on an iPhone 5 running iOS 7.

At the 2013 Worldwide Developer's Conference, Apple unveiled an all-new design for Siri alongside iOS 7, which featured a major UI redesign. New voices were included, and existing ones improved.

Now Siri can:

Search Wikipedia for articles.
Search Twitter for a post.
Search Bing.
Toggle Wi-Fi, Mobile Data or Bluetooth on or off.
Return calls.
Play new voicemails.
Control iTunes Radio.

"Siri in iOS 7 gets a new look, a new sound, and new capabilities. It features a redesigned interface that fades into view — on top of whatever’s on your screen. A clearer, more natural-sounding female or male voice makes Siri even easier to understand. It’s faster at answering questions and it checks more sources, such as Bing, Wikipedia, and Twitter. And Siri takes on extra tasks, like returning calls, playing voicemails, controlling iTunes Radio, and more."

Siri in iOS 8

Siri itself experienced a few new features in iOS 8, with the exception of the ability to be called upon using the keyword "Hey Siri" when the device was plugged in. However, Siri was expanded to the car with CarPlay.

Siri in iOS 9

Proactivesiri — The Siri redesign in iOS 9.

Siri featured a major redesign in iOS 9, introducing a multitude of new features and taking over Spotlight as "Proactive Assistant."

This redesign includes new "Siri Suggestions" that predict events based on the user's habits, as well as displaying recent contacts, apps, and the latest news.

During its September 2015 event, Apple announced that Siri will respond to "Hey Siri" voice activation on an iPhone 6S and an iPhone 6 when the device is not being charged.

According to Apple

Talk to Siri as you would to a normal person. Say something like “Tell my wife I’m running late.”, “Remind me to call the vet.” or “Any good burger joints around here?” Siri responds to your request, finds the information you need, then answers you. It’s like you’re having a conversation with your iPhone.

Siri doesn't only understand what you say, it’s smart enough to know what you mean. So when you ask “Any good burger joints around here?” Siri will reply “I found a number of burger restaurants near you.” Then you can say “Hmm. How about tacos?” Siri remembers that you just asked about restaurants, so it will look for Mexican restaurants in the neighborhood. And Siri is proactive, so it will question you until it finds what you’re looking for.

Ask Siri to text your dad, remind you to call the dentist, or find directions, and it figures out which apps to use and who you’re talking about. It finds answers for you from the web through sources like Yelp and WolframAlpha. Using Location Services, it looks up where you live, where you work, and where you are. Then it gives you information and the best options based on your current location. From the details in your contacts, it knows your friends, family, boss, and coworkers. So you can tell Siri things like “Text Ryan I’m on my way” or “Remind me to make a dentist appointment when I get to work” or “Call a taxi” and it knows exactly what you mean and what to do.

When there’s something you need to do, just ask Siri to help you do it. Siri uses almost all the built-in apps on iPhone 4S. It writes and sends email messages and texts. It searches the web for anything you need to know. It plays the songs you want to hear. It gives you directions and shows you around. It places calls, schedules meetings, helps you remember, and wakes you up. In fact, ask Siri what it can do — it even speaks for itself.

Set reminders. Tell Siri what you need to do. Even say when and where you need reminding.
Send a text. Say who it’s for and what the message should say, and Siri writes and sends your text.
Check the weather. Siri gives you the forecast for where you are or anywhere you’re curious about.
Find information. Ask Siri almost anything and it finds the answer using sources like Yelp and WolframAlpha.
Schedule meetings. Just say who, what, where, and when. Siri puts it on your calendar and sends an invitation.
Send an email. Ask Siri to write and send an email. It can even send an email to more than one person.
Find a contact. Say a name, and Siri finds the address, phone number, and other details from your contacts.
Set an alarm. Tell Siri to set an alarm for a particular time. You can ask it to set as many as you need.
Get directions. Ask something like “Where’s Apple?” and Siri tells you the address and how to get there.
Track your stocks. Just say the company name, and Siri keeps you up to date with stock details.
Set the timer. Tell Siri how much time you need, and it alerts you when time’s up.
Ask Siri about Siri. Ask “What can you do?” and Siri tells you everything you need to know.

Compatible Devices

iPhone

iPad

iPad Mini

iPod Touch

iPod Touch (5th Generation)
iPod Touch (6th Generation)

Languages

Siri Speaks in numerous languages.

Chinese (Cantonese - Hong Kong)
Chinese (Mandarin - China)
Chinese (Mandarin - Taiwan)
English (Australia)
English (Canada)
English (United Kingdom)
English (United States)
French (Canada)
French (France)
French (Switzerland)
German (Germany)
German (Switzerland)
Italian (Italy)
Italian (Switzerland)
Japanese
Korean
Spanish (Mexico)
Spanish (Spain)
Spanish (United States)