Shortcuts 4+

Shortcuts actions and automations can do a lot if you know how to use them, however the GUI (Graphical User Interface) is prone to crashes for no apparent reason, occasionally does not display correct variable names or show the proper end statements. The GUI was ok in 14, terrible in 15 and has greatly improved in 16 but still needs work. If you like being frustrated occasionally and solving puzzles to achieve your goals, then this app is for you. I have spent literally days trying to figure out issues and have submitted more than a few bug reports to Apple to have some get fixed and other to still be broken after two years. As a retired IT guy I can say this is the worse programing GUI I have ever experienced, but it has improve and Apple continues to add new capabilities via new actions in each release. I have hope Apple will achieve five stars, I only wish Apple would put more effort and quality control in to it. Rating with four stars being very generous.

I have noticed a bunch of limitations to the shortcuts and automations. For instance, some automations require you to click a notification to run which defeats the purpose. I cannot simply have my device play music whenever it connects to my bluetooth headphones. Also, with the automations that do not require a button press, there will be a notification that the automation ran and while that’s annoying on its own, it also lingers for a good few seconds, blocking some buttons that reside on the top of the screen. Same for the shortcuts, although the shortcut notification doesn’t stay as long, it’s much bigger. I’ve made a shortcut which selects random pictures in any designated album and displays them. However, after I press the ‘done’ button, it doesn’t allow me to do anything for a second before the ‘shortcut has been completed’ notification has disappeared. In the app itself, I believe that adding a folder or tab which the function blocks could go under but still be activated, the point of this would be to help organization and decrease the amount of scrolling one would need to get to wherever they need. It would really help, especially in the longer shortcuts/automations. Overall, I’d like more functions and freedoms with the way the shortcuts and automations are configured and

I love the potential of this app. Customization and organization are very important to me. But the constant notification banners that pop down every time you open an app are absolutely maddening (a common complaint, from what I've seen.) I scoured forums and found a way to disable them for when I open a single app (although I really think there needs to be a simple, permanent option that doesn't require screen time and running an automation) but I still get a banner every time I select an app option from a menu. (Especially frustrating considering I'd like to pair multiple camera apps in a menu together under one icon, but the banner freezes the camera screen for a full few seconds making it impossible to snap a quick photo.) Also, it would be great if we could choose custom photos for shortcuts added to widgets like we can for shortcuts added to the home screen. Lastly, if possible, it would be lovely to have notification badges display on the shortcut icons like they do on the originals, so I can customize my mail and messages apps and still be able to see the number of new emails and texts. Thank you for taking the time to read this and (hopefully) take this into consideration for future updates!