by 10 Ways To Automate Your Daily Activities With An iPhone. For an ecosystem that’s known for its stifling restrictions and walls or a walled off ecosystem. Or a system that is notoriously restrictive and walled off. The iPhone Shortcuts app was a an oasis of light -and likely something that has made Steve Jobs roll in his grave for having the guts to return control to the user. It began as an app for power users known as Workflow that Apple bought in 2017. It was then release as a pre-installed and native app with the release of iOS 12. Shortcuts is a visually-based scripting application that gives users with no programming skills a method of programming if-then tasks. Shortcuts isn’t the only one of its kind, and apps such as Tasker are available on Android for many years before. However, Shortcuts is dead simple to learn and use and is surprisingly effective If you’re aware of how to use it. It’s even better, users can make their own shortcuts available to benefit others to automate every element of their life.
The Shortcut application is split into two parts that are shortcuts and automations. Shortcuts are single-time actions that which you can start at any time. Automations are tri when certain conditions are satisfie. We’ve discussed some great shortcuts before however, today we’ll focus on shortcuts that can be useful for daily tasks. Here are ten ways to automate these tasks using the Shortcuts application.
Disclaimer on shortcuts
Shortcuts are great, but they also pose a danger. Since the shortcut is essentially a script and scripts could be programe to cause some serious damage when it is misused. Shortcuts can access most applications on your iPhone and can theoretically steal information from them and then send the data to another location. It’s not likely that hackers could take advantage of it to control you, and even compromise the security of your Apple ID, but better safer than sorry, isn’t it?
Be aware of the source you’re downloading from. You may think you’re downloading a shortcut, but it’s actually an executable that is infect. Make use of common sense. Avoid websites with ads that are shady as well as gaudy download links and everything that’s not protect by HTTPS. Find out from community members about the perfect shortcuts if you’re not sure. Subreddit r/shortcuts offers a wealth of posts and resources. All shortcuts that Apple promotes directly in an app or through iCloud have been thoroughly vetted and are very unlikely to cause problemshowever, it is never a bad idea to verify.
Always go through a shortcut’s settings before you execute it. Make sure to review the settings as fast as you can, just like it’s conditions of service. Examine URLs, or any instances where the shortcut might appear to be sending something via messages or emails. Check if it is able to access an app that should not. When you run the shortcut, pay attention to the requests for permissions that appear and block any that don’t appear to be right. A shortcut isn’t able to cause harm simply by being present in your Shortcuts library If you feel an uneasy feeling in your gut then delete it. You can never be too cautious.
SiriGPT: use ChatGPT to make verbal requests
ChatGPT will be integrate to the iPhone and will be integrated with Apple Intelligence in iOS 18. Two issues, however the first is that Apple Intelligence only goes into Beta in Fall 2024, but not an official release. Secondly all users with any iPhone 15 and below won’t be able to utilize it. SiriGPT is the second perfect option. Be aware that you must include credit in your account to enable API use. New accounts are provided with around $18 in free trial credits which expire after one month. If you do not have API credits SiriGPT can only give an empty text box.
To begin, get the API keys to Your ChatGPT account. Navigate to platform.openai.com/login and head to Your profile > User API keys > Create new secret key. Give the key an alias (SiriGPT) and set an “All” permissions, then copy that output. As of this writing the article, it appears that you will obtain these API keys through the application itself; instead, you’ll have to access them using your desktop.
Then, you can grab Then, grab the SiriGPT shortcut. On Shortcuts, in the Shortcuts app, click on the 3 dots in order to modify SiriGPT. paste your API code in the area that states “ADD API KEY HERE.” Hit Done. Click the shortcut to launch it. You’ll receive a prompt asking for permission. request asking you to let the shortcut make use of Speech Recognition. Hit Allow. You can ask it a question to be test; before you can answer it you must allow it to send the message to api.openai.com. Select “Always Allow” if you would like to repeat the test or else hit “Allow Once.” If you’ve got API credits available, you’ll be able to get an answer that is text-only with no chatbox interaction. It’s much quicker to reach out to ChatGPT over the original chat app particularly if you create the shortcut for the iPhone 15 Pro’s action button.
Automate your orientation lock
The majority of people turn off their screen orientation lock turned off in order to watch videos on, for instance, YouTube the screen automatically switches to landscape mode. This is annoying when switching to a different app and you’d like to keep in portrait mode. Turn your phone just a bit too far and you’re back to landscape mode. You have to bring up to the Control Center and switch the orientation switch. If you decide to switch back to landscape mode, you’ll have repeat the process. You’ll be able to see a very angry eye roll. There is an amazingly simple pair of automatizations that can allow you to never need to use the lock’s orientation again.
Click on the Automation tab within the Shortcuts application. You will make two different automations. First, press the plus button, and then type in “App.” Select all the apps you wish to be kept in landscape orientation. Then remove “Is Open” select. Select “Run Immediately.” Select “Next,” then search for “Set Orientation Lock.” Make sure to change “Toggle” to “Turn” and then select “Off” so when you launch any of these applications, the app will disable the orientation lock and your iPhone will switch to the landscape setting automatically. Hit “Done.”
In the second automation You will follow the same procedure, only with the settings reversed. Switch “Is Opened” to “Is Close,” and then change to change the “Turn” condition to “On.” If you quit these apps, it’ll switch the orientation lock on. It is important to note that this feature works excellent in the event that you keep the orientation lock on and allow the automations to modify the orientation lock. Sometimes, switching between apps can result in issues however, once you have established these automations it’s almost impossible to ignore the need to adjust your orientation lock.
Set reminders for battery levels
Are you one of the individuals who seem to ignore your battery until you receive the low-power warning? It’s not just annoying because you’ll need to search for an outlet, but it’s detrimental to your battery’s long-term health. One of the most common myths regarding batteries is that you’re okay to let your phone go to 0% without charging. Healthy batteries are at their desirable when it’s kept between 20 and percent — or between forty and eighty percent when you truly desire to keep it for the long haul. Therefore, to assure your battery is protected (and receive a warning before it gets depleted) create an automated system so that your phone can notify that you (out in loud) that it’s the time for charging.
There are two automate processes to be used to do this. Select the plus icon, then look on “Battery Level.” Make it “Equals 20%” and select “Run Immediately.” Click Next, and then look to find “Speak Text.” The phone will speak the words you type loudly So, you can type the words such as “Phone needs to be charge.” Hit Done. Create another automated that’s the identical, with two options. Set the battery level to “Equals 80%” and change the spoken message in the text to “Phone is done charging.”
The phone will be able to notify you that it is time to plug in and then unplugged. If you’re not a big lover of having your words spoken loudly you can switch “Speak Text” to “Show Notification.” You’ll receive a pop-up with the text you prefer.
Water Eject: Make sure you keep your iPhone dry
Its Water Eject feature in the Apple Watch is an excellent feature to flush the device of water after swimming. It works by together a series of tones that vibrate and energetically shake. The liquid away so that audio and phone calls aren’t block. The feature isn’t available in the iPhone. The iPhone is water-proof (provided you have a model of 7 or higher) however, even if you’re not swimming with it, this feature can be beneficial when you’re walking through the rain, or spilled a drink onto the device. In such situations it’s Water Eject’s shortcut Water Eject shortcut saves the day.
Get the download shortcut on iCloud. Press it to start. You’ll have to press “Start” on the prompt which appears, and then select an intensity setting (this will only alter the duration the tone will play for). Once the tone has been play, you’ll hear an euphoric chime. Voila! Within a matter of minutes your iPhone should be free of water. The shortcut will load the URL to Wikipedia commons after it has finished however, don’t worry that this is only to display the water icon when it displays its message of completion.
If you’d like to, you can enable the shortcut to be voice activate. You can tell Siri “water eject” and the same prompts will be display. If you’re finding yourself frequently wet (we will not ask you why) make sure to include. It on your home screen to make it easier for access. Click 3 dots in order to change the shortcut and then press the dropdown arrow beside Water Eject at the top and choose “Add to Home Screen.” This is possible for any shortcut that are mentioned in the article.
Amazon Tracker: check Amazon price history
If you’re a frequent buyer through Amazon (who isn’t these times?) You know that it’s a sin to purchase something without reviewing the history of its price. A quick look at camelcamelcamel.com typically will show that. If one waits for the sale to end, you’ll get off a significant amount from the cost. However, the process is somewhat tedious, particularly when you’re together a tiny iPhone screen that doesn’t have a split screens. This makes it simple for you to paste and copy the URL from the app into Safari. Amazon Tracker makes this process simpler and quicker.
You can download it through iCloud. To get it, locate the product you wish to see on Amazon and then tap on the Share button. Press “More” to get to Apple’s share sheet. Let the shortcut copy and paste the URL from your clipboard. Select the service you wish to test the cost: Keepa Camlcamelcamel both simultaneously.
Let’s suppose you want to evaluate the two Keepa and camelcamelcamel at the same way. Select”Combined Charts” to select “Combined charts” feature. You’ll need to permit any URL to open (the shortcut will draw data from both Keepa and camelcamelcamel independently). Once the shortcut is finished you’ll be present with an illustration of history of prices that you can zoom and pinch to make it easier to compare. You can then save it or share it with your friends. It’s as simple to do that. Once you’ve mastered the art the process, you’ll find it quicker and more efficient than logging in using your computer.
SW-DLT: download YouTube video
In the meantime, YouTube continues to intensify its fight against blocking ads and the problem becomes more expensive, YouTube Premium is looking increasingly like a extortion scheme. If you’d like to view videos without ads (and online) and offline, then the SW-DLT application is an essential. All it requires is the open-source yt-dlp and gallery-dl to download video and customize options for choosing the quality of the video frame rate, frame rate as well as audio only. more. You will require downloading the app A-Shell mini to allow this to function.
Then download the shortcut using the iCloud link. Locate the YouTube video you would like to download, then click”Share. Scroll to “More” to access the Apple share sheet. Go to the SW-DLT. Following the initial prompt, you’ll be present with several options: “Download Video,” “Download Audio,” etc. We’ll pick “Download Video” for the purpose of this post. You are able to select any quality video you wish however SW-DLT suggests going default as this will automatically choose the accurate audio and video quality.
Then, you can allow the shortcut to open A-Shell mini application. The terminal will take care of the downloading process on your behalf So sit back and take a break. It will redirect your to Shortcuts application once it’s complete. Then, you’ll need to click Allow again, and then the video will be display ready to be downloaded. Since you’ll be bombarded with a half dozen prompts each time you click the shortcut. Make sure to tap whenever you can to speed up the process of subsequent downloads.
Super Low Battery Mode: squeeze some battery life
iPhone comes with a decent low-power feature, though it’s likely to save only a few percent at perfect. If you’re really looking for your phone to keep running, suggest either one of the two shortcuts such as Super-Low Battery mode v2.0 as well as Advanced Low Power Mode. The only thing they do is disable or reduce the most powerful settings on your phone, so you can draw the most juice you can — particularly when you won’t require these settings, for instance an outing to camp.
Super-Low Battery Mode v2.0 is the most simple and less disruptive choice. It shuts off or decreases the Wi-Fi connection, Bluetooth, screen brightness and media volume. It’s much simpler to use than Control Center Control Center and doing all of these things yourself. Advanced Low Power Mode is a battery saving tool with a swagger In order to make it work, follow the instructions of the creator. You’ll have to disable the opportunity to have an always-on display (if you already have one) and set up several automations following beginning the setup process. The creator of the shortcut, u/Secret-Access9909 states, “there are plenty of ‘low power mode’ shortcuts out there, but so far, from my own experience, this shortcut is objectively the excellent out of all of them.” That’s sufficient for now.
If you’re extremely concerned about the battery life, you can go even more. Consider with Fast Charge Mode which also blocks a variety of features that consume power so your phone will charge just little quicker. Charge Time can benefit in certain circumstances. It calculates on its own the time it takes for your device to be charge based on the current state of charge.
DND Until I Leave Disable the do not disturb feature after leaving the location
The iPhone’s focus modes are fantastic and none more so as Do Not Disturb. Just one click and you’ll no be receiving phone messages or any other notifications which is a double-edged weapon when the notification turns out to be crucial. The most important thing you’d like to avoid to happen is for an emergency phone call to be delaye because you didn’t switch off the Do Not Disturb to off. Do Not Disturb Until I Leave does exactly what it says on the label when it is time to go from your place Do Not Disturb can be turned off.
It is available for download from iCloud. You can look up the shortcut’s program to see how easy the script has to be “Turn Do Not Disturb On until I Leave.” That’s it. It retrieves your information from your phone rather than an app or an online service that you do not trust.
It’s a great option for people who have to travel from place to place during the day. If you’re having a meeting at the meeting room. You can activate DND Until I Leave as it begins, and be assured that the focus mode will turn turn off when you return to your desk in the hallway. The only drawback (or possibly positive) is that you have to take more steps than simply moving across the room. As I’ve tested it there was more than moving to a different room before the shortcut was activated.
Network Tool: quickly identify problems with your network
iPhone does not come with any tools for troubleshooting networks built-in to it. It is possible to download an application however, you’d need to be able to trust a third-party developer you may not be able to believe in. Instead, protect your privacy while identifying basic network issues in a matter of moments using Network Tool. Network Tool. It will give information on the Wi-Fi networks you’re connect as well as examine your speed, check the ping, and much more. You can download it through iCloud.
The only issue with the shortcut, is that it will ask to know your name the first time it’s run; it’s not clear what the reason is however there’s nothing to doubt about in this case since the information isn’t going to be sent to anyone. You can just type your name in any text you want and you’ll be good. Also, keep in mind that when you perform an online speed test or testing ping, it’s dependent on fast.com and google.com for both. The application also makes use of ip-api.com when you choose Advanced Information Lookup, or the physical IP location map. If you are not comfortable regarding these providers, this option might not be the excellent choice for you.
Social Media Detox Extreme: Stay focused when working
The focus modes of your iPhone can do an excellent job of blocking distracting notifications whenever you’re working however, they aren’t able to prevent you from using addicting Social Media apps. This is the point where Social Media Detox Extreme comes into. When you launch an app isn’t one you should be using the shortcut immediately closes it according to the times you have set also. The application will (in some sort of in a passive way) provide suggestions on the things you should do at that particular time of the day. For instance, avoiding Twitter (cough, cough, X) during the time from 8 p.m. between 8 and 9 p.m. that’s the time that you set aside to write that perfect American novel you’ve put off.
For maximum functionality You’ll be required to set up an automate process that will trigger the shortcut each time you start these applications. Also, you’ll need to alter the off-work break settings in the instances you’re allow to have a small portion of doom scroll. The only drawback is that it can’t prevent you from opening these apps completely; however, it is possible to deactivate or erase it at any point. However, it’s a great way to keep yourself from constantly opening applications.
Q&A
How can you automate things on the iPhone?
Enable an automation
- On the Shortcuts app on your iOS or iPadOS device Tap Automation .
- Click the automation you would like to turn on.
- Turn on Enable This Automation.
- Tap Done. If the trigger is triggered, the automated will start or will require for you to run it according to the setting you select in the next step below.
How do you create a routine with iPhone?
Manage Routines
- For your iPhone or iPad launch or launch the Google Assistant app .
- In the upper right corner click on your profile photo or your initial. Routines.
- Select the Routine that you want to modify.
- Change your Routine. To change an action or a starter you need to tap. To add a voice-command starter tap Add starter. …
- On the right side on the right, click Save.
How do I automate tapping on an iPhone?
Turn on Auto Tap at Settings > Accessibility > Switch Control > Tap Behavior > Auto Tap. Once you have turned to Auto Tap, you can choose an item and then wait until an Auto Tap interval to finish. Install a switch that will make the tap gesture settings > accessibility > switch control Switches.
