Big iPhone shortcuts update is rife with new features you need to try

Apple has greatly improved its Shortcuts app in the latest iOS update, so you can do even more with custom iPhone macros.

The big story is “App Shortcuts”, which takes care of all the work of creating shortcuts, giving you immediate access to ready-made shortcuts that developers include in their apps. But that’s definitely not all you’ll find in iOS 16.

While I was hoping for more automation triggers and more complex scripting actions, shortcut updates in iOS 16 are still impressive. There are more actions for some of Apple’s core apps, a few design modifications, and some important additions to keep things tidy.

Many of the changes below are also coming to iPadOS 16 for iPad and macOS 13 Ventura for Mac, which are still in beta.

1. Run shortcuts via Siri without any setup

With the new App Intents API for iOS 16, developers can embed actions called “App Shortcuts”into their apps that you can start using right away with Siri, Shortcuts, and Spotlight.

Developers could include intents before, but you had to create a shortcut yourself to use it. Also, you could only use the shortcut through Siri, Shortcuts, and Spotlight using the specific name you gave it.

You can now use developer app intents without having to configure anything, and they are available as soon as you install the app. The App Intents API supports parameters and synonyms, so you may not even need to use a specific phrase to complete a task using Siri or Spotlight, making the process more natural.

Using Siri with App Intent for the Foodlapse app.

Apple gave a more complex example when it first introduced the App Intents API, showing what happens when you want to change a takeaway lunch order through a specific food app. In this scenario, you’ll ask Siri to “Reorder Delivery to [App Name]”, at which point Siri will present a summary of the order to get your final approval.

2. Use Spotlight to Launch App Shortcuts

As mentioned above, you can open Spotlight search to find and launch any shortcut you’ve created on your iPhone by name, but it’s even easier now. An automatically available app shortcut may appear when you search for an app in Spotlight or when you suggest an app. For example, you can start a timer or add a calendar event without even opening the corresponding apps.

3. “My Shortcuts”is now just “Shortcuts”.

Minor change: The Shortcuts app in iOS 16 changes the name of the My Shortcuts tab in the bottom navigation bar to Shortcuts, and the glyph is the same image on the Shortcuts app icon that used to be the Gallery tab glyph. (The name change also applies to iPadOS 16 in the sidebar.)

Apple made the replacement because it automatically adds new app shortcuts to the Shortcuts app. You don’t create them, so they can’t technically be called your shortcuts, but there’s a new My Shortcuts folder in the Shortcuts view.

4. View all available app shortcuts

To see what app shortcuts are available on your iPhone, open the new Shortcuts view to see the new App Shortcuts section. Tap an app’s name in the list to see all of its ready-to-use apps, then tap an action to launch the shortcut.

5. Quickly create an app shortcut

In the Application Shortcuts section of Shortcuts, instead of tapping to launch an activity, you can press and hold it or tap the ellipsis (•••) and select Use in New Shortcut to launch a new custom shortcut with the goal of being your first activity. You can then start adding and customizing actions to do what you want.

6. Don’t let app shortcuts work with Spotlight

You can also prevent an app’s shortcut from showing up in Spotlight searches with its long-press shortcuts or the ellipsis (•••) menu. Alternatively, you can also turn off “Spotlight”using the info button (i) on the app shortcuts page. By default, Spotlight is always active for every app shortcut.

7. Make app shortcuts work with Siri

Although app shortcuts automatically appear in Spotlight searches, they are disabled for Siri. To enable them, you can simply say a command to Siri. The first time you launch any app shortcut with Siri, Assistant will ask if you want to enable app shortcuts. Alternatively, you can also enable “Siri”using the information button (i) on the app shortcuts page.

8. Switch from Grid to List

I never liked the grid view in labels because it was impossible to find anything. The search bar definitely helps, but now there’s another option: list view. Tap the new grid icon and select List to open it.

9. Reorder lists by name, number of actions, or last modified

The list view is a good start, but it goes even deeper. Tap the list icon, and instead of just going back to the grid, you can sort the list by Name, Activity Count, or Last Modified.

10. Launch Shortcuts from Quick Actions

In the grid view, you can tap the shortcut card to launch it, or the ellipses (•••) to open the editor. But in list view, clicking on the shortcut opens the editor. In order to launch the shortcut, you must press and hold it and select “Run”from the quick actions.

11. Actions for apps grouped by category now

Like the Scripts section, most other apps have categories to help organize things. For example, the Calculator divides its operations into Math and Numbers. Contacts uses Contacts and Phone. The calendar uses calendar members and events. And the Music app uses Music, Play Nearby, and Playlists. And these are just a few that now have categories.

12. The title bar of each label is smaller in the editor

The title bar in each label editor is now much smaller and centered at the top. You can still click on the icon to change it, but you can’t click on the name to change it right away. Instead, click the drop-down arrow and select Rename. It’s an extra push to do what you pretty much need to do, so it’s a bummer.

But there are also other options in the dropdown, such as “Choose Icon”if you don’t want to click on the icon itself; “Share”, “Duplicate”and “Move”, which are quick actions when you long press a shortcut in grid or list view; “Add to home screen;”and Export File.

The export option allows you to share the shortcut as a file that can be used by anyone or only people who know you. Previously, you could only do this by selecting “Share”from the shortcut’s quick actions, clicking “Options”and using “File.”

13. Shortcut details icon changed

Previously, when editing a shortcut, you could tap the settings icon to open Details, Privacy, and Settings options. With the new header line, this no longer exists. Instead, click the info button (i) on the editor toolbar. Alternatively, you can long press on a grid or list view shortcut and select “Details”from the quick actions that were previously available.

14. You Can Hide Next Action Suggestions

There is now an arrow icon in the editor next to “Suggestions for next steps”so you can hide them if you never use them. It doesn’t seem to remember your preferences as they reappear each time you open the editor.

15. Icon Picker Loses Tab Design

When selecting an icon for a shortcut in older versions, the icon picker will have Color and Glyph tabs. Labels have now abandoned tabs for scroll view, where colors are at the top and glyphs are below them.

16. You can search for glyphs by name

In the icon picker, a more useful addition is the search bar for glyphs, now called symbols. Instead of looking through the icons each time looking for something you’re not sure exists, you can try searching for a few keywords.

17. Minor glyph design changes

There are a few minor character changes in the icon picker. For example, the screens of the iPhone and iPad are no longer transparent, but gray, and women in a dress are nowhere to be seen.

18. Click “Done”instead of “X”to exit the editor.

After editing the shortcut, you now click “done”instead of the (X) symbol, bringing it in line with most other Apple apps.

19. There are 3 more actions in the settings

• Set color filters
• Installing Live Subtitles (Beta)
• Launch Apple Watch Remote Screen

20. Mail has 3 more actions

• Open mailbox
• Search by mail
• Set mail focus filter

21. There are 3 more actions in Maps

• Get detailed information about a parked car
• Get the location of a parked car
• Set parked car

There are also a few minor name changes for Maps:

• The “Show Routes”action for Maps is now “Open Routes”.
• The “Show on Maps”action for Maps is now “Open on Maps”.

22. Messages have 1 new action

• Set message focus filter

23. There are 14 more actions in the notes

• Add tags to notes
• Change note settings
• Create a folder
• Create tag
• Delete folders
• Delete Notes
• Delete tags
• Move Notes to Folder
• Open folder
• Open a Notes account
• Open Notes View
• Open tag
• Contact notes
• Remove tags from notes

There are also a few minor name changes for Notes:

• The “Show Note”action for notes is now “Open Note”.
• The “Show Notes Folder”action for Notes is now “Open Folder”.

24. Reminders have 2 more actions

• Create list
• Search in Reminders

There is also one minor name change for reminders:

• The “Show Reminder List”action for Reminders is now “Open Reminder List”.

25. There are 15 more actions in Safari

• close tab
• Create a new private tab
• Create new tab
• Create a tab group
• Find Bookmarks
• Find Reading List Items
• Find tab groups
• Find tabs
• Open bookmark
• Open Reading List Item
• Open tab
• Open tab group
• open view
• Install Safari Focus Filter
• Show/Hide Reader in Safari

There is also one minor name change for Safari:

• The Show Web Page action for Safari is now called Show Web View.

26. Shortcuts have 4 more actions

• Create Shortcut
• Remove shortcuts
• Open folder

27. Voice memos have 9 more actions

• Change playback settings
• Create a folder
• Create entry
• Delete folders
• Delete entries
• Open folder
• Play Recording
• Search for voice memos
• Select an entry

28. There’s More Action

In addition to the above applications, there are a few more actions worth mentioning:

• Set personal hotspot (script)
• Remove image background (media)
• PDF File Size Optimization (Documents)
• Set calendar focus filter (Calendar)
• Open tab (Clock app)
• Searching for files (Files app)

And another name change:

• The “Show in Calendar”action for the calendar is now “Open in Calendar”.

29. New icon for the Calendar app

The Calendar app icon in shortcuts now displays the current date instead of a calendar image. This corresponds to the application icon on the home screen.

Can we see more updates soon?

Previously, the only Apple Books actions were Add PDF to Books and Play, but older iOS 16 beta also had Change Theme, Open Book, Open Collection, Open Tab, Edit text size, book search, and toggle. Page. They were removed in the final version of iOS 16, but we may see them soon. The Messages app also had a Delete Messages action that wasn’t cut, and Shortcuts had search shortcuts that are now missing.