What’s New With Shortcuts – Issue #002

Welcome to Issue 2 of “What’s New in Shortcuts?”

iOS 14, iPad OS 14, and watchOS 7 are finally here!

There’s so much new, let’s get into it right away:

APPLE’S FITNESS+, IPAD AIR, & APPLE WATCH EVENT

Apple launched a workout video service that syncs across devices, a new iPad Air that looks like a great choice for anyone who doesn’t need an iPad Pro, and the Apple Watch Series 6 & SE:

• “Hey Siri, what’s the weather like at Apple Park?”
  Tim Cook talked about how he uses Apple Watch – so I made an entire collection out of what he said.
• “Hey Siri, listen for the delivery”
  Don’t miss your new Apple Watch! Or these new Sound Recognition shortcuts.
• “Hey Siri, check Apple Newsroom”
  Try setting up the new Show Topic action to take you directly into a specific section.

NEW ACTIONS IN SHORTCUTS

Shortcuts got a new set of actions in iOS 14 – check out the full list in the Action Directory.

• “Hey Siri, turn on the screensaver”
  The Apple TV remote has a new set of actions – and I’ve got a folder of shortcuts for it.
• “Hey Siri, start an outdoor walk”
  Shortcuts can control the Apple Watch (and Workouts) as well now – check out the list of actions.
• “Hey Siri, triple tap”
  You won’t actually have to say this one – instead, set these with the powerful new Back Tap accessibility feature and update the Run Shortcut action inside.

WIDGETS AND WIND DOWN TIME

You can set shortcuts on your Home Screen with the widget and Lock Screen at night with Wind Down – here’s how I’m using those features:

• “Hey Siri, open the Shortcuts Catalog”
  Stick this in your Shortcuts widget and open back to it right on the Home Screen – or check out my Shortcuts widget.
• “Hey Siri, chill out”
  I run this during a stressful week or at night as part of my Wind Down shortcuts.
• “Hey Siri, open all my notes”
  I retweeted tons of iOS 14 apps with widgets and will share the whole list soon – check out the Show Notes Folder collection in the meantime.

CATALOG UPDATES

• The Shortcuts Catalog is fully updated with 20 actions new in iOS 14 and 50 shortcuts built with them – plus 30 new shortcuts for members.
  Sign up for a membership to get early access and unlock even more new shortcuts every week.
• Save my iOS 14 Shortcuts walkthrough on YouTube before I unlist it.
  Thanks if you tuned in – it was a chaotic but fun 2 hours! Stay tuned for more iOS 14 videos.
• The Membership Perks page has been updated.
  Check out all the ways to browse – you might find a unique angle on a shortcut you already use.

Hope you all had a good week! If you’re using something from my Shortcuts Catalog anytime soon, send me a screenshot on Twitter!

Read the Catalog announcement

P.S. Absolutely DO NOT update to the iOS 14.2 developer beta 1 – I attempted to be responsible and only do so on a spare device, but iCloud Sync messed up the order of all my shortcuts. I spent all day trying to fix it so I could share the shortcuts I’ve curated here and it meant this newsletter was later than promised. Thank you for your patience in the meantime.