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iOS 17 Ready: 160+ Apps To Download Now

Apple’s iOS 17 is here and, while working on my upcoming Shortcuts updates to be released alongside macOS Sonoma, I spent the rest of my day sharing posts from developers on Mastodon with their app updates.

From that list, plus more apps that mentioned iOS 17 in their app update description (and a few from these replies), I ended up with over 150 apps.

Using some Shortcuts wizardry, I scraped all the App Store links, prices, and app icons to make the following list below, as well as the image for the blog post (I’ll be sharing how I did this all for my membership soon) – enjoy:

    1. Glucomate glucose tracker – (Free on the App Store)
    2. Sequel entertainment media tracker – (Free on the App Store)
    3. Movie Tracker what to watch – (Free on the App Store)

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Automatically switch to a different app every time you open Twitter »

From Jay Robinson on Threads:

This is a great idea.
How to Switch to Threads Whenever You Open Twitter
1. Open Shortcuts app on iPhone
2. Tap the Automation tab
3. Tap the plus button top-right
4. You want a Personal Automation, so start by searching “app” for “When app is opened”
5. Choose X/Twitter app and select “Run Immediately”
6. In the next step, choose “New Blank Automation”
7. Choose “Open App” as the next action
8. Tap the blue word “App” and choose Threads
9. Tap “Done”

Read the full article or see the post below:

Post by @jayrobinson
View on Threads

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How to run shortcuts using Audio Hijack’s automation features »

In his blog post on Six Colors about Moving Audio Hijack recordings to a folder in the cloud, Dan Moren shared a tip for using Audio Hijack’s automations feature to trigger a post-recording script – his autotomation fires off a command to run a shortcut, after which the shortcut handles the rest of the process with the file.

I’m just getting started with Audio Hijack and I haven’t had a chance to use this yet, so here’s the section for my own reference later:

First, I added a new automation that runs on Session Stop called Copy File to Dropbox. This is a one-line script—app.runShortcut(‘Recording Copy’)—that in turn calls a Shortcut I’ve created.

I’ll be moving my membership podcast files from my Mac over to my iPad after each episode so I can edit in Ferrite, so I may use this same end point as Dan for my purposes.

View the original post and get Audio Hijack.

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Apps

Obscura 4 is the all-in one app to replace your iPhone camera

Today, developer Ben McCarthy announced version 4 of Obscura, their camera app for iPhone that provides Pro controls for photographers. I’ve been testing Obscura for a while now, and here are a few quick impressions.

Modes

One of Obscura’s personal benefits to me as a Camera-replacement app is full support for the main modes I want to use most often: Auto, Manual, Portrait, Live Photo, and, importantly, Video.

With other photography-focused apps, video is often left out – but that means anytime I want to quickly capture a clip, I have to switch away; with Obscura, it has everything in one app.Otherwise, the only downside is having a dedicated Live Photo mode, which I do like to use often – however, I believe that’s a technical limitation, not a design choice.

Features

Beyond that, Obscura is packed full of camera features like focus modes, white balance control, and exposure and zoom dials that operate with excellent swipe gesture wheels.

Plus, there’s extra on-screen controls for Settings, photo mode, EV lock, and a great on-screen Help menu.

Design

Ben also puts lots of thought and care into how the app feels as you’re using it, so I recommend playing around with the app and paying attention to things like how the camera controls rotate as you rotate the device, or the fluid shift when you switch between modes, or how the entire camera animates away as you swipe into the Library view.

Beyond the camera view, the Library makes it easy to view any of your photos, flag or rate them, and see detailed EXIF information, along with the dedicated Obscura album a swipe away.

Extras

Finally, Obscura integrates nicely with your devices, the app ecosystem, and even hardware controls.

Obscura comes with an Apple Watch app to take photos remotely, plus a Lock Screen widget for quickly accessing the app.

When viewing a photo in the Filters view, you can open the image into the Darkroom photo editor and edit it there, which is great for cleaning up a shot or stylizing it as needed.

And finally, Obscura integrates with the Fjorden camera grip, a piece of hardware that mounts onto your iPhone and gives you physical camera controls – very cool.

Shortcuts

While Obscura doesn’t officially support Shortcuts—yet?!—the app’s support for video makes it one of the few that actually works as a proper replacement for the Camera app (aside from Time Lapses and Panoramas).

And that means it qualifies for an App Automation that can automatically redirect you from that special gesture on the Lock Screen into Obscura instead of the Camera each time.

Summary

Overall, I’ve long been a fan of Obscura – even before I met Ben at WWDC and found out they are a great person as well.

For me, Obscura 4 fits nicely into the space in between my real camera and the iPhone camera app – it gives me the controls I’d expect in a way that lets me also understand what’s happening in a balanced design. Other apps are either too pro or over-simplify the features I still understand how to use, and often lack the library experience that’s been fully built-out in Obscura.

Plus, Obscura’s design metaphors match how my camera works, but with natural gestures for a touch-based device. And, since it’s a multi-modal photo and video app, not just a photography app, I don’t have to switch back-and-forth for a major part of the camera experience.

Further, I didn’t even cover some new features like iPad support and the recent photos gestures – this app is packed full of features.

Finally, a great benefit of v4 is that Obscura is now free up-front with free trial and an in-app purchase to unlock the full app – previously, Obscura was paid up-front, which prevented users from testing the interface before purchasing. After the trial, Obscura 4 is available for $7.99 at launch and then $9.99 annually – if you purchased Obscura 3, all the existing features are unlocked, and the optional new features are $4.99 the first year and $9.99 after that.

Now if Apple would just let us customize that Lock Screen camera control…

Get Obscura on the App Store.

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Fuoco lets you easily edit Portrait Mode photos »

From Sandro Pennisi on Mastodon:

Fuoco is probably my least successful app, but i love it and use it all the time for portrait mode photos. Tapping to set the focus and you can adjust it etc and of course it’s mostly #SwiftUI too. #indiedev

https://apps.apple.com/app/id1585954051

Give Sandro’s app some love – only $4.

View the post and get Fuoco on the App Store.

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AirScrobble adds Shortcuts support for Last.FM »

From Tomás Martins on Mastodon in early August:

I’ve just released a new update for AirScrobble, which brings the vast majority of services provided by Last.fm’s API into the Shortcuts app for the first time on an iOS app!

Now you can leverage the data from your Last.fm profile and website in your automations through over 35 easy-to-use and customizable actions, complete with instructions to help you get started. With more than 35 available actions, you can fetch info from songs, artists, charts, and profiles!

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/airscrobble/id1618366994

Great set of actions – I do hope Tomás considers grouping some of these actions under similar functions, however, as 35 is a bit hard to process.

View the post and get AirScrobble on the App Store.

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Automadon app provides dedicated Shortcuts actions for Mastodon »

From Automadon on Mastodon, back at the end of July:

Automadon is live in the App Store!

Unlock the power of Mastodon with custom Shortcuts actions. Explore the in-app gallery of sample shortcuts to get started and let us know what shortcuts you come up with!

Automadon has tons of actions for things like Posts, Timelines, Lists, Accounts, and Attachments – the set looks full of promising functionality similar to what I’ve partially built off the Mastodon API. However, I much prefer third-party developers build out dedicated actions rather than having to do all this work myself – I’m looking forward to trying these out.

If anyone wants to tackle Airtable for me next…

View the post and get Automadon on the App Store.

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OverPicture gives easy access to Picture-in-Picture on macOS, iOS, and iPadOS »

From Pedro José Periera Vieito on Mastodon last month:

Introducing OverPicture for iOS & iPadOS!

It supports all the features from the macOS version:

• Play any web video in Picture-In-Picture mode.

• Custom button in players like YouTube.

• Keyboard shortcut support!

Available on App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/overpicture-for-safari/id1188020834

Great little extension that lives right in your Safari toolbar on both desktop and mobile, and inside the YouTube player on web – you can also control it by pressing P while watching a video. Only $4.00 (at the time of writing).

View the post and get OverPicture on the App Store.

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Tesla app adds Shortcuts support for vehicle controls »

From Not A Tesla App (via The Verge):

The full list of supported vehicle controls include:

  • Bioweapon Defense Mode
  • Camp Mode
  • Defrost
  • Dog Mode
  • Precondition Vehicle
  • Set Seat Heater (seat position and heat level)
  • Set Temperature (choose climate temperature)
  • Vent Windows
  • Set Media Volume
  • Emissions Test
  • Close All Windows
  • Flash Lights
  • Honk Horn
  • Lock/Unlock
  • Open Frunk
  • Open/Close Charge Port
  • Open/Close Door (Model X)
  • Open/Close Rear Trunk
  • Sentry Mode
  • Set Charge Limit
  • Start/Stop Charging

Regardless of, well, ~everything~ associated with this, I am certainly jealous of any car owners who can automate their vehicle with Shortcuts.

Having just reviewed Apple’s documentation for how to Design great actions for Shortcuts, Siri, and Suggestions, these actions could use some improvement – actions like “Set __ Mode” or “Open ___” should be grouped under single actions using parameter relationships, not have individual actions per function.

View the original article.

 

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How to Pin Links in Apple Messages »

From John Gruber on Daring Fireball:

When you pin a link, you can refer back to it in the profile details for the contact(s) in that thread. That’s the popover you get by:

  • Tapping the user avatar in the center of the top navigation bar on iOS.
  • Clicking the “i”-in-circle Info button on MacOS.

Scroll down in that popover and there’s a section for pins, right above the section showing all photos in the conversation.

Gruber goes on with a few updates to the post to explain all the oddities with how the feature is currently implemented – the feature is a good idea in theory, though.

View the linked post on Daring Fireball and read the original piece on AppleInsider.

 

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How to transfer data from Google Maps to Apple Maps »

From Justin Pot for Popular Science:

The problem, if you’re a longtime Google Maps user, is all of the places you’ve saved in Google Maps over the years. These pinned locations come in handy, and switching to another map program often means starting over. Jumping from Google to Apple Maps would be a lot easier if there were a way to grab all your pinned places and take them with you. There is, it turns out, but it’s not exactly straightforward. The process will technically work on an iPhone or iPad, but I recommend you do it on a Mac, if possible.

Spoiler alert: he uses Shortcuts to process the JSON from Google Takeout – what a great idea.

Read the full article to get the shortcut and see the original Reddit thread.

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Apps

QReate lets you create stunning QR codes on Mac »

From @polpielladev on Mastodon:

App launch day!

Today I am releasing my first-ever solo app on the App Store: QReate. A native and fast QR code editor to make stunning QR codes

To celebrate the launch, I have set a special reduced price of £2.99 for the next two weeks!

https://www.getqreate.app/

Looks like a handy resource for generating custom QR codes – I like the ability to add your own icon in the center.

View the post on Mastodon and get QReate on the Mac App Store.

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Apps

Rogue Amoeba shares test releases for macOS 14 »

From Rogue Amoeba on Mastodon:

Testing MacOS 14? We’ve got test releases:

 

Basics: https://rogueamoeba.com/support/knowled…

 

SoundSource users, click here: https://rogueamoeba.com/support/knowled…

I’m super glad to have access on the betas to SoundSource for manual control over volume from my audio interface, and Loopback for combining audio feeds while streaming – and I’ve been meaning to use Audio Hijack for my member podcast as well.

View the original post on Mastodon and read the main support article for details.

 

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How to change back to the old Twitter app icon on iOS »

From TechCrunch:

As our Twitter apps are updating to now be called “X,” you might long for the old blue bird logo. It harkens back to a similar time, when Twitter certainly had its issues, but at least it was not owned by Elon Musk. Thanks to the shortcuts app on iOS, we can kid ourselves into believing that Twitter is still being run by a different short-sighted billionaire, rather than this even shorter-sighted one. Lucky us!

Here’s how you can change your X icon back to Twitter again:

As I joked on Twi…er, X… “Who’d have thought the world’s primary use case for Shortcuts would be app icon replacement”?

Read the full article (h/t 9to5Mac and iMore).

P.S. I just so happened to publish a guide on this method a few days ago.

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Instapaper Adds App Shortcuts and New Actions

From the Instapaper blog:

Improved Siri, Search, and Shortcuts Integrations

We’ve launched a number of “intents” that improve Instapaper’s integration with Siri, Search, and Shortcuts.

For instance, you can open your most recent article by saying “Hey Siri, Open Last Article in Instapaper”. You can open a folder by saying “Her Siri, Open Folder in Instapaper”, and then saying the folder name when prompted.

For a full list of actions available, open the Shortcuts app, go to the App Shortcuts section, and tap Instapaper.

Instapaper is one of the first apps I’ve seen to implement their App Intents setup the way I figured Apple intended – make both App Shortcuts and corresponding actions, not one or the other.

Some improvements though – generate the options for “Open Folder” based on what’s in the user’s library, including a Folder option in Add Link, add more clarity around the use case for Open Article, and update the older Get Bookmarks action to work with App Intents & use the predicate filtering capabilities.

Read the full article.