How to ask Siri when a nearby store is open

By

ask siri
Siri knows all about the opening times of local businesses.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Is it too late on a Saturday night to hit the hardware store for that essential dingus you need for Sunday’s DIY project? Has the local supermarket closed already, or do you still have time to buy some more beer? Does the Kanaan restaurant (“Best Humos in Berlin”) even open today? Just ask Siri.

You may be used to firing up Google Maps, searching for the store or restaurant you’re interested in, then tapping around in the app to get to the opening times. But did you know that Siri can also tell you if a local business is open, or when it will be?

Ask Siri

Finding out if a local store is open is as simple as asking Siri if the store is open. S/he understands most permutations. These all work, for example:

  • What time does Footlocker open?
  • Is Footlocker open today?
  • When does Footlocker close?

… and so on.

If Siri isn’t sure which store you mean, it’ll ask you, putting list of of matching businesses up on the screen. If you live in a city, this will usually be a list of all the various, say, Footlockers over town. Tap the one you want to get the info, and Siri will read it out. One important note: I chose Footlocker because I live in Germany, but I have Siri set to English. Footlocker was the first English-named store I saw when I checked the map. Just saying.

Depending on whether you’re running iOS 10 or iOS 11, you’ll get a different on-screen set of results. The iOS 11 version is a lot more like the Google Maps info page, with details of opening times, a map, and an address. The lame old iOS 10 version shows you the place on a map thumbnail, and that’s it:

This is what Siri's answer looks like in iOS 10, compared to iOS 11 at the top of this post.
This is what Siri’s answer looks like in iOS 10, compared to iOS 11 at the top of this post.
Photo: Cult of Mac

This tip works on the current Siri, but the enhanced iOS 11 version shows you how much better Siri is getting in the next version of iOS. Hopefully people will persevere with Siri long enough to discover the new improved features, but perhaps not — a lot of folks gave up after struggling with early, clunky versions of Apple’s virtual assistant, which — given the latest improvements — is a real shame.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.