Shortcuts is an app created by Apple, it was announced in June 2018 and released in September 2018.
Apple acquired a company called Workflow which is also the name of their app. It was created by 4 people from Silicon Valley. They founded the company in 2014 or 2015, and many Apple users have been using it since. I think the closest example is “Scripts” in Mac. “Auto hot key” is also a scripting thing for windows, but I think it’s a bit different than Shortcuts.
Shortcuts saves time and adds additional functionality to Apple devices, giving them ability to do almost anything. You can even do full customisation of home screen with the help of this.
Shortcuts is basically a scripting app, which for the most part doesn’t require any coding experience. But it’s helpful and makes things go fast if you understand basic scripting (like “if then else”).
The fundamental reason I think shortcuts are even as successful as they are is because how easy it is to share them. There’s a subreddit called r/shortcuts, it is the biggest and most supportive community for shortcuts. You can share your shortcuts in the form of iCloud links, so anyone can download them and make changes.
How to run a shortcut:-
- Ask Siri.
- Run shortcuts from widgets.
- Go into the Shorcuts app.
- You can add them to your home screen and create an App icon.
- Automate them to run at a specific time, location, when a certain alarm rings, when you reach your car, when you turn on/off airplane mode or Wi-Fi or BT or DND or low power mode or when you open an app.
- Use NFC tags (you can even use your debit card as well as a NFC tag).
With iOS 13, Apple made it a default app and now the entire world has it. It is also integrated very deeply into iOS now. So now you can add tons of stuff with default iOS apps like reminders, notes, calendar, mail which isn’t possible with 3rd party app.
There are several shortcuts you can build:-
1. You can create a reminder’s shortcut where Siri will ask you which list you want to add your reminder to. You can add multiple reminders to multiple lists by just talking to Siri.
2. You can use it to make your tesla come out of your garage
3. Ordering same food from same restaurant or I think you can do different orders depending on the restaurant
4. You can give yourself an option to play music/podcast/call mom as soon as you sit in your car
5. To remind you to drink water as soon your Apple Watch detects that workout ended
6. give you an option to play podcasts/music as soon as the watch detects a workout started.
7. When your alarm rings, your lights can turn on.
8. Using NFC tags, you can directly turn on tv, open a specific app, open a specific tv show, just by tapping your phone on the tag.
9. If your car doesn’t have CarPlay or BT, you can use NFC tags for same.
10. You can transfer all your notes from the notes app into specific lists in reminders.
11. Setting a specific playback destination.
12. When you leave work, you can automatically message your partner that you have left with the ETA.
13. adding water or mindful minutes or log weight to the health app with any specific time and date.
14. Downloading YouTube videos into the photos app.
15. Set multiple alarms with intervals.
16. Photos related stuff.
17. Podcasts related stuff.
18. If you use a 3rd party camera app, you can set it in a way, that every time you open default camera from lock screen, the 3rd party open immediately.
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On the other hand, Siri Shortcuts is a framework more like an extension of the shortcuts app which third party apps can use to create shortcuts. if you download a new app, during the initial setup it will prompt to add a shortcut or there will an option in its settings. Since September 2018, apps have been offering this. This allows average users who have no programming experience to add shortcuts to their phones without any effort.
TechPlus 