The iPhone doesn't have a lot of voice control commands, but like most computer programs it's very picky about you getting the wording just right. I've compiled all the English voice control commands into a printable document that will fold neatly in half and fit in your iPhone pouch so it's handy while you're still learning the commands.

I also have a complete list of all the iPhone and iPod Touch Voice Commands and their functions. This list is briefer and doesn't have explanations for those commands where the function is obvious - it just lists the command name to jog your memory.

I'm making a PDF available for easy printing, and a version in Pages '08 format for those who might want to edit it for themselves. I've also created versions in both A4 and US Letter page sizes, which should cover everybody's standard page sizes.

Voice Command Cheat Sheets for iOS 4

• iPhone/iPod Touch Voice Commands Cheat Sheet, US Letter Size, PDF
• iPhone/iPod Touch Voice Commands Cheat Sheet, A4 Size, PDF
• iPhone/iPod Touch Voice Commands Cheat Sheet, US Letter Size, Pages '08 Format
• iPhone/iPod Touch Voice Commands Cheat Sheet, A4 Size, Pages '08 Format

Voice Command Cheat Sheets for iPhone OS 3.2

• iPhone Voice Commands Cheat Sheet, US Letter size, PDF
• iPhone Voice Commands Cheat Sheet, A4 size, PDF
• iPhone Voice Commands Cheat Sheet, US Letter size, Pages '08 Format
• iPhone Voice Commands Cheat Sheet, A4 size, Pages '08 Format

Oh, and because it has to be small to fold in half and fit in your iPhone case I put two on the same page. You can give the other one to a friend!

You can find more free downloadable cheat sheets and more on the Free Downloads page - go take a look.

- Ricky

Speech commands are one of the great new features of the iPhone 3GS. It's an accessibility feature that will help blind and mobility impaired users, and will also have significant benefit for people driving or doing other things while using their iPhone.

Here are all the speech commands I've seen people list for the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4. The asterisks after some commands link to the place on the internet I saw the command reported. If you're looking for something that you can print out as a memory aid, try the iPhone and iPod Touch Voice Commands Cheat Sheet page.

Starting Voice Control

Hold down the phone's home button or the middle button on your headset until the voice control feature comes up on screen and you hear a beep. This should take about 2 seconds.

Phone Commands

Obviously, these only work on the iPhone and not the iPod Touch.

Call a contact

"Call" or "dial" plus the person's name or nickname as entered into your address book. Optionally add the phone number type at the end, such as "home", "work", "mobile". For example, "Dial John Smith Work" or "Call Mum".

Call a number

"Call" or "Dial" plus the number, just as you would recite it usually. For example, "Dial 555 9592".

Make a correction

Say "not that one", "wrong", "nope", "no", or "not that".

Music Commands

These are the same for iPhone and iPod Touch.

Start music

Say "play" or "play music".

Play from a specific playlist

Say "play playlist" and the name of the playlist. For example, "Play playlist gym songs".

Play from a specific album

Say "play album" plus the name of the album. For example "Play album Dark Side Of The Moon".

Play from a specific artist

Say "play artist" plus the name of the artist. For example, "Play artist Pink Floyd". The alternate "Play songs by" plus the name of the artist has also been reported to work*.

Pause music

Say "pause" or "pause music".

Skip to next song

Say "next song". The shorter "next" has also been reported to work.*.

Go back to previous song

Say "previous song".

Shuffle the current playlist

Just say "shuffle".

Turn on Genius feature

Say "Genius", "play more like this", or "play more songs like this".

Get information about the current track

Say "what's playing", or for more specific information say "what song is this", "who sings this song", or "who is this song by".

Misc Commands

These are the same for iPhone and iPod Touch.

Ask the time

Say "what is the time" or "what time is it".

Cancel voice control

Simply say "cancel". With iOS 4 you can also say "stop".

Get help

Say "help".

Other Languages

Thanks to autrefois on the MacRumors forum I've found instructions for locating the iPhone User Guide in your language. These have the voice commands listed in chapter two. Here are the instructions:

Go to the version of Apple's website for your country/language. If you don't know it, go to http://www.apple.com/ and choose it at the bottom of the page.

Click on the "Support" tab (or whatever it's called in your language), on the top of the page by the search bar.

Finally, under iPhone, click on the link for the User's guide; it should be the first link, at least as I post this. If not, you should be able to track down that language's user guide from there.

If others are interested in providing me with the appropriate text for other languages I'd be happy to post it here - just contact me. FJB has helpfully contributed the voice commands in French - thank you!

Do you know of more commands I've missed? How are the speech commands working for you? Leave a comment and let me know.

- Ricky Buchanan

Tim O'Brien's blog is about photography and accessibility. He recently got an iPhone and has a beef about the information available about its accessibility for the blind and visually impaired:

Learning about the iPhone and its apps is easy. Besides the Apple web site and the iTunes store, there are many dedicated blogs and web sites. Interesting iPhone news makes it onto more general tech and news sites. But there is little about the iPhone's accessibility to the blind and visually impaired. Apple offers its view on iPhone accessibility, but Apple's site looks to reflect its marketing campaign more than the engineering and design.

Tim has started his own iPhone accessibility page, with guidelines for developers wanting to make iPhone apps more accessible, general information about iPhone accessiblity as well as reviews of specific iPhone applications he's used.

It's already a site jam packed with useful information, and seems to be growing at an astounding rate. Congratulations, Tim, and keep up the good work - I'll be adding this to our Resources page right now!

Website: iPhone Accessibility

- Ricky Buchanan