Shortcuts 4+

It’s good to see a user interface that allows interaction with Apps.

I use it extensively in conjunction with reminders to keep track of events and timers. Especially the ability to add fixed intervals to the current time when setting reminders for 6 hours time, 24 hours time, etc.

These work well in slide-over mode. In my use case the main App is full screen and I can swipe from the side to bring up the shortcuts buttons in a two column list allowing me to easily tap on the appropriate button. Here the options in icons and tile colours help in finding the right shortcut quickly.

I find programming tricky on the iPad it’s much easier to create a shortcut on an iMac and use on the iPad. The big frustration here is they’re not the same. Some automations work on one platform and not the other.

The range of things you can do is somewhat limited. This is not a fully capable programming language. In addition there are restrictions as to how much input you can give to an App. Both these areas leave room for future development to make Shortcuts more useful.

For example I’d like to be able to read a string of characters and then parse it. That would be better than using several prompts in succession.

Sorry to say this on this app but I didn’t know how I was gonna tell you but anyways you should have a speak app and siri should play more games and should have 2021 old voice now emojis for smileys and people should be a two headed man/woman/person pirate man/woman/person hand making a gun shape robber man/woman/person leprechaun hat pirate hat astronaut helmet skeleton body clown man/woman/person alien whole body giant man/woman/person now animals and nature snowball mythical creatures yeti leprechaun Loch Ness monster werewolf bear polar bear panda koala bear wasp alpaca hare garden gnome food and drink champagne glass filled glass of water glass of orange juice guava ice cream with flake worm eating apple green/red now onto activity board game gun shooting man/woman/person diving man/woman/person cannonball man/woman/person now travel and places caravan Big Ben Pirate ship haunted house gas station fast food place playground park continues tomorrow

The Shortcuts app is very powerful! Although I don’t use it, I have seen countless videos showcasing what it is capable of and it can do some impressive stuff! For example, you can run an automation where every time you plug your iPhone into power, your wallpaper can change. This is really cool! However, I do find this app a bit complicated to use. I feel like users who are knew to it wouldn’t know how to use it. Perhaps Apple could make it slightly simpler and more intuitive? Nonetheless, Shortcuts is a great app and I strongly believe that it should be used by more users because it can significantly enhance your experience on your iPhone and iPad.