5 fun and useful ways to use voice commands on your iPhone

Vocal Shortcuts lets you record specific phrases that trigger actions on your iPhone. In many cases, there’s no need for a voice command when you can ask Siri to perform the same action. However, there are cases where only a voice command does the job.

1 Give Siri a new name

No self-respecting geek would turn down the opportunity to change Siri’s name to that of a famous talking computer from popular culture. Depending on your age, you may wish Siri was called HAL, JARVIS, KITT, or another equally geeky name.

For as long as I could, I changed the wake word on all my Alexa devices to “Computer” instead of “Alexa” so I could feel more like the captain of the Enterprise. With Vocal Shortcuts, I can do the same for Siri and have the voice assistant respond when I say “computer.”

Go to Settings > Accessibility. Scroll down to the “Voice” section and select “Vocal Shortcuts.”

Tap “Set Up Singing Shortcuts” (or “Add Action” if you previously created shortcuts), then tap “Next.”

On the Choose Action screen, scroll down and select Siri.

Enter the phrase you want to trigger Siri with. In this example I use “computer”.

Say the phrase you want to use three times. You don’t need to tap anything because your iPhone is already listening.

Once you’ve recorded the phrase three times, your Vocal Shortcut is ready to use. Say “Computer” and Siri will launch.

If you crank the geek up even further, you can create a shortcut called “Earl Grey, Hot” that turns on the smart plug for your kettle. Then all you have to do is say “Computer, Earl Grey, Hot” and your kettle will turn on. This will have to continue until Apple starts selling replicators.

2 Optimization of frequent requests

Creating a voice shortcut is often overkill when you can ask Siri to do most tasks. However, if you use requests multiple times a day, a vocal shortcut can make things more efficient since you don’t have to constantly say “Siri” or “Hey Siri.”

For example, if you use timers on your iPhone to work more efficiently using the Pomodoro Technique, it can quickly become boring to say “Hey Siri, start a timer for 25 minutes” every time you want to get a block of focused work done say.

Instead, you may want to create a shortcut in the Shortcuts app that starts a 25-minute timer. You can then use a voice shortcut to run your timer shortcut whenever you want to focus on work.

Open the Shortcuts app and tap the “+” icon (plus) in the top right to create a new shortcut. Tap Search Actions, type “Start Timer,” and select the “Start Timer” action from the results.

Tap Duration and enter the length of time you want to focus for. Tap the shortcut name and select “Rename.” Give the shortcut a memorable name and tap Done to save it.

Go to Settings > Accessibility and select Song Shortcuts.

Tap “Set Up Vocal Shortcuts” or “Add Action” if you’ve already created a vocal shortcut.

Scroll down and select the timer shortcut you just created.

Type a phrase to trigger the link, then record yourself saying it three times.

Now when you say your trigger phrase, your timer will start without you having to say “Hey Siri” every time. You can create another shortcut for a five-minute break timer, or make your timer shortcut more complex so that the five-minute timer starts automatically as soon as the other timer expires.

3 Prevent Siri from activating on all devices

If you own multiple Apple devices, you often find yourself in the same room with several of them at the same time. When I write, I usually have my iPhone, two Macs, and a HomePod mini with me. When I say “Hey Siri,” all four devices start with the familiar bright colors, but my HomePod is always the one that responds, which isn’t always what I want.

You can use the method described above to make Siri respond to “Computer” or any other phrase you want. This way, when the voice shortcut is triggered, Siri will only open on your iPhone and not on any of the other devices.

4 Make sure Siri understands your shortcut requests

Another useful way to use Vocal Shortcuts is to prevent Siri from misunderstanding your requests. Siri’s voice recognition has improved, but it still happens that Siri misunderstands what you say and does something completely different. Nobody likes it when their request to play music is met with the response, “Okay, call mom.”

If there are certain requests that Siri constantly misunderstands, you can create voice shortcuts for those requests using a specific phrase.

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Singing Shortcuts. Tap “Set Up Vocal Shortcuts” or “Add Action,” then tap “Next.”

On the Choose Action screen, select Siri Request.

Type the prompt you would normally speak out loud to Siri.

Enter the phrase you want to trigger the Siri request and record yourself saying it three times.

Now when you say the trigger phrase, Siri will execute your specific command.

5 Play practical jokes

A silly but fun way to use vocal shortcuts is to play pranks. You can use a voice shortcut to trigger a shortcut that plays a sound effect. Since you don’t have to say “Hey Siri,” you can trigger the sound effect without people noticing you’re doing it.

For example, you can create a voice shortcut that makes a fart sound every time you say the word “sandwiches.” It may be childish, but it was fun for my kids for a long time as they couldn’t figure out where the sound was coming from or what was making it. However, be careful when choosing a trigger phrase in case you need to ask for sandwiches during an important business meeting.

Find a free sound effects website and download the sound effect you want to use to your iPhone. Open the Shortcuts app and tap the “+” (plus) icon to create a new shortcut. Tap Search Actions, type “File,” and select the “File” action.

Tap “File” and select the sound effects file you downloaded. Tap “Search Actions” again and type “Play Sound.” From the results, select the “Play Sound” action.

Tap the shortcut name, choose Rename, and give the shortcut a memorable name. Tap “Done” to save it.

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Singing Shortcuts, tap Set Up Singing Shortcuts or Tap Add Action, then tap Next.

On the Select Action screen, scroll down and select the sound effect shortcut you just created.

Type the phrase that you want to trigger the sound effect shortcut and record yourself saying it three times.

Every time you say the trigger phrase, the shortcut will execute and the sound effect will play. For best results, hide your iPhone somewhere you won’t be and you can blame the sound on someone else.

Vocal Shortcuts is a useful accessibility feature that can be of use to almost anyone. There are situations where Vocal Shortcuts can be more useful than relying on Siri alone. It’s worth it to feel a little more like Jean-Luc Picard.