Get started with Shortcuts and learn how to create a range of powerful workflows that will simplify your life

Written by Alex Blake

T here are a lot of things we do on our devices that take longer than we would like them to. With the Shortcuts app, though, that no longer needs to be the case. The app is preinstalled on your iPhone (and iPad) and makes complex tasks as simple as can be.

In this guide, we will show you some of the most useful ways you can use Shortcuts to improve your life. Best of all, they are far easier to use than you might have imagined. Let’s dive in.

Get started with the Shortcuts app

Find your way around Apple’s powerful workflows

Shortcuts lets you create workflows that do tasks at the touch of a button or the sound of your voice. Instead of jumping from app to app inputting commands, you can let Shortcuts get on with it and shoulder the burden.

A shortcut is made up of building blocks, each of which carries out a single task. These blocks are linked together to create a workflow, displayed as a flowchart. Blocks can be reordered by dragging them to a new place in the workflow. Give your shortcut a name and you can use that phrase to activate it with Siri.

When you first open the Shortcuts app, you will see pre-created shortcuts ready to be used. Below them are some simple starter shortcuts. Along the bottom of the app are tabs for My Shortcuts, Automation and Gallery.

While standard shortcuts need to be launched, automations are automatic. They let you create workflows where everything is done for you when you leave work, arrive at the gym, or wake up in the morning, for example.

The Gallery tab, meanwhile, houses a vast array of ready-made shortcuts on all kinds of different topics, from workflows for your morning routine to tools for making music. Here you will also find Siri suggestions from your apps, which are based on how you use these apps and at what time.

> The Shortcuts Gallery contains a large range of pre-made shortcuts ready for you to try. Try them out to see how shortcuts work.

> Shortcuts can be as simple as you like. This quick workflow takes the most recent photo on your device and sends it to a defined contact.

> You can get seriously in-depth with Shortcuts, with variables and branching options that draw in external apps and more. It’s a powerful tool!

The power of variables

> Manual variables have no fixed input, instead taking their cues from the preceding steps. If you tell an app to find something, you can add a variable that records the results. Later in your workflow, you can add in these results by adding the variable.

Magic Variables automatically record your actions’ outputs so you don’t need to create specific variables for them. Add a Magic Variable and it shows all the outputs you can use.

Find things

Tired of looking things up? Get some helpers

One of the best ways you can use shortcuts is to help you find things. When done well, this can bring up helpful information in a few seconds that would ordinarily be a hassle to locate. That information can then be linked with other steps to create a more useful shortcut, or simply relayed back to you.