See What It's Like Using Siri on a Mac in macOS Sierra

[fischersd]

i just wish there was the "Hey Siri" option as the phone.

+1 for this

BUT - we need to be able to rename Siri on each device.

I'm at my coffee table, my mac mini is my HTPC, my Apple Watch on my wrist, iPhone is on the coffee table and iPad across the room. If I say "Hey Siri" I could get all 4 devices responding at the same time (annoying!)

Why they don't have the option for always on, on the Mac, seeing as how (unless it's a macbook) you don't have mobile battery issues.

I want Siri integration for my iTunes. AND I want Siri to support my content that wasn't purchased from Apple's store (yes, understand and index all of my digital movie copies and all of my iTunes Match music). THEN I can get rid of Kodi and just use my voice to enjoy my content.

 

[Wando64]

The most "exciting" feature, which is Siri according to Apple, still remains the most useless and boring feature to me. Especially on a Mac.

It's slow, not all that smart, and requires data to work.

Siri might become useful when she reaches the level of the assistant in the movie "Her". But until then, it's nothing but a nuisance and a gimmick.

A nuisance? You don't have to use it. In fact you can de-activate it altogether.
A gimmick? It might not be useful to you but I find that I am using it more and more. I don't know what equipment you have, but the "Always on" functionality "Hey Siri" is essential to make it truly useful.

My typical use is to have it reading aloud my meetings for the day in the morning without me even turning the lights on, and occasionally resulting in me spending an additional half hour in bed ("hey Siri, wake me up in half an hour"). Also I use it to check the weather, create reminders and appointments.
I could live without it, but why should I?

 

[MLVC]

I'm liking Siri on the Mac so far, the only thing I would like to see changed is that you can start talking as soon as you pressed the key combo, instead of having to click the mic. Key combo makes no sense if you still have to click something afterwards.

 

[sofila]

Kaibelf, the Queen of Bleeding Hearts strikes again!

75% of his posts are bashing other forumers with arrogance, 25% related to topic itself. Always bitter and aggressive but never crosses the line for being reported. Sad life.

 

[Keebler]

I have a hard time believing people use Siri on the iPhone and can't fathom using it on Mac.

I use Siri in the following ways on my iPhone (using the 'Hey Siri' phrase when it's plugged in as it's a 6, not a 6s where it doesn't required plugged in).

Stay at home Dad here who runs the household, my own little business and works for my wife's business as well:

1. When I'm baking or cooking which is always bulk (3 or 4 times the regular recipe quantities), I'll ask Siri to convert measurements, ask if certain ingredients can be replaced by something else and to set timers. Usually because I have my hands all mucked up in those ingredients so touching a phone would be a bad move lol

2. While driving. My vehicle has the blue tooth built in and I constantly send texts, field phone calls from clients (and friends/family) hands free while driving. The BT feature also will read texts back to me which is handy (and funny It's not like it's 1 message after another constantly, but a few times a day for sure.

3. Calendar appointments - probably the biggest use I have for Siri. I make calendar notes ALOT. It's helped me become much more organized than I ever was. I still have to figure out if I can use Siri to set 2Do tasks in the app '2DO' because I have extensive lists. Again, wasn't very organized before so I've gone crazy with lists and it's helping me lol

4. I will ask it the weather or sports scores for sure occassionally. I'd say #2 and #3 would be the top uses for me.

So yup, I'm excited for Siri on a Mac although I don't expect it to be super slick right away. There will be growing pains.

Cheers,
Keebler

 

[Popeye206]

I think this is great. Given Apple made many references to using AI for different functions in the new OS's I'm assuming Siri is going to school this summer to get smarter too. Most of the time, Siri goes from working perfectly to frustrating for me, but I find it more useful than not and hope it's just going to keep getting better.

 

[Dave245]

Siri on the Mac seems more useful than it does on the iPhone, i liked how Siri could pull up documents, work alongside without stopping everything and how it can pull images from the internet to insert into documents. As a writer i spend a lot of time researching, imagine if i could just use Siri to say "Siri find my research documents from yesterday" without having to go into folders. It would save time but also pull up research that i do on the internet maybe.

 

[Thunderhawks]

Let's all just stop development until Your Majesty decides it's okay for us to catch up with your amazing tastes. Thanks so much for guiding the unwashed masses.

It seems that for some people Siri works and for some not. Could be a settings thing.
For me, it has never worked, so I try every once in a while after updates to see if things have improved.

Some posters have suggested I make up problems, however just yesterday I figured I'd try again.

Upon asking directions to Hanse Ave in NY, siri responded:

Dialing 860...... I don't even recognize that number. That happens actually every time I ask for something, music, calendar etc. Sire will just dial numbers from my contacts.

Any idea why that would happen?

BTW: Siri also does not work with my 4th gen Apple TV. Maybe it's my German accent, however it is IMO no typically German as in : Siri give me se diräktschon to Nu Jork.

 

[Flunkyturtle]

personally i love this and i can see myself using it a lot.

The biggest thing i use Siri for is directions while i've got my headphones in (both cancelling and setting up directions) and also shazamming stuff. I do that at least once a day!

 

[Tech198]

Siri on Mac I predict will start as this the same spotlight did.... reduced to a simple drop down, but as more features are needed like full descriptions and all or more info displayed., it will be a modded popup, like like Spotlight interrupts you... yes, u see more, but it its more detracting since u gotta move it out the way, and since siri would stay on screen, unlike spotlight, u'll have no choice, but to move it. or loose it.

Use siri while it lasts

 

[Glenn.955]

Apple is a global brand. Macrumors is a global website. "Fall" is not global.

Call it 4th quarter or OND or even October/November/December.

(But it still isn't soon enough for me...)

 

[shanson27]

Siri what's the weather like ?
Siri what's the weather like ?
Siri what's the weather like ?
Siri what's the weather like ?
Thanks..... Siri, that's all you know?

 

[ChrisCW11]

Don't see much of a point of this on a computer. I have Windows 10 with Cortana on my PC (a year ago), haven't asked her anything using voice once. I am a power user so typing a few keywords into a search box or moving the mouse isn't an incredible hassle, so i don't feel the need to ask my computer to do something, couldn't see a single reason for this on my Mac home server or even if I used a Mac at work.

I would prefer if Apple focused more on home automation and assistance because while I have never asked my PC to do anything, I love my Amazon Echo and keep finding new ways to use this device more efficiently and to do more things, but while Apple has the Hey Siri I need my iPad plugged in to use it (so I use it never as it charges overnight while I sleep) and it doesn't do half of the requests as well as Echo when I do use it.

Day late and a dollar short seems to be Apple's new motto.

 

[aleksander]

Yeah, why not "Hey Siri" on a desktop computer? They could easily activate just one device in the room.

 

[needsomecoffee]

Please, please, please... "Siri copy pathname of Analytics folder to clipboard, and open Terminal app"

 

[merkinmuffley]

The only difference in using it on a Mac is when it upsets me it's harder to throw the Mac across the room than a phone. SIRI is the most obnoxious, stupid SW I have used.

 

[penajmz]

BetterTouchTool.

your macOS UX just got upgraded from meh to HOLYSHEEEEIIIT !!1

you're welcome

Whoaaaaaaaa!!!!

 

[rhonin]

Let's not confuse your opinion with facts (or data)...

Craig Federighi said at the WWDC 2015 keynote presentation that Siri gets over 1 billion requests a week. That was last year, it probably gets more requests nowadays.

I'm sure many ding dongs out there think that it's one person at Apple is generating all those requests to rationalize their brilliant opinions.

1 billion? Is that all? That means about 4.3 billion a month on average.
Far less than I expected for the number of devices out there.

 

[notjustjay]

I'm at my coffee table, my mac mini is my HTPC, my Apple Watch on my wrist, iPhone is on the coffee table and iPad across the room. If I say "Hey Siri" I could get all 4 devices responding at the same time (annoying!)

Not to mention if you have friends over who also own devices with "Hey Siri" enabled... I second this thought!

 

[2499723]

When Siri is the standout 'feature' of a new OS release, you know something's amiss. At least we've got the 'excitement' of a new file system to look forward to - which wasn't even addressed in the keynote.

 

[jweinraub]

I sure don't, but apparently a lot of people do. In 2015 Apple was getting over 1 billion Siri requests a week. Wow.

http://m.gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/n...on-locations-to-accept-apple-pay-apple-701411

How many of those are 'Hey siri, where am i?" --or-- "hey siri reply to message" while driving? The number is meaningless without context. How many of those was internal testing in fact, did they remove those? Probably not in order to inflate the stats.

 

[displayblock]

I wish they had integrated it in with Spotlight. It's getting really cluttered up there in the menu bar, and I'm not sure the conceptual division between using Spotlight and Siri, as they can both search your computer and the web.

I agree. Both Cortana and Google Now replaced the search functions on Windows 10/Android, and both managed to integrate the ability to type or dictate your query within a single interface. Apple needs to figure out how to simplify and combine the two. Probably won't happen until the release after Sierra since they'd rather showoff Siri and the fancy icon in as many places as they can.

 

[asfdasdf]

is there Hey Siri function?

 

[C DM]

Apple is a global brand. Macrumors is a global website. "Fall" is not global.

Call it 4th quarter or OND or even October/November/December.

(But it still isn't soon enough for me...)

They are Amecian, simply globally available/accessible.
[doublepost=1466178429][/doublepost]

is there Hey Siri function?

Seems like a good amount of the thread covers this.

 

[Wando64]

It seems that for some people Siri works and for some not. Could be a settings thing.
For me, it has never worked, so I try every once in a while after updates to see if things have improved.

Some posters have suggested I make up problems, however just yesterday I figured I'd try again.

Upon asking directions to Hanse Ave in NY, siri responded:

Dialing 860...... I don't even recognize that number. That happens actually every time I ask for something, music, calendar etc. Sire will just dial numbers from my contacts.

Any idea why that would happen?

BTW: Siri also does not work with my 4th gen Apple TV. Maybe it's my German accent, however it is IMO no typically German as in : Siri give me se diräktschon to Nu Jork.

Have you asked someone else's honest opinion about your accent?
It might not be too bad to understand for a human (we are very good at filling in gaps in information) but just too much for Siri.
It is actually quite rare for Siri to misunderstand what I am saying, even though after I still have an Italian accent.