foo-on-air

Q: Asking Siri about time

Why is Siri unable to answer more than the most simple questions about time? It would be highly useful if she could tell me how late it will be in x hours from now. Or how late it is when the timer finishes? But she just gives the current time or shows the running timer.

iPad mini 2 , iOS 9.2.1

Posted on Jun 4, 2016 5:37 AM

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Q: Asking Siri about time

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  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Jun 4, 2016 6:12 AM in response to foo-on-air
    Level 9 (58,414 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 4, 2016 6:12 AM in response to foo-on-air

    Can you given an example of exactly what your asking?

  • by foo-on-air,

    foo-on-air foo-on-air Jun 4, 2016 6:21 PM in response to Meg St._Clair
    Level 1 (9 points)
    iBooks
    Jun 4, 2016 6:21 PM in response to Meg St._Clair

    I tried everything which came to mind.

    what time is it in ten hours from now?

    how late will it be when the timer is finished?

  • by sberman,

    sberman sberman Jun 4, 2016 6:24 PM in response to foo-on-air
    Level 8 (39,033 points)
    Jun 4, 2016 6:24 PM in response to foo-on-air

    I just asked Siri: "What time will it be ten hours from now?"

     

    I received a correct answer.

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Jun 4, 2016 6:44 PM in response to foo-on-air
    Level 9 (58,414 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 4, 2016 6:44 PM in response to foo-on-air

    foo-on-air wrote:

     

    what time is it in ten hours from now?

    Thanks. I can't imagine any situation under which I would need to resort to asking Siri that question, so I wasn't sure what you meant.

     

    For experimental purposes, I tried. It works perfectly. Are you using 12-hour time? Or 24?

  • by foo-on-air,

    foo-on-air foo-on-air Jun 5, 2016 2:30 AM in response to Meg St._Clair
    Level 1 (9 points)
    iBooks
    Jun 5, 2016 2:30 AM in response to Meg St._Clair

    Dear Meg

     

    usually I calculate this in my mind and don't ask Siri either. But when you are lazy and have to do it more often it is more comfortable to let the machine do it for you. I required the functionality recently for baking. Let's say you start preparing something and have to continue after exactly 16 hours.

     

    SIri just doesn't get it. I asked her the exact same phrase you quoted five times in a row.  The results varied greatly. I assume it has to do with the context of recent events.


    first she said: 'let me check that. This is what I found' and came up with a search on wolfram alpha with the current time. The second time it showed wolfram alpha again with something about input interpretation and the correct estimate. The third time it answered the question correctly. Perfect BUT then I let her show me my appointments in calendar from today. This totally puzzled her. Because I repeated the question again how late it would be 13 hours from now. And she said: 'I don't find any appointments for will' so she interpreted the verb wrong and tried desperately to make sense of the question in the calendar context.

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Jun 5, 2016 4:12 AM in response to foo-on-air
    Level 9 (58,414 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 5, 2016 4:12 AM in response to foo-on-air

    What language and region are you using?

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch Jun 5, 2016 5:15 AM in response to foo-on-air
    Level 8 (37,854 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 5, 2016 5:15 AM in response to foo-on-air

    foo-on-air wrote:

     

    Dear Meg

     

    usually I calculate this in my mind and don't ask Siri either. But when you are lazy and have to do it more often it is more comfortable to let the machine do it for you. I required the functionality recently for baking. Let's say you start preparing something and have to continue after exactly 16 hours.

     

    SIri just doesn't get it. I asked her the exact same phrase you quoted five times in a row.  The results varied greatly. I assume it has to do with the context of recent events.


    first she said: 'let me check that. This is what I found' and came up with a search on wolfram alpha with the current time. The second time it showed wolfram alpha again with something about input interpretation and the correct estimate. The third time it answered the question correctly. Perfect BUT then I let her show me my appointments in calendar from today. This totally puzzled her. Because I repeated the question again how late it would be 13 hours from now. And she said: 'I don't find any appointments for will' so she interpreted the verb wrong and tried desperately to make sense of the question in the calendar context.

    I just tried the question and it worked. But I'd usually just say "set a timer for 16 hours" or "set an alarm for 16 hours from now." I use both of these regularly. Of course, if cooking is involved, instead I say "Alexa, set a time for 4 hours" to my Amazon Echo.

  • by foo-on-air,

    foo-on-air foo-on-air Jun 5, 2016 6:01 AM in response to Meg St._Clair
    Level 1 (9 points)
    iBooks
    Jun 5, 2016 6:01 AM in response to Meg St._Clair

    language English, region Austria

    Time Format 24

     

    setting a timer is not the problem. This has always worked. Given that it is more simple

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Jun 5, 2016 10:10 AM in response to foo-on-air
    Level 9 (58,414 points)
    iPhone
    Jun 5, 2016 10:10 AM in response to foo-on-air

    I wonder if the problem is a mismatch between the region and the language? Do you speak German? If so, what happens if you switch Siri to German? Does it work then?

  • by foo-on-air,

    foo-on-air foo-on-air Aug 27, 2016 3:36 AM in response to Meg St._Clair
    Level 1 (9 points)
    iBooks
    Aug 27, 2016 3:36 AM in response to Meg St._Clair

    I speak that language but prefer English. I'd like it to work with that language setting.

     

    i Asked Siri today how late it will be x hours from now and her response was correct. I guess mentioning the word timer makes her struggle