Shortcuts is Apple’s new automation app for iOS 12. It integrates with Siri and lets you build all kinds of amazing automated workflows, from shutting your house down when you go to sleep, to downloading videos from YouTube and saving the them to iCloud.
Shortcuts is really just the new name for Workflow, an iOS automation app that Apple bought a year or so back. Let’s take a look at what Apple has put in Shortcuts.
HomePod is finally adding one of the most used features found on the Amazon Echo and Google Home devices: multiple timers.
In his wrap-up to today’s Apple media event, which primarily focused on the new iPhones and Apple Watch, Tim Cook took a second to remind us that the HomePod is alive and kicking. And getting a couple of handy new features, too.
In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine: Apple is set to unleash its newest iPhones on the world in just a couple weeks and based on the rumors, these will be the most lust-worthy phones to ever come out of Cupertino.
Not only will the 2018 iPhone lineup include the biggest iPhone display Apple’s ever made, it will also be more colorful and more expensive than ever. We’ve been keeping our pulse on all the rumors leading up to Apple’s big September 12 unveiling and have a pretty solid idea on what’s coming through the pipeline.
You’ll find that top story and much more. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.
Apple came out with a new beta for its Shortcuts app that will be released to the public as part of iOS 12 and in the latest build, you can finally take advantage of iCloud syncing.
This is the fourth beta build of Shortcuts and it contains some pretty major changes that make it even more useful for iPhone and iPad users.
Siri is useless for a lot of things, but when it works, it can be a real timesaver. For instance, you can use Siri to search for photos in your iPhone or iPad photo library. Say something like, “Hey Siri, show me photos of clowns,” and it’ll do just that, opening the Photos app, switching to the search tab, and entering the search term “clowns” for you.
Even if you’re sitting looking at the search tab in the Photos app already, Siri is still way easier to use for search than manually tapping something into the search field, deleting the previous search, and typing a new one.
And that’s just the beginning.
iOS and macOS developers received a fresh batch of new beta updates from Apple this morning as the company prepares to launch its new software this fall. And the general public got a new iOS beta too.
macOS Mojave beta 9 and iOS 12 beta 11 can be downloaded from the Apple developer center immediately. The updates bringing a host of bug fixes and performance improvements to the iPhone and Mac.
Siri is about to get a huge upgrade in the way it answers users questions and searches.
In a new job listing posted today, Apple says it is seeking a writer and editor who can help evolve Siri from one of the most-criticized digital assistants into a “distinct, recognizable character.”
This week, a friend visited me, and the screen of her iPhone is cracked so badly that it barely registers a touch. I saw her struggle to even take a photo, and realized she didn’t know the volume-button trick.
Then we saw a little girl drop an iPhone onto the cobbled street outside a restaurant, while the owner (and uncle or family friend) looked on. The screen shattered, and the poor girl was distraught. That’s when I decided to write this guide to using your iPhone with a cracked screen.
Apple engineers are preparing for the day Siri can reliably recognize voices. They’re working on how this digital assistant will respond to requests from multiple users.
This issue became important with the release of Apple’s HomePod earlier this year, as smartspeaker are used in shared spaces.
Apple’s new Siri Shortcuts app, which is currently being beta tested ahead of a release alongside iOS 12, now comes with limited HomeKit support.
Its latest update gives testers the ability to add certain smart home controls to their workflows.
Android 9 Pie has landed on Google Pixel devices just a month before Apple rolls out iOS 12. Both come with a long list of new features and improvements, but is one better than the other?
Here’s how Android 9 and iOS 12 compare.
Siri is quite good at recognizing what we say, but used to run into difficulties with the names of small businesses. That was until Apple developers found a way to make her much better at this task.
In fact, the new system is more than 40 percent less likely to come up with the wrong business name.
Apple beat Wall Street’s expectations today with its Q3 2018 earnings report. Even though iPhone sales were barely up 1% the company still posted better-than-expected revenues as sales of Apple Watch, services and AirPods picked up the slack leading to Apple’s best Q3 results ever.
Prices of Apple shares skyrocketed closer to the illustrious $204 mark that will make the iPhone-maker the first ever trillion dollar company once the results posted and Tim Cook seemed extremely confident and relaxed on his call with investors this afternoon. While the rest of tech stocks are starting to sink, Apple is as steady ever.
HomePod’s rumored voice calling feature has been all but confirmed in iOS 12 beta 5.
A new “Personal Requests” setup screen now displays an additional icon where the Phone app will sit, and reads “make phone calls” in its list of abilities. It indicates HomePod users will be able to initiate calls for the first time when iOS 12 makes its public debut this fall.
A company named SpeakWare is suing Apple, Samsung, and Microsoft, claiming that all three are infringing on one of its patents.
Specifically, it claims that the tech trio are illegally using technology described in SpeakWare’s 2002 patent for “Hands-Free, Voice-Operated Remote Control Transmitter.” The allegedly infringing products are voice-activated systems which are used to control appliances. In Apple’s case, that’s Siri.
Today we’ll see how to put a Shortcut into a reminder, so you can just tap the reminder alert to run it.
For this, we’ll use the new iOS 12 Shortcuts app, or Apple’s existing Workflow app. For instance, you could have a reminder that pops up every morning at 9AM, telling you to log your run. In the pop-up alert, right there on the lock screen, will be a button to execute a Shortcut/Workflow to do just that. Tap it, and you’ll be able to log your run via a pop up.
And of course this isn’t limited to fitness, nor even to time-based reminders.
If Siri seems to be of greater service to you lately, an annual IQ test comparing virtual assistants shows its definitely getting smarter.
Loup Ventures annually peppers the various digital assistants with five categories of questions and when it comes to accuracy and comprehension of a user’s question, Google Assistant remains the best. Siri, however, is right behind Google while Amazon’s Alex and Cortana lags behind in that order.
WhatsApp notifications on iOS are about to get a lot more useful.
The popular messaging service is now testing media previews that let users view images and even animated GIFs before opening a message. Today’s update has also added the ability to use Siri to send messages to groups.
HomePod is expected to get even smarter this fall when Apple rolls out a big software update.
A new report claims the $349 device will be able to handle phone calls, retrieve your voicemail, and run multiple timers. It could also give you the ability to search for songs by using their lyrics, and to translate languages.
Tom Gruber, the last Siri co-founder to have been employed at Apple, has left the company. Gruber was previously head of Siri’s Advanced Development group, but has now retired to focus on his interests in photography and ocean conservation.
His fellow Siri co-creators Dag Kittlaus and Adam Cheyer left Apple a long time ago. They created Siri as an independent app before selling it to Apple in 2010.
iOS 12 users can finally enjoy Fortnite again after Apple’s latest beta fixed random game crashes.
A problem with downloading Netflix titles has also been eliminated, but a number of new bugs have been introduced with this release — including on that breaks the new Screen Time feature.
Siri users looking forward to a new app called Shortcuts will have a place called Sharecuts to suggest and swamp custom voice commands for the Apple-based digital assistant.
Sharecuts creator, Guilherme Rambo, wanted to build a website where people could share shortcuts and suggest ways for fine-tune existing ones. It is currently a black-and-white page, but will be more colorful and robust by the time Shortcuts comes out this fall with the launch of iOS 12.
Siri has plenty of problems, but it just got one more: a lawsuit claiming Apple’s technology is infringing on patents belonging to another company.
The company in question, Advanced Voice Recognition Systems, is suing Apple for infringing on its previously held patent “Speech Recognition and Transcription Among Users Having Heterogeneous Protocols.”
Apple’s allegedly offending products include *deep breath* the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, HomePod, and Apple TV. Everything that runs Siri, basically!
Craig Federighi is no longer in charge of Siri. Responsibility for Apple’s troubled voice assistant has been given to John Giannandrea, who is now in charge of all Apple’s artificial intelligence efforts.
Siri is seen as poor competition for Amazon Alexa, Microsoft Cortana, and Google Assistant. Its weakness is hurting sales of Apple products, including the HomePod.
Apple said Siri would be smarter with iOS 12. The digital assistant will also multitask with the help of a native app.
A single command will kick Siri into high gear through an app called Siri Shortcuts, now available in a beta version to developers through the TestFlight platform.