Technologies

7 Siri Voice Commands You Probably Didn’t Know About on Your iPhone

Siri does a lot more than just tell you the weather.

Siri makes it easy to get more done on your iPhone, using only your voice. A simple command allows you to do something like quickly send a text message while you’re driving or convert liters to cups as you cook in the kitchen — all without your hands. But Siri is capable of so much more.

Apple doesn’t flaunt all the things Siri can do for you, and every year Apple adds more voice commands that sometimes fly under the radar. For example, did you know that with iOS 16, you can now restart your iPhone with just your voice? And that’s just the start.

If you want to learn more about what you can do with your voice, check out these seven hidden Siri voice commands you should be using.

Want to know more about the hidden features on your iPhone? Read about these iOS 16 hidden features that make your iPhone better and how to find all those saved Wi-Fi passwords on your iPhone.

Quickly find saved passwords for websites and apps

You can save your usernames and passwords across all your Apple devices, including your iPhone, through the iCloud Keychain. On iOS, you can go to Settings > Passwords to view your saved passwords for your Apple ID, websites and applications — but you can access them quicker with Siri.

All you need to do is ask Siri «Show me the password for (app/website)» and you’ll be automatically redirected to that specific password page in your settings. Before you can view the password, you’ll need to use Face ID or Touch ID to gain access. From there, you can copy the username or password to your clipboard.

Restart your iPhone

If you’re experiencing a software issue, like an application continuously force-closing or a laggy operating system, you can often fix the problem with a quick restart of your iPhone. All you need to do is press down the home button plus either volume button for about a second and then slide to power off your device — but there’s an easier way to reboot.

Don’t miss: Your iPhone Has a New Siri Voice Command You’ll Want to Know About

As long as you’re running iOS 16, you can tell Siri «Restart my phone» and then say «Yes» when prompted to restart your device, without using your hands.

Turn off an annoying alarm

Your alarm is going off, but you’re either not near your iPhone or maybe you just can’t find it because it’s underneath your sheets or lost in your couch cushions. An iPhone alarm will persist for 15 minutes if you don’t cancel or snooze it, but there is a way to stop it with just your voice.

Even if your alarm is blaring loudly, you can tell Siri «Turn off my alarm» to silence it. In fact, you can even just say «Hey Siri» and that will also stop your alarm from ringing. Unlike the snooze feature, using either Siri command will permanently turn off the alarm.

Find family or friend using Find My

The Find My feature allows you track not only your Apple devices but also your friends, family and loved ones. If you’re tracking someone’s location via Find My, like your significant other or your sibling, you can use Siri to quickly check where they are at.

Ask Siri «Where is (contact name)?» and a small Find My window will appear at the top of the screen, showing you exactly where the person is. Siri will also announce how far they are and the approximate address of their location. If you tap the Find My window, you’ll be redirected to the Find My app, where you can contact the person, get directions to their location and more.

Translate a word or sentence

Besides the stand-alone app, Apple’s Translate feature is built into your iPhone, allowing you to quickly translate languages from pretty much anywhere on your device, including within your text messages, in your web browser and with Siri.

You can ask Siri to translate a single word or entire sentences with just your voice. For example, you can say «Translate ‘My head hurts. I think I’m going to sleep’ in Spanish» and Siri will then read out your sentence in the original language and then in the translated language. If you want to hear the translation again, you can hit the play button in the Translate window.

Currently, 17 languages, including Spanish and Chinese, are supported with Translate, but not all of them can be used with Siri.

Set a reminder based on your location

The Reminders app on your iPhone is a powerful productivity tool to help you remember what you need to do throughout the day, like make a phone call, send an email or make a purchase online. But you don’t need to be reminded of everything on your to-do list at all times, which is why you can use Siri to create a reminder notification based on your location.

For example, if you want to be reminded that you need to pay your internet bill when you get home, tell Siri «Remind me to pay my internet bill when I get home» and a reminder will be created. The next time you arrive home (which you can set in Contacts or Maps), the reminder should pop up on your phone. Besides work and home, you can set your location to somewhere like Target or a local park, but Siri will need you to verify the exact address.

Get directions back to your car

Parked at an airport and lost track of your car? It can be difficult to find your way back to your parked car, especially if you didn’t make a mental note and you’re in a large parking lot or garage with hundreds of other cars. Fortunately, your iPhone usually knows where you parked your car — all you need to do is ask Siri.

Say «Get my directions to my car» and Siri will open the Maps application and get you walking directions to where it thinks your car is parked. Your iPhone tracks which other devices your iPhone is connected to, like your car stereo, as well as your traveling speed, to estimate where your car is parked.

While you’re here, check out how to blur your home on Google Maps and how to find all those hidden Wi-Fi passwords on your Mac or Windows.

Technologies

Act Fast to Save 15% on This Powerful CarbonMag Portable Charger

This Sharge charger can keep you powered on the go, and right now you don’t have to pay full price.

There’s nothing worse than your phone dying in the middle of the day, especially when finding an outlet means being stuck in an uncomfortable situation. MagSafe portable wireless chargers are a great fix for that, as they snap onto the back of your phone and charge it while you go about your day. One solid pick that won’t weigh your phone down like a brick is the CarbonMag MagSafe portable charger by Sharge. And right now it can be yours for less with this Prime Day deal.

Thanks to Prime Day, you can currently snag it for 15% off with the code QHUAPIWG at checkout — bringing the price down from $70 to just $59. That’s the same cost as the smaller 5,000mAh model, but this one gives you double the battery capacity for the same price.

This device is made out of carbon fiber, which makes it 40% lighter than your usual power banks and 80% more durable than chargers made with the materials normally used. It gets you a 10,000mAh battery capacity, enough to charge your devices multiple times throughout the day. You’ll enjoy up to 15W wireless charging, which can power an iPhone 15 from 0% to 55% in just 44 minutes.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

The charger also features ultrastrong (but safe) magnets that maintain a stable hold on your smartphone. You can use the built-in USB-C port for pass-through charging or to power another device at the same time. The only catch? We don’t know when the discount code expires, so you might want to hurry.

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Why this deal matters

MagSafe wireless chargers can be a game-changer for anyone tired of juggling wires throughout the day. This deal gets you a slim, lightweight, yet powerful option at a $11 discount for a limited time. We recommend acting while you can.

Technologies

Save Up to $35 Off a Baseus Charging Station This July 4th and Stay Powered Up All Weekend

When USB ports aren’t enough, a Baseus charging station is what you need. Power all your gadgets with multiple well-spaced AC outlets and no clutter.

Keeping all your gear charged can be a job unto itself, and it gets more complicated when you have visitors. Whether you’re having guests this Fourth of July weekend or you just need a better charging solution for your family, a charging station could be the answer. But even the best charging stations can only share so many watts between devices, which is why the best charging stations from brands like Anker and Baseus not only feature multiple USB ports but also multiple AC outlets. AC outlets accommodate those few devices that still use proprietary chargers, and it lets you expand beyond the included 2-4 USB ports without sacrificing wattage when you need to top off everyone quickly before heading out.

The Fourth of July deals are bouncing into next week’s Amazon Prime Day to give us some of the best savings of the year a week early. Among the dozens of mobile accessories Baseus has on sale this holiday weekend is a trio of towers that can declutter your desk and keep everything you need ready and recharged. Available in 6-in-1, 7-in-1 for $65, and 10-in-1 varieties, these charging stations all offer two USB-C ports, at least one USB-A port and multiple AC outlets. Just note: You’ll need to clip the on-page coupon to get the lowest possible price.

For the best blend of power and ports, Baseus’ 100W 7-in-1 USB-C charging station can fast charge a laptop at 65W — full speed for all Chromebooks and many Windows laptops — while a phone and tablet each standard charge at 15W and still leave 5W for your smartwatch while your non-USB tech or your desk’s smart speaker can use the AC ports on both sides and the back of the tower. These towers are part power delivery chargers and part surge protectors with surge and lightning protection to keep your digital lifelines from frying should calamity strike.

The Baseus $35 10-in-1 desktop charging station model may sound like it’s the most powerful, but it only offers 35 watts to share between the two USB-C and USB-A ports, leaving the lion’s share of the station’s potential power to the six AC ports. This isn’t to say 35W between four ports is useless, but you’ll want to use those ports for lower-powered devices like recharging your smartwatch or wireless earbuds.

If you’re looking to charge multiple phones and tablets with those ports, you’re probably better off going with the 6-in-1 USB-C Charging Station at $50, which may only have three AC ports but features a retractable USB-C cable in addition to one standard USB-A and one USB-C port. Those three ports share 65W, meaning that you can charge both a phone and tablet at full speed rather than both getting middling speeds.

Why this deal matters

I use a 100W charging station like this at my desk and have another next to my couch for both me and my guests to keep our phones powered and ready. Being able to stick my 65W travel charger into one of the AC ports and fast charge four phones instead of two — well, one phone and my Chromebook — when I have people over and then swap it back to powering my oil diffuser or smart speaker once they’re gone is a godsend, and since the wall outlets are spread out across multiple sides of the tower instead of sandwiched next to each other in a line, I never have to worry about bulky plugs blocking out half my ports.

Because these charging stations double as surge protectors, you can also click their switch to power off and disconnect everything when severe weather comes, unlike standard charging stations you would have to unplug. Living in lightning capital of the U.S. makes this feature more important to me than most, but it can also be handy for parents wanting a one-click shut-off for all the kids’ consoles and computers.

We’re still days away from Prime Day, and deals like these will continue to drop through the next week, but these chargers are all within a few dollars of their lowest prices ever. We’ll watch for further price drops and competing deals throughout the holiday week, including Anker’s plethora of deals on chargers, speakers and smart home appliances.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for July 4, #284

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for July 4, No. 284.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has kind of a July 4 flavor. But come on, New York Times puzzle makers, is the blue category really a sport? Read on for hints and the answers. And pass the mustard.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: What you won.

Green group hint: Lone Star State sports.

Blue group hint: Chow down.

Purple group hint: Not cold.