On Friday, April 12, on the The MacRumors Show podcast, I had the pleasure of joining hosts Dan Barbera and Hartley Charlton to talk about Shortcuts and what could happen with App Intents at WWDC:
Matthew Cassinelli, one of the minds behind Workflow, joins us on this week’s episode of The MacRumors Show to talk Apple Shortcuts and potential improvements and AI features coming to the app in iOS 18. Workflow was a unique iOS app that allowed users to create macros for executing specific sequential tasks on their device. In 2017, Apple acquired Workflow and, the following year, it was rebranded as “Shortcuts.” Shortcuts have since become a key part of Apple’s ecosystem and can be used for a huge range of powerful, automated actions. Matthew was present at Workflow throughout its transition to Apple and now offers his own library of complex Shortcuts, which you can access over on his website.
Last year, a report from The Information claimed that iOS 18 will introduce some major AI features to Siri and the Shortcuts app. Apple apparently wants Siri to be able to help users automate complex, multi-step tasks with voice-based commands and have much deeper integration with Shortcuts, such as by potentially helping users build them. We break down Apple Shortcuts for beginners and look at some of the many use-cases for the app, as well as consider where it could go next with AI.
With the help of the Apple Support website, users can find a lot of information about the Apple devices they own. This includes things like technical specifications, guides, and support articles. However, all this information used to be spread across multiple pages – but Apple is changing that with a new “Documentation” page.
Smart Profiles are the key way I’m using Stream Deck with Shortcuts – with profiles for most of my apps, I can always access my shortcuts when I open the app on my Mac.
Smart Profiles work on all Stream Decks, but I also use them for the Pedal as they show in the video – when Safari is open, I can tap the left or right bumpers with my foot to switch tabs. ?
I have both the Stream Deck XL and Stream Deck Mini, and both are fantastic purpose-driven designs. The big one is best for having all your buttons visible, while the mini is best for having the right buttons nearby.
I have all my main commands spread out on the XL, but always have the mute switch, scene switcher, or media controls on the Mini ready to go.
Learn how to build 15 iPhone Shortcuts, inspired by YOU. Automatically play music when an alarm is snoozed, schedule a text to auto-send, make your screenshots look pro, and more.
Stephen continues his Shortcuts series on YouTube by building shortcuts off listener requests – a great watch as always.
Today, alongside the announcement for WWDC’24, Apple revealed their Apple Developer channel on YouTube where they’re now publicly hosting developer videos, starting with everything released from WWDC’23.
Previously, videos were only available Apple’s own website or Developer apps, limiting the potential reach to folks who’d already heard of it – now YouTube users can freely discover and watch Apple developer videos to learn about building for their platforms.
As of writing, there are 40 videos uploaded – so it’s not the complete set from WWDC’23 (yet?) and as such I unfortunately can’t find any Shortcuts-related videos. Once more are uploaded, and folks tune in after WWDC’24, it’ll be super interesting to see view counts and comments on these videos – we’ll be able to see what’s more popular/interesting to folks, as well as check on common questions in the comments.
Plus, for the intrepid Shortcuts user, all of YouTube’s RSS or URL functionality is now available for Apple Developer videos – I’ll be able to scrape the title, thumbnail, and descriptions to make quick embeds on my website, for example ?.
Living in a house, or even an apartment or condo, as an adult, requires periodic maintenance tasks, like cleaning the bathroom, changing your sheets, replacing the furnace filter, etc. A lot of these tasks should ideally be done on a regular schedule, like changing your sheets every two weeks, or your furnace filter every 3 months for example.
I’m sure a lot of people just kind of mentally keep track of this kind of stuff, but I’ve never really trusted my own memory on it. And I don’t like the idea of a room being dirty serving as my reminder to clean it. I’d ideally like to clean it before it gets too dirty.
So to keep up-to-date on my household tasks, I need a way to help me with of the following:
How many days has it been since I did that task?
A reminder to do that task if it’s past the time it needs to be done.
Tom basically made the perfect solution I’ve been looking for using Reminders, Chronicling, and two custom shortcuts – well done.
Dive into the latest iOS 17.4 update with NEW Shortcuts actions for iPhone. Learn how to leverage new orientation and physical activity actions for enhanced device control and automation.
You can also set up control of the always-on display in the Shortcuts app – which offers Siri support:
Open the Shortcuts app
Tap the + in the top right corner
Choose Add Action
Use the search bar to find “Set Always On Display”
Tap the blue Turn or On buttons to customize what will happen when you run the Shortcut
Tap Done in the top right corner to add your new Shortcut
The article mentions using Focus modes to change the setting as well – you can also use Automations in Shortcuts combined with the action mentioned above.
We’re upgrading iA Writer’s integration with Apple Shortcuts today. With 18 built-in actions and 22 ready-made shortcuts, iA Writer 7.1 makes it easy to automate common tasks.
Apple TV+ has launched a limited time collection of movies to stream for free as part of your Apple TV+ subscription. The company has done this occasionally in the past to coincide with the themed release of new originals, but this is by far the biggest drop.
and:
The move is perhaps a sign that Apple continues to experiment and ponder whether it should expand beyond its ‘all originals’ strategy for its streaming service.
Here’s the full list in the new “Great Movies on Apple TV+” collection:
I’d love to this into a shortcut for my TV app folder, but the URL currently doesn’t redirect on iOS or iPadOS – I’ve filed it as Feedback to Apple as FB13668679.
Jason and Myke explore the rumors of AI enhancements to Siri and Spotlight in the upcoming release of iOS 18.
Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/qROj1S0DAEY
Subscribe to the podcast and support the show at https://relay.fm/upgrade
Great perspectives on AI, Siri, and the potential of the Spotlight brand – something I’ve been pondering as well the last few weeks.
Also, I really love that Jason and Myke are clipping out topics into full videos on YouTube now – I noticed it was much easier to link to this idea than a full episode, given that it already has a custom title, thumbnail, description, and start/stopping point.
There are quite a few new Shortcuts actions, so I’m going to list them all first before going into detail on several of them and how they could be used within the app:
Create scheduled posts
Get, reschedule, or delete scheduled posts
Send posts with media or poll attachments
Send replies to a specified post
Get the character limit of certain accounts
Split text for threading
Get, add, modify, or delete server-side filters linked to your Mastodon accounts
Get the post or profile currently displayed in the Mona app
Open the in-app post composer or search view
Adjust settings for video autoplay
Get and set image caption (e.g., combining with a third-party caption-generating action)
Get accessibility text of accounts or posts
Take a screenshot of a Mastodon post
Great set of options for Shortcuts users – I’ll definitely be testing Mona for scheduling posts.
Eek out every percentage of iPhone battery with these 10 Shortcuts and automations! From low power mode to adjusting brightness and disabling always-on display at critical battery levels, this video is your ultimate guide to extending your iPhone’s battery life.
In Stephen Robles’ “Inside My iPhone Setup” video on YouTube, starting at 3:15, he talks about using the Today view to store the Shortcuts widget:
Dive into my full iPhone setup tour for 2024, where I showcase customized Home and Lock Screens, Today View widgets, Shortcuts, Focus Modes, and filters for maximal productivity. If you’re curious about how to tailor your iPhone to fit your daily routine or have any setup questions, drop them below!
I agree that this is the best place to start out when using Shortcuts – it’s always available, even from the Lock Screen.
After 5 months of experimenting with the iPhone Action Button, I’ve settled on one daily use that stands out above the rest. Discover the top 3 alternate uses that almost made the cut and why simplicity won the day for my action button setup.
I mentioned this video on Clockwise this week – my usage has definitely changed. And, as a teaser, Apple is making more actions for Shortcuts in iOS 17.4 that make dynamic Action button shortcuts easier to create…
