Siri, the virtual assistant developed by Apple, has a few hidden talents when it comes to music and entertainment. While Siri can’t actually rap or freestyle lyrics, there are a few clever tricks you can use to get her to “rap” funny pre-written lyrics or beatbox for you.
Ask Siri to Beatbox
One of the easiest ways to get Siri to demonstrate some musical ability is to ask her to beatbox. Just say “Hey Siri, can you beatbox?” or “Siri, please beatbox for me.” Siri will then make a series of vocal percussion sounds resembling beatboxing.
Siri has a set loop of beatboxing that she will perform when prompted. She utilizes classic beatboxing techniques like kick drums, snares, hi-hats, and bass sounds to create a simple rhythmic beat. It’s a neat trick and a quick way to get Siri to display her musical chops.
Ask Siri to Rap about Topics
While Siri can’t actually write her own rap lyrics, she does have some pre-written rhymes about certain topics that she can recite if prompted. For example, you can say things like:
- “Hey Siri, can you rap about [food]?”
- “Siri, rap about [animals].”
- “Siri, rap something about [science].”
Fill in the bracketed topic area with something you want Siri to rap about, like tacos, cats, or chemistry. Siri will then respond with a cute, pre-written rhyme related to that topic. The lyrics are fairly basic, but funny and show off Siri’s attempts at rapping.
Ask Siri to Rap about Herself
In addition to general topics, you can also prompt Siri to rap about herself. Try asking:
- “Siri, can you rap about yourself?”
- “Hey Siri, rap about being an assistant.”
- “Siri, freestyle a rap about who you are.”
Siri will then respond with rhyming verses about being an AI assistant created by Apple to help users. She pokes fun at some of the common questions people ask her and describes her abilities and limitations. This is one of the more complex rap responses Siri has available.
Have Siri Rap about Rhyming Words
You can be even more creative by rhyming words and phrases for Siri to rap back at you. For example:
- “Siri, can you rap about [cats] and [hats]?”
- “Hey Siri, rap about [quinoa] and [homeroom].”
- “Siri, can you rap about [kangaroos] and [hot air balloons]?”
Siri will listen to the rhyming couplet you provide and respond with a quick two-line rhyme using your words. This can result in some very silly rhymes, but it’s fun to get creative and see what Siri comes up with on the spot.
Ask Siri to Rap Fast
Want to hear Siri rap really fast? Try prompting her with:
- “Hey Siri, can you rap really fast?”
- “Siri, rap super fast!”
- “Siri, rap as fast as you can!”
Siri will then quickly rattle off one of her pre-written raps at an impressively fast talking speed. It’s hard to make out the actual words, but the effect is pretty hilarious.
Conclusion
While Siri isn’t exactly a rap battle pro, she does have some fun programmed responses when you prompt her the right way. Her beatboxing, rhymes about various topics, and ability to rap user-supplied rhyming words show off her playful personality. Siri won’t be releasing a rap album any time soon, but she’s always good for a quick hip-hop moment when you need some comedy from your iPhone assistant.
Other Funny Things to Ask Siri to Do
Getting Siri to rap or beatbox is just one example of Siri’s humor and fun capabilities. Here are some other funny things you can ask Siri to do:
- Tell a joke – “Siri, tell me a joke” will get your a random joke from Siri’s built-in joke list.
- Sing a song – “Hey Siri, can you sing?” prompts her to sing lyrics from a random popular song.
- Flip a coin – “Siri, flip a coin” results in her digitally flipping a coin and announcing heads or tails.
- Roll dice – “Siri, roll the dice” causes her to make dice rolling sounds then tell you the number rolled.
- Beatbox – As mentioned previously, asking Siri to beatbox results in a looped beatboxing sound.
- Tell a story – Prompt with “Siri, tell me a story” and she will recite a short fable or story.
- Do an animal noise – Questions like “What sound does a cow make?” will result in Siri making her version of animal sounds.
Siri has responses programmed for a wide variety of conversational prompts beyond just information and services. Her creators included many humorous elements to give chatting with Siri some fun personality. So when you need a laugh or are just bored, try prompting Siri with some silly requests.
How Siri Works
Siri is an intelligent virtual assistant created by Apple and first launched in 2011. Siri utilizes voice recognition, natural language processing, and adaptive neural networks to understand spoken requests and return relevant information or initiate actions on the user’s device.
Some key facts about how Siri works:
- Voice recognition – Siri uses advanced algorithms to analyze and recognize the user’s unique voice patterns and spoken words.
- Natural language processing – Siri can understand natural conversational language and requests rather than just set commands.
- Neural networks – Siri’s capabilities are powered by an artificial neural network that learns over time based on user interactions.
- Cloud computing – Siri processes most requests through Apple’s cloud servers rather than the user’s device for powerful computing.
- Context awareness – Siri can take conversational context and personal usage history into account when determining responses.
- Third party integration – Siri can access select information from third party apps and services to respond to certain requests.
Over time, Apple has greatly expanded Siri’s capabilities and accuracy through improved hardware integration, larger neural networks, tuned speech recognition, and expanded data sources. While not perfect, Siri provides helpful hands-free assistance to millions of Apple users every day.
Siri History
Here is a brief timeline of Siri’s history:
- 2007 – Siri app launched as a startup company focused on personal assistant AI.
- 2010 – Apple acquires Siri and integrates the technology into iOS.
- 2011 – Siri is officially launched as a integrated into the iPhone 4S.
- 2012 – Siri expands to the iPad with the launch of the 3rd gen iPad.
- 2014 – Improvements to Siri’s voice recognition neural networks.
- 2016 – Siri opens up to some third party apps via SiriKit API.
- 2017 – Siri gains machine learning capabilities powered by Apple’s AI research.
- 2022 – Siri is available across all Apple devices and continues to be improved.
Interesting Siri Facts
- The original voice of Siri was provided by voice actor Susan Bennett from recordings in 2005.
- In early versions, Siri was named after SRI International where it was originally developed.
- Siri means “beautiful woman who leads you to victory” in Norwegian.
- Siri can speak over 20 different languages in various international versions.
- Siri uses Nuance Communications speech recognition technology.
- Siri has been played by several actors in Apple commercials, including Zooey Deschanel.
- Early development of Siri dates back to the famous CALO project, a cognitive assistant program funded by DARPA.
Comparing Siri to Other Virtual Assistants
Siri was one of the first mainstream virtual assistants when launched in 2011, but today faces competition from other AI assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant and others. Here is how Siri compares to some of her main competitors:
| Assistant | Launched | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Siri | 2011 | Tight iOS integration, contextual conversations, privacy focus | Most limited 3rd party capabilities |
| Alexa | 2014 | Robust 3rd party ecosystem and device support | No screen for visual responses |
| Google Assistant | 2016 | Vast knowledge graph, web search prowess | Data collection for ads |
| Cortana | 2015 | Productivity optimized for Office suite | Limited consumer use cases |
Each assistant has their relative strengths based on the technology and data sources leveraged by the parent companies. But Siri maintains robust capabilities focused on easy voice access to iOS apps and services. Her longevity proves voice assistants are an indispensable part of the modern digital experience.
The Future of Siri and Voice Assistants
Voice assistants like Siri are still early in their development and have much potential for future improvements and applications. Here are some possible innovations we may see in Siri and other assistants in the coming years:
- More natural conversations – Assistants will continue improving at context-based dialogue instead of just responding to direct commands.
- Expanded smart home control – Assistants will help users easily control more aspects of smart homes and appliances.
- Enhanced personalization – Services like Siri will become more customized to user preferences and habits over time.
- Better offline functionality – Processing more requests device-side will improve performance when internet access is limited.
- New device platforms – Assistants will expand into new device types like cars, wearables, smart speakers, appliances, and more.
- Visual responses – Some assistants may evolve more advanced visual elements like Alexaís animated avatar.
Virtual assistant technology has already become deeply integrated into many peoplesí lives, and will only grow more sophisticated and personalized in the future. Siri pioneered the consumer AI space, and will aim to continue leading as assistants evolve.