4 New Tricks for Siri in iOS 8 You’ll Definitely Use

So, Siri is back and she’s better than ever. Among it’s host of new features, iOS 8 has improved and expanded the capabilities of your iphone’s cheeky personal assistant. Keep reading to discover some of her (or his, depending on which voice you prefer) latest tricks, and of course, our tips on how to use them.

“Hey, Siri”

Siri is now voice activated. No need to push that pesky home button, just yell “Hey, Siri!” and ask her a question, or tell her what you’d like her to do, or ask her how she feels about the movie “Her.” The only downside is that your phone has to be plugged in to utilize this feature, but still, it’s super fun to use. Oh yeah, and useful too. I’ll come out and admit that I have never really been a fan of Siri’s services; however, this new feature seriously ups her cool quotient, and might seduce me to a more Siri-inclined lifestyle.  Check out these steps to learn how to enable “Hey, Siri” on your phone.

1. Tap Settings.

2. Tap General.

3. Tap Siri.

4. Tap the “Allow ‘Hey Siri'” button so that it’s in the green “on” position.

There you go. Now you, too, can yell at technology and make it do stuff for you. It’s a brave new world, my friends.

Name that Tune

Apple has incorporated Shazam into its newest version of Siri. Let her listen to any song, and she’ll be able to name it for you! However, be warned, this feature only works with recorded music, not your voice- so you can’t hum a song and have her to find it for you. Looks like you’ll have to seek the comforts of “Rock Band” if you’re looking for an electronic device to care about your singing. But, if you’d like her help figuring out the name of that great song that’s playing in your local coffee shop, check out the steps below.

1. Ask Siri “What song is this?”

2. Wait for her to listen to the music.

3. Shazam! Siri will find the song for you, and even give you the option to buy it.

Set Reminders

If you want to remember to buy bread at the grocery store, or to pick up your sister tomorrow at 4pm, or buy fish food so Goldie the goldfish won’t starve, Siri can help you remember.

1. Ask Siri to remind you to do something.

2. Siri will show you a draft of the reminder, and ask if you want to create it.

3. Answer “yes,” and she will confirm the reminder and input it into your reminders app

Plus, if you have categories in your reminders app- like “grocery shopping,” for example, you can even request that Siri file the reminder in that specific category.

Teach Siri Who Your Contacts Are

Now if you want Siri to call your girlfriend, Sarah, you no longer need to use her full name to distinguish her from the five other Sarahs you have in your contacts. Just teach Siri to call her Shmoopi-pie, like you do. She won’t judge.

1. Using the template “Blank is my Blank ,” tell Siri what you want to call a specific contact.

2. If you have multiple contacts with the same name, Siri will ask you to specify. Tap the correct one.

3. Siri will ask if you want her to remember this new information. Say or tap “yes.”

4. Siri will add the relationship info.

4. Now you can command Siri to call your friends and family by whatever name you choose.

These are just some of the many useful applications for Siri in iOS 8. Have fun playing around with them, and let us know in the comments below if you discover other cool things she can do. Oh, and maybe occasionally ask her about her day, too; it’s not all about you, ya know.

For more iOS tips and tricks head to our iOS How To’s section.