One of the reasons we absolutely love Apple products is how easy and efficient they make their interfaces and when you can streamline how you use your phone it’s even better. If you’re looking for the key to multitasking and creating an iPhone user experience that is customized to you, you should definitely be using the Shortcuts. Lucky for you, we’ve rounded up some of the coolest, most convenient, and best Siri Shortcuts that you should be using to make your iPhone work for you.
First things first, how do Shortcuts work exactly? Shortcuts integrate with Siri, you can ask Siri to run any Shortcut that you’ve installed. To get Siri to run a Shortcut, you have to summon her (like a ghost). Say “Hey Siri,” and then say the name on the Shortcut that you’ve made.
To install any of the shortcuts we’ll be explaining below simply search for them in your Shortcuts app Gallery search bar. Once you’re viewing it you can tap “Get Shortcut” in the blue bar towards the bottom of the screen.
For some Shortcuts you’ll need to fine-tune a pre-existing Shortcut for a specific task that you want to be able to do quickly. It’s all very customizable and might take a little experimenting on your part! Now, onto the good stuff.
Speed Dial
This is a great place to start, you can put a speed dial icon Shortcut directly on your home screen. Call your bae (or just your favorite person) with just a tap of a button. Plus, you can customize the icon to be your best or most embarrassing photo of them!
Share Location
This is an amazing feature to have enabled in terms of safety! Ask Siri to share your location, and she will send it to the contact you choose in a message. We’re just trying to keep you safe, just call us local heroes.
Directions Home
Just add in your home address and this Shortcut will start “Directions Home” from wherever you are to get you home safely. This is the type of convenience we live for.
Say Cheese
Group photos just got easier now that you can take hands free photos with this Shortcut. Once installed, say “Hey Siri, Say Cheese” and your phone will automatically snap a picture.
Walk to a Coffee Shop
This Shortcut is designed to give you walking directions to the nearest coffee shop wherever you are, but you can set it up to give you directions to any kind of shop or restaurant. This is a great one for when you’re looking for that caffeine fix in a new city (we've all been there.)
Running Late
This is for all our people who are never on time and never fail to send that “OMW” text. This Shortcut can alert a contact via messaging that you're running late and using the Maps App and your current location, inform them of when you should arrive!
Do not Disturb Timer
Never fumble around in your settings to turn on your Do Not Disturb again. Just get Siri to activate it with this Shortcut and it will start for a set period of time. This is great for getting a bunch of studying or work done without distractions.
Intelligent Power
If your battery is running low just ask Siri to activate “Intelligent Power” in order to reduce your phone’s battery usage until you can get to a charger.
Shoot a GIF
Create your own GIFs whenever you like with this fun little Shortcut. You can choose how many frames you want to capture and how long you want each photo to display, then use the front or back camera to create your slideshow and share your new GIF to all your social platforms straightaway.
Make a Top 25 Playlist
If you’ve ever just needed your favorite tunes quickly, this is the Shortcut for you. This widget analyzes which tunes you've listened to most in your Music app recently and automatically creates a playlist of what is presumably your current top tracks.
Wake Apple TV
This one is a life-saver if you can’t find that tiny Apple TV remote or are just too lazy to move from your comfy couch. If the television that the Apple TV is connected to supports HDMI-CEC connectivity (and most do) then this shortcut will turn on both your Apple TV and your TV as well!
Calculate Tip
For anyone who struggles to do math at the end of a good meal this Shortcut is perfect for you. Enter the amount of the check and this Shortcut tells you the tip amount and what the new total will be. Never feel like you’re leaving the wrong amount of money again!
Home ETA
Let your roommates or partner know when you’ll be home with this one! Home ETA looks at your current location, sees how far away you are from your pre-loaded home address, and calculates how long it will take you to get home. Then it’ll send a pre-selected message to give them your ETA.
While some of these are more fun than practical, we think it’s pretty amazing to have little widgets that can automate actions for you. Some of them are fun, others can prove useful in day to day life, and some could even save your life. Once you’ve checked out all of the Shortcuts we’ve suggested you can browse for more by searching what you’d like the Shortcut to do in the app’s Gallery section.
Let us know if you find any more Shortcuts you think we should know about! If you have any questions feel free to reach out, we’re always here to help or chat.
