Image : Oli Scarff During WWDC 2018, Apple showed us a new trick with Siri in iOS 12: the ability to assign shortcuts. Instead of hoping Siri properly understands what you mean, you can assign a specific phrase (or even a word!) to a set of predetermined actions. Advertisement A simple phrase like “heading home” can cue Siri to text your roommate, start your favorite podcast, and open directions in Maps, all at once. Unfortunately, Apple’s standalone Shortcuts app isn’t in the iOS 12 public beta, but there are still some similar shortcut features Siri fans can play with. Setting up quick, single-action shortcuts in iOS 12 is easy. Just visit the Settings app. Under Siri & Search, look for the new Shortcuts section. You can’t miss it—it’s at the very top of the screen: Photo : Apple ( Screenshot ) Tapping the plus button on the right of the suggested shortcuts will allow you to set a phrase to carry out that action. (And you can tap on “More Shortcuts” to see more suggestions). Your choices are limited to what you’ve recently done on your phone, like sending a message to a specific contact or creating a calendar event, but they can get surprisingly specific: you’ll notice texting options include the body of the message and calendar options include an event name. If you find yourself frequently sending the same message (“sup”) or creating the same kinds of calendar appointments, Siri shortcuts can save you some typing time. Gif : Screenshot ( Apple ) You can also combine shortcuts with typing to get even crazier. In the Settings app, under General > Accessibility > Siri, you’ll see an option for Type to Siri. Now, when you hold the home button, a keyboard will appear, and you can send Siri a query with the same ease as firing off a text. Gif : Apple ( Screenshot ) Advertisement Because you can assign multiple shortcuts to carry out the same action, you can give your favorite shortcuts two options: the phrase you say out loud and the keyword you can quickly type out. Advertisement This method works with apps beyond Messages. You can use shortcuts to quickly open a specific webpage in Safari, set a certain reminder, or start a timer. Most third-party apps aren’t available in the shortcuts section just yet, but Siri does currently play nice with Workflow (the app Apple acquired in 2017, which is now free). Unlike Siri shortcuts in the iOS 12 beta, Workflow actions do work with some third-party apps. The workflows you create will show up in the Siri shortcuts menu in Settings when you’re ready to assign them a code word.<doc-sep>Shortcuts is a hotly anticipated iOS 12 app that lets users create powerful macros built on the lattice of Workflow, the automation app Apple acquired not long ago. With an invite-only beta now live, AppleInsider takes a look at how the application works, how to create your own shortcuts, and how to invoke them via Siri. Walkthrough When launching the app for the first time, users are presented with a basic card-based user interface that will undoubtedly make Workflow users feel right at home. Both the layout and colorful design are pulled directly from the existing Workflow app. What's more, all existing workflows will be ported over to Shortcuts when launched. Currently, the UI is split into two tabs — your library and the shortcut gallery. Your library houses any shortcuts that you have created or saved, and the gallery is a collection of prepackaged shortcuts that you can peruse, download and customize. Chances are, most users will simply venture into the gallery to find new shortcuts and save them rather than creating new macros from scratch, but we recommend experimenting once the app is released. Speaking of creating shortcuts from scratch, that can be easily done directly from the library, either with the Create Shortcut card at the bottom, or via the + button on the top right. Actions can be added from the provided list as different steps in the shortcut. Shortcuts, in general, can range from the simple (like performing a search), to a complex series of actions (like running several actions when you are on your way home). To make it a bit easier, when searching for actions to add, Shortcuts gives you quick access to your favorites, helpful Siri suggestions, and scripting right up top. Below, are different content types and different apps that offer support for each command. The list is quite long and when it comes to digging into scripting things can get seriously complicated. Simplify common tasks Really, the extent of shortcuts is limited to your imagination. As a starting point, the gallery tab has many handy recommendations. Some shortcuts are useful in the Share Sheet, but we found a few particularly useful when paired with Siri: Share Location: This finds your current location, creates a Maps link, then puts it into a message, ready to share. Browse Top News: Gives you a list of (customizable) news organizations, then launches Safari to read latest news. Directions to Next Event: Automatically finds your next calendar appointment and gets directions in Maps. Heading Home: Able to get directions home, text your spouse you're on the way, sets the thermostat, and gives you a summary with your ETA. Some functionality is missing in the first release of Shortcuts, such as the ability to integrate with HomeKit. Once this is added, even more opportunities will be opened up. After release, third-party apps will be able to get in on the fun. For instance, a Siri shortcut can be used to find your keys with a Tile Bluetooth tracker attached, your pet could be fed with a smart pet feeder, or your car can be started using the Ford Sync app. Just ask Siri Adding to Siri is a bit hidden, buried below levels of menus. Instead of being presented upfront, you must first choose a shortcut, tap on the sliders in the top right corner, then tap on Add to Siri. Here, a simple phrase can be chosen to invoke the shortcut when conversing with Siri. Shortcuts can also be added to Siri via the Settings app, under Siri and Search though options are a bit more limited in that scenario. It is, however, a great place to view all of your existing Siri Shortcuts. Availability Apple announced Shortcuts during their annual developer convention in June. Currently, Shortcuts is limited to developers and just launched in the form of a limited Testflight beta on Thursday. A full release is expected this fall alongside iOS 12.<doc-sep>Developers can now request access to an early version of Apple's Shortcuts app, which lets iOS 12 owners create custom automations triggered through Siri. Access is restricted to developers only, and people accepted for testing must install the app through TestFlight. In release notes, Apple cautions that "limited actions" are currently available, and won't sync via iCloud. In fact the Shortcuts beta has several known issues, others being that some actions won't appear when running custom shortcuts in Siri, and it can't yet open apps when a device is locked. Apple also notes that shortcuts provided to the INVoiceShortcutCenter suggested shortcuts API are not available when viewing an app's actions in Shortcuts. Apple issued a second public beta of iOS 12 earlier on Thursday. The promise of Shortcuts is the expansion of automation beyond HomeKit to every aspect of iOS, so long as developers enable hooks in their own titles. During Apple's WWDC keynote in June, the company used the example of a custom "I'm heading home" phrase for Siri, which automatically texted a contact with a preset message, adjusted a HomeKit thermostat, turned on a fan, presented estimated travel time, and started playing NPR. In iOS 11, this would require several separate commands.<doc-sep>Apple last week introduced a beta version of the Siri Shortcuts app that's designed to let iOS 12 users create Workflow-style shortcuts and assign Siri commands to them, allowing a range of actions to be executed with voice-based requests. While the app is complex, powerful, and can be explored for hours without uncovering all that it can do, we thought we'd take a quick look at it in our latest YouTube video to give MacRumors readers an idea of what to expect from Siri Shortcuts when it launches this fall. play The Shortcuts app (and the Siri Shortcuts feature) is based on the Workflow app that Apple acquired in 2017 , so if you've used Workflow before, Siri Shortcuts and the dedicated Shortcuts app will be immediately familiar to you. Shortcuts allows you to create multi-step customizable workflows that can use first-party apps, third-party apps, and Apple services and settings, which ultimately leads to a huge number of possibilities for tasks that can be streamlined and simplified. While much of this was possible with Workflow, adding Siri to the mix makes it easier to execute your shortcuts. If you're unfamiliar with Shortcuts, the best way to describe the feature is through examples. You can create a "I'm going home" shortcut that sets the thermostat at a lower temperature using the Nest app, texts your roommate that you're on the way home from work, turns on the lights at home, and opens up the Maps app with directions to your house, with the entire action activated using Siri. Or, as Apple demonstrated during the WWDC keynote, you can make an "I'm going surfing" shortcut that uses a Siri command to get a surf report, display the current weather, calculate an estimated time of arrival to the beach, and prepare a reminder to put on sunscreen. Simpler shortcuts do things like turn a Live Photo into a GIF or surface photos you took a year ago. When you install the Shortcuts app, you'll see that it's already populated with a huge gallery of pre-created shortcut options, along with all of your previously created Workflow shortcuts if you regularly use Workflow. The Gallery section provides multiple suggestions on how shortcuts can be used, offering up options like "Home ETA," which shares how long it will take you to get home, "Photo Grid," which lets you select photos and organize them into a grid," "Log Day One Activity," which starts a new diary entry in the Day One app," and "Make Top 25 Playlist," which creates a playlist from your 25 most listened to songs. Shortcuts in the Gallery are organized in different sections like "Designed for Safari," "Share From Other Apps," "Essentials," "Morning Routine," "Explore Apple Music," "Stay Healthy," "Photography," "Do More Around the House," "On the Interweb," and much more, and there's a search option if you're looking for something specific. You can modify any of the shortcuts in the gallery to tailor them to your needs or you can create shortcuts from scratch. All of your shortcuts you download are stored in the Library tab, and if you tap the "+" button in this section, you can create new shortcuts. When making your own shortcuts, there are a huge range of actions and options to choose from, from both first and third-party apps. You can access actions from apps that include Health, Contacts, Calendar, Maps, Music, Photos, the web, and more, with these options set to expand over the course of the beta testing period as third-party apps begin implementing Shortcuts support. All of your shortcuts can be "Added to Siri," which assigns a personalized phrase to the shortcut. Going forward, the shortcut can then be activated using that particular Siri command. The Shortcuts app is limited to developers at the current time, and developers who have not signed up for the Shortcuts TestFlight beta can do so through the "Request" option available in the download section of the Apple Developer Center. It is not clear if Apple will expand the TestFlight beta to its public beta testing group, but expect the Shortcuts app to launch alongside iOS 12 this fall. What do you think of the new Shortcuts app and the Siri Shortcuts feature in iOS 12? Let us know in the comments.<doc-sep>
Apple today introduced a beta version of the Siri Shortcuts app that's been designed for iOS 12, which developers can request access to through the Developer Center. The Shortcuts beta is being handled through TestFlight, with a "Request" option for access available after logging in to the Developer Center. After clicking the button to request access, Apple says selected users will be notified shortly via email if they're permitted access. Siri Shortcuts is based on the Workflow app that Apple purchased in 2017, allowing users to create multi-step shortcuts using third-party apps, which can then be activated using a Siri voice command. So, for example, you can create a shortcut to do something like turn on the thermostat at home using the Nest app, text your roommate that you're on the way with Messages, and open up the Maps app with directions home all with a single "I'm going home" Siri command. Shortcuts are deeply customizable, with third-party apps able to expose a series of quick actions to Siri that can be incorporated into Shortcut recipes. When iOS 12 was introduced, Apple said a Shortcuts app would be available in the fall, but it wasn't clear if a beta version would be available. Right now, in the iOS 12 beta, a limited number of Shortcuts can be created within the Siri section of the Settings app, but the Shortcuts app will be required for full functionality. According to Apple, the initial beta of Shortcuts will have limited actions, no iCloud syncing, and some missing actions. Shortcuts are also not able to open apps when run from Siri when a device is locked. Testers who have Workflow installed will see their workflows migrated to shortcuts after installing the beta. It's not clear if Apple will also release a beta version of the Shortcuts app for public beta testers, but this first iteration is limited to developers.