12 Best iPhone Shortcuts

Are you fully leveraging your iPhone’s capabilities? If you’re not using Shortcuts, you might be missing out on powerful automation that can save you time and streamline everyday tasks. They are a fantastic tool for any iPhone user, offering vast, often untapped potential.

What are Shortcuts?

Introduced back in iOS 12, the Shortcuts app allows you to create automations for tasks you perform frequently on your Apple devices. A shortcut can perform a single action or string together multiple complex steps across different apps. Think setting multiple alarms instantly, getting water out of your speakers using sound frequencies, quickly sharing your Wi-Fi via QR code, or dictating a note without opening the Notes app. The possibilities are extensive, and you can even build your own custom shortcuts tailored to your specific needs.

Ready to dive in? Here are 11 excellent Shortcuts worth adding to your iPhone:

QR WIFI

Tired of reciting your complex Wi-Fi password whenever guests visit? Or slowly typing it into their devices? While sharing between Apple devices is easy, this shortcut simplifies it for everyone else. Just input your Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and password once, and the shortcut generates a QR code. Guests can simply scan the code with their phone’s camera to connect instantly. Much easier than hunting for the router!

DTwitter

Twitter doesn’t offer a native video download option, but this popular shortcut fills the gap. Found a hilarious meme or useful video clip you want to save for later or share outside of Twitter? Run this shortcut from the share sheet on a tweet containing a video, and it will download the video directly to your camera roll.

Set Some Alarms

Many of us set multiple alarms to ensure we wake up on time, but setting each one individually can be tedious. This shortcut lets you specify how many alarms you need and the interval (in minutes) between them. It then creates all the alarms for you in one go.

Dictate to Notes

Ever have a brilliant idea or urgent thought you need to jot down quickly? Instead of fumbling to open the Notes app and type, use this shortcut. Simply activate it, speak your thought, and the shortcut transcribes your dictation and saves it automatically as a new note. Perfect for capturing fleeting ideas on the go.

Delete Last Photo

Accidental screenshots happen all the time and clutter up the camera roll. If you often forget or can’t be bothered to delete them immediately, this shortcut is a lifesaver. Run it to quickly delete the very last photo (or configure it to delete the last few photos) without needing to open the Photos app.

Speed Dial

Create a personalized speed dial list for your most frequent contacts. While the Contacts app has Favorites and Siri can initiate calls, this shortcut presents a simple menu with your chosen people for ultra-fast calling. Ideal for the 2-3 individuals you contact most regularly.

Find Gas (or Anything Nearby)

Instead of opening Maps and typing “nearest gas station” or “coffee shops near me,” this shortcut does it with one tap. It pulls up a list of nearby locations for a category you define. The best part? You can easily customize it to find restaurants, ATMs, hospitals, parks, or whatever you frequently search for nearby.

PiP Youtube

Wish you could watch YouTube videos in Picture-in-Picture mode while scrolling through social media or Browse the web, just like with FaceTime? This shortcut makes it possible. Note: This typically requires installing the free Scriptable app from the App Store, which allows for more advanced shortcut actions.

Time Travel to Address

Instantly estimate your travel time to a specific destination. This shortcut can often pull an address from your clipboard or a calendar event and calculate how long it will take to drive there based on current traffic conditions, saving you from manually opening Maps and entering the details.

Water Eject

Accidentally got your iPhone wet? This shortcut helps clear water from the speaker grills. It works by playing a specific low-frequency sound that vibrates the speakers, helping to push out trapped water droplets. A useful tool inspired by a similar feature on the Apple Watch.

Reverse Image Search

Need to find the source of an image, identify something in a photo, or check if a profile picture is potentially fake (“catfishing”)? This shortcut lets you quickly perform a reverse image search. Select an image from your photo library or the share sheet, and it will upload it to a search engine like Google Images to find visually similar images online.

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These are just a handful of examples showcasing how Shortcuts can streamline your iPhone experience. One of the best aspects is their simplicity – unlike many apps, they usually don’t require sign-ups, accounts, or permissions beyond what’s needed for the task. Exploring and using Shortcuts can genuinely enhance your productivity and make interacting with your iPhone more efficient.

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