Apple on Monday released iOS 16, the latest update to its Siri Shortcuts feature, this time making “App Shortcuts” available to users automatically when they install supported apps. App Shortcuts allows users to speak Shortcuts trigger phrases without any setup, which are now pre-generated and found in the Shortcuts app and act as pre-programmed Siri commands for whatever you want to do in that app.
As I wrote earlier this summer, App Shortcuts is Apple’s big bet on Siri, moving from the top-down model of defining “intents” into specific categories that Apple had to create in advance and map out a path for specific types of apps, that work with Siri. Now the App Intents feature that powers App Shortcuts gives developers control, defining every way their app can be used with Siri and automatically creating every permutation of that action as individual shortcuts for the user.
With iOS 16 now live (and our iOS 16 review ready for you, um, to check out) and developers releasing their app shortcuts into the wild, here’s how you can expect more Siri- See shortcuts and how best to take advantage of what’s possible.
App Shortcuts
The new app shortcuts are located in the Shortcuts app under the newly renamed Custom Shortcuts section and appear under the icons for apps that have supported the new APIs. If your app doesn’t support app shortcuts, make sure to request the feature from the developer directly.
Developers define the set of functions supported by app shortcuts, and each function can have multiple variations of the same term – in theory, this means you can say the same trigger phrase to Siri with different keywords, and ideally the app should have the right option have defined.
Each set of app shortcuts has a prompt to add the phrase to Siri, which is also available to toggle on and off under the information icon on the same screen.
Additionally, if you tap the “…” button on the shortcut, you can tap Use in new shortcut to add it as a custom shortcut, where you can add additional steps, change the name, and then place it in a widget .
Siri Tips
To discover your app shortcuts in the native app experience, Apple has also provided developers with Siri Tips that appear a bit unobtrusive at relevant moments, such as B. right after you physically perform the action used in the shortcut.
Developers can also set up custom pages in their app’s settings to show all of their shortcuts, as well as Apple’s provided stylized shortcuts button to link back to the app shortcuts page for that app.
You can also check what shortcuts are available in each app by asking Siri, “What can I do here?” and she will respond with the possible options.
Spotlight search
App shortcuts are also a stellar complement to Spotlight search, which itself is much more front and center since Apple replaced the home screen displays with a search box on the iPhone.
In iOS 16, individual shortcuts from an app’s app shortcuts show up in search results and occupy a small bar below the main app results – this gives iOS a command-line-like tool to type exact commands and press Enter to perform that action .
It’s now a Siri Shortcuts world
Whether you’re used to Siri or a Shortcuts user, it’s clear that Apple continues to support Siri Shortcuts as a system feature.
Not only has Shortcuts as a platform expanded to the Mac, but Apple has continued the original launch of Siri Shortcuts with a refined version that avoids upfront setup, integrates more natively with app experiences, and works much better overall with Siri.
It was actually quite confusing that Apple introduced the feature as Siri Shortcuts, then mainly just talked about the Shortcuts app as an automation platform, only to now dramatically spice up the Siri side again.
This year, Apple really reminded us that Shortcuts are part of Siri, and that the entire toolset is more than a feature reserved for power users who spend time setting it up — Siri Shortcuts are for everyone, for everyone App and for every device.
Now I can’t wait to see where Apple takes things next.
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