On this episode of Smart Tech Today, Mikah and I talked about tips for automating holiday decorations, how to enable COVID-19 exposure notifications, and the updated Flic 2 smart buttons.
Author: Matthew Cassinelli
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What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #013
Welcome to Issue 13 of “What’s New in Shortcuts?”
As the betas of iOS 14.3 keep chugging along with the promise of better Home Screens coming soon, the community has rediscovered some new features that snuck in around iOS 14.1.
Plus, I’ve got some tools I put together for my own workflow – and a fun one for getting in the Christmas spirit.
Over on Reddit, we’ve got more creative uses of Shortcuts – and for members, I’ve updated my Routine checklists to use Reminders and Notes (which I’m quite excited about, not going to lie ?).
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What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #012
Welcome to Issue 12 of “What’s New in Shortcuts?”
In the wake of last week’s awesome “Add to Home Screen” update, I’ve been sharing lots on podcasts – make sure to catch both the latest Smart Tech Today and my appearance on Clockwise for my more-detailed take on the news.
Plus, members get to see how I went all out on my Home Screens – but first, here’s what’s new:
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What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #011
Welcome to Issue 11 of “What’s New in Shortcuts?”
These last two weeks have so much potential that it’s hard to grasp…
Shortcuts are now fully interactive on the Home Screen, the community-favorite action Set Wallpaper is back, and there are so many ways to tweak your devices that it will surely take some time.
So settle in over the long weekend, take note of areas you’d like to improve, and add some Shortcuts onto your Home Screens – it’s time to customize!
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What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #010
Welcome to Issue 10 of “What’s New in Shortcuts?”
Hello all – the big news this week is the return of Set Wallpaper in the iOS 14.3 beta!
It was present in a handful of betas in early iOS 13 days, but was removed and hadn’t come back… until now. Hopefully Apple’s resolved any issues and smoothes out the process in future betas, but I’m excited for it to roll out to the wider community – I have a feeling it’ll be popular.
Other than that, I’ve got new tools for new devices, links to the beta actions on my site, and shortcuts for my new favorite app Craft – enjoy:
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What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #009
Welcome to Issue 9 of “What’s New in Shortcuts?”
Hello all – hope you had an excellent weekend too! ?
I’ve got lots of fun Shortcuts goodness coming soon, so until then let’s jump right in:
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What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #008
Welcome to Issue 8 of “What’s New in Shortcuts?”
Hello folks – good news!
With iOS 14.2 nearing release, Shortcuts Sync seems to be back in working order and my library is fully intact again – let me know if you’re still having any issues on the betas.
Otherwise, I’ve spent over a week now using an external monitor with my iPad Pro—specifically with Shortcuts a lot—and I’m loving it, even despite the 4:3 aspect ratio and constant screen mirroring.
The ergonomics are way better, I’ve got my shortcuts on a screen larger than 12.9”, and my iPad Pro has never felt more like a desktop computer.
I’m completing a full office makeover right now, so no photos yet, but until then here’s what’s new with Shortcuts this week:
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What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #007
Welcome to Issue 7 of “What’s New in Shortcuts?”
This week we saw iPhones shipping, I held a few Shortcuts Live streams, and my Home Screen system is almost fully operational.
This week I’m settling into some new office gear I got after talking to Matt Galligan about ergonomics—I’m excited (and comfy)—so expect some impressions of using an iPad with a monitor next weekend.
Until then, here’s what’s new with Shortcuts from this week:
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What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #006
Welcome to Issue 6 of “What’s New in Shortcuts?”
This week, I spent a lot of effort furthering my Home Screens – and I think I got to a pretty good place to write things up soon.
I also spent my time researching Shortcuts for Mac, building out Apple TV shortcuts, and working ahead on some new guides for the future.
Otherwise, there’s lot’s to share this week – let’s dig in:
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What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #006
Welcome to Issue 6 of “What’s New in Shortcuts?”
I’ve kicked off streams for Shortcuts Live again, starting with an unannounced one this past Sunday afternoon – which ended up including my cat Oliver as a guest.
Make sure to follow me on Twitch if you’re interested in tuning in – I’ll be mostly streaming there instead of YouTube to keep the feeds separate (but look for new videos soon).
Otherwise, here’s what’s new in Shortcuts this week:
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What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #005
Welcome to Issue 5 of “What’s New in Shortcuts?”
It’s time for another Apple event… did you see the collection of Apple Event shortcuts from Issue 1? Check it out in the online archive of past issues for this newsletter.
Otherwise, here’s what’s new this week and what’s coming ahead:
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What’s New in Shortcuts – Issue #004
Welcome to Issue 4 of “What’s New in Shortcuts?”
Since iOS 14 dropped, I’ve completely changed my Home Screens, Apple Watch faces, and Shortcuts folders – why not a new office layout too? When everything is in flux, sometimes it’s just nice to control your own space…
Gotta love that UltraWide lens for room shots.
Here’s what’s new in Shortcuts this week – new issues coming every Sunday going forward!
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What’s New With Shortcuts – Issue #003
Welcome to Issue 3 of “What’s New in Shortcuts?”
Home Screen customization is the biggest trend now that iOS 14 has been out – it started with widgets but, funnily enough, went full-steam ahead thanks to Shortcuts’ Add to Home Screen feature.
From my Twitter – What a shame I never made a video out of this…
Let’s look at some ways you can approach your new Home Screen setup with Shortcuts in mind today:
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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:
Jump straight to the Catalog or sign up for a membership.
It’s finally here!
Apple has released iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7 to users around the world – and that means everyone who updates will have the newest version of Siri Shortcuts installed.
Alongside today’s updates, I’m releasing the following:
- the official iOS 14 version of my Shortcuts Catalog,
- a new “What’s New in Shortcuts” newsletter, and
- my membership program
Let me explain it a bit before you dive into everything.
Why learn about Siri Shortcuts now?
Thanks to everything new in version 4 of the Shortcuts app, everyone can expect another leap in the automation potential of their Apple products:
- the Siri capabilities let the power of Shortcuts extend across devices,
- new features like folders and widgets allow you to hone in on specific use cases and surface them when needed,
- advances in Personal Automations let you turn your device into a true computing platform, and
- the Apple Watch app extends the entire experience right into your wrist.
My goal as an independent creator has always been to share all the knowledge I’ve learned about Shortcuts and make it free.
That’s because the Shortcuts app is free on Apple’s devices – I’ve always wanted to make sure anyone who doesn’t yet understand it could go online and learn more right away.
That desire is what got me to start my own YouTube channel, plus release my own Shortcuts Library and Action Directory on my website last fall.
But, as I got deeper into iOS 13, I realized I was sharing tons of ideas in my database, but didn’t make them very accessible on the web.
To help people to truly integrate Siri Shortcuts into their lives, I needed something more…
Last week, I had the pleasure of being a guest on episode 4 of Sigmund Judge’s podcast Magic Rays of Light, a new show dedicated to all things Apple TV.
That episode is out now and available to download in your podcast app of choice.
Talking with Sigmund was a treat and we had a great conversation about:
- using Apple TV with Shortcuts,
- the quarantine episode of Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet (which totally got me good), and
- TV shows & movies we’ve been watching to keep busy the last 6 months.
On this episode of Smart Tech Today, Mikah and I talked about Amazon’s new voice-based printer integration, Wink’s recent outage (after the launch of its subscription service), and Apple’s new designed-by-Apple face covering.
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What’s New With Shortcuts – Issue #001
Welcome to the first issue of “What’s New in Shortcuts?”
Thank you for reading this newsletter – I look forward to sharing more about how to use Siri Shortcuts so everyone can learn more.
If you haven’t yet, check out the free Shortcuts Catalog with 300 shortcuts and 300 actions, plus the membership available.
With that, here’s what’s new this week:
This free newsletter is designed for anyone interested in learning more about Siri Shortcuts, covering:
* feature updates as they’re discovered,
* interesting ways to use Shortcuts related to topical stories, and
* creative new shortcuts or apps with Shortcuts actions.
In addition, What’s New in Shortcuts acts as a way to subscribe to learn about future updates to my Shortcuts Library, Action Directory, and upcoming additions to the Shortcuts Catalog.
What’s in the newsletter?
A few weeks ago, I had the honor of being invited back onto Tim Chaten’s podcast iPad Pros to discuss the updates coming to Siri Shortcuts and the Shortcuts app for iPadOS 14.
In the show, Tim asked me a detailed series of questions that covers pretty much every single aspect of what’s new in Shortcuts for iOS 14 on iPhone and iPad.1
Our conversation was so good that the show ended up being split across episode 90 and episode 91! Now that both episodes are out, you can listen to the whole chat and learn about what’s coming next.