A new iPhone 6s ad features actor Neil Patrick Harris, the Internet’s boyfriend, practicing an acceptance speech with digital assistant Siri.
The spot shows off the latest device’s hands-free feature, which lets you activate the helper with voice commands without the phone having to be plugged in. But mostly it’s just a fun little promo.
Check it out below.
https://youtu.be/Z90nZtd1AmM
NPH asks Siri to read one of his entries in Notes because he needs his hands free to pretend that his suit brush is an award he’s receiving. He lip-syncs along with the robotic playback while it thanks his family and everyone who made the moment he’s simulating possible, and then concludes, “I’ll sound more natural.”
We don’t know which award NPH is pretending to accept here, but we do know that he deserves it.
Apple’s really pushing hands-free Siri. A previous iPhone 6s ad had lovable, addicted Muppet, Cookie Monster, using the assistant to set a timer and play some time-killing music while his favorite treats bake. In that case, we aren’t sure if hands-free mode was there to keep his screen clear or if Muppet fur just isn’t compatible with a touchscreen.
iOS 8 let users summon the helpful robot by saying “Hey, Siri” while the device was plugged in, but iOS 9 removes the charging requirement and lets you do it whenever you want. It comes in pretty handy when you’re out and about, really need to know how many centimeters there are in a mile (160,934.4), and can’t be bothered to hold down your Home button.
Kidding and silly ads aside, it is a cool feature. We use it all the time, especially when we want Apple Music to play different tracks while we’re driving and would rather not risk fiery, metal death because we just had to listen to Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz,” like, right that second.
