Relatively unnoticed by the public, Apple has added new options to its Shortcuts script toolbox with recent updates to iOS and other operating systems. iOS 16.2 alone added several new features related to wallpapers and the Books app.
In a dedicated support document Apple now reports in detail about new and updated shortcuts. The Shortcuts app is available for iOS, iPadOS, macOS and watchOS. Users can create their own sequence of commands from the available actions for the system, Apple and third-party apps. For example, an icon on the home screen or a call to Siri can start a wake-up routine in the morning, which turns on the light via the Home app, calls up a favorite playlist via Apple Music and a HomePod, and sends a message. These action chains can also be triggered automatically at a specific time or at a specific location via automations. In 2017, Apple bought the iOS tool Workflow, on which the app, called Shortcuts, is based.
What’s new in iOS 16.2
In iOS 16.2 and the other current versions of the operating systems, there are new actions that can be used to open specific titles or play audio books in the Books app. The appearance of the book pages or turning the pages can now be automated. If it is not enough for you to automatically switch between certain background images with focus modes, you will find new actions that can be used to set them using shortcuts or to query the current image.
There are useful additions to the updated Actions such as retrieving whether the device is charging. Appointments in the calendar can be automatically confirmed or canceled. It is also helpful to be able to manually set the location of the parked car with a shortcut.
Toolbox grows every year
Already in iOS 16.1, Apple added new functions to the actions that can interact with the focus mode. In iOS 16.0, a number of commands for the Safari browser have been expanded, a mail search has been introduced and, among other things, functions for the notes app and voice memos have been added. This means that the toolbox has become significantly larger compared to iOS 15. To familiarize yourself with shortcuts, it’s worth taking a look into the user manual. In the app itself and on the internet there are also many already prepared shortcuts.
(mki)
