I recently shared some thoughts on several iOS Shortcuts Automations that I’ve been using to help reduce battery drain during the day on my iPhone 15 Pro Max. See that post here.
After writing that post, I came across a very helpful YouTube video by Stephen Robles: 10 Shortcuts to Save your iPhone Battery. His video gave me a couple more ideas which I’ve incorporated into my automations.
In particular, he pointed out that in addition to putting the iPhone into Low Power Mode, another setting to change to further reduce battery drain is to turn off the always on display. So I’ve updated my automations to do both – whenever I put the iPhone into Low Power Mode, I also turn off the always on display setting. And vice-versa – so that when I turn off Low Power Mode (like when I’m charging the phone) I turn the always on display back on.
In our fast-paced digital world, efficiency is key. Apple’s iOS offers a powerful tool for streamlining daily tasks through its Shortcuts app. iOS automations allow users to create custom workflows that trigger automatically based on various conditions, such as location changes, battery levels, or device connections. These automations can significantly enhance your iPhone experience, saving time and reducing the need for manual interventions.
In this post, I’ll share some of the iOS automations I’ve set up to make my daily life smoother and more efficient. These shortcuts demonstrate how small, automated actions can add up to a more seamless mobile experience.
When I Leave Home
Set Low Power Mode
One of the first automations I’ve set up triggers when I leave my home. As soon as my iPhone detects that I’ve left my home location, it automatically enables Low Power Mode. This is particularly useful for conserving battery life when I’m out and about away from home.
When I Come Home
If Home, Turn Off Low Power Mode
Complementing the previous automation, I have another set to trigger when I arrive home. This automation checks if Low Power Mode is active and turns it off. At home, I typically have easy access to chargers, so maximizing battery life becomes less critical.
CarPlay Automations
My car has CarPlay which offers excellent opportunities for automation, enhancing both safety and convenience while driving. I’ve created a few automations triggered by when my iPhone connects or disconnects from CarPlay.
When CarPlay Connects
When my iPhone connects to CarPlay, it triggers a series of actions:
– Music: A selected playlist starts playing automatically, setting the mood for my drive without requiring me to navigate through music apps.
– Message: The system sends an automated message stating “Now leaving [location]”. This keeps important contacts informed about my movements without my manual input.
– Maps: The Maps app opens automatically, ready for me to input a destination if needed.
When CarPlay Disconnects
Upon disconnecting from CarPlay:
– Message: An automated message is sent saying “Now arrived at [location]”. This provides a convenient way to let others know I’ve reached my destination safely.
iPhone Battery Management
If Not at Home and Battery < 70%
To ensure I don’t run out of battery unexpectedly, I’ve set up an automation that triggers when I’m not at home and my battery level drops below 70%. This automatically enables Low Power Mode, helping to extend my battery life when I might not have immediate access to a charger.
If Connected to Power
Conversely, when my iPhone is connected to a power source, an automation turns off Low Power Mode. This allows the device to perform all functions at full capacity while charging, ensuring background tasks and updates can proceed normally.
These automations represent just a fraction of what’s possible with iOS Shortcuts. By automating these small but frequent tasks, I’ve reduced the cognitive load of managing my device and improved its efficiency. The beauty of iOS automations lies in their customizability – you can tailor them to fit your specific needs and lifestyle. I’m having fun experimenting with using iOS automations!
Note: This post began with me making a mind-map using Mindnode on my iPhone. I then exported it in Markdown format. Using the new Claude 3.5 Sonnet I wrote a prompt describing what I wanted to write, included the Markdown from Mindnode as input and asked Claude to write a first draft beginning with some background on iOS automation. I took Claude’s first draft – which was quite good – and refined it with my own edits before publishing it here.
Yesterday we drove to Sausalito to have lunch with good friends visiting from Sydney Australia. We met at The Spinnaker for lunch and had a delightful time catching up. It’s always fun to catch up with friends and hear what’s been happening in their lives.
Among the many things we talked about was the difference between how real estate sales happen in Sydney versus in the U.S. It turns out that broker commissions are substantially less there than they are here. There’s been recent litigation in this country that might affect the relatively high commission rates we pay when buying or selling a home. It will take some time for the effects of recent settlements to work their way through the system. But it was interesting to hear how a viable real estate market can function with a different and substantially lower commission burden paid by buyers and sellers.
The Spinnaker sits out on a piece of land that provides a spectacular view across the Bay from Sausalito to the San Francisco skyline. The image above was taken with my iPhone 15 Pro Max using the 5X telephoto in Live View and then smoothed with the Long Exposure adjustment. The toning is from the Silvertone effect in the Photos app.
I’ve recently spent some time customizing the Action Button on my iPhone 15 Pro Max to quickly perform actions and invoke shortcuts. This hardware button was a new addition to the iPhone 15 Pro models, allowing you to invoke an action or shortcut with one long tap.
With iOS 17, you can now create a folder of shortcuts that displays as a menu when invoking the Action Button. This is how I’ve settled on using it – a single-purpose shortcut didn’t work for me, but being able to select from eight different actions I’ve set up works quite well.
The setup process is straightforward. In the Shortcuts app, create a new folder (I named mine “Action Button”). Save up to eight shortcuts you might want to invoke into that folder. Then, in Settings, configure the Action Button to show that folder of shortcuts. That’s all there is to it. When you tap the Action Button, a menu of eight shortcuts will pop up, and you can quickly make a selection.
Here are the shortcuts in my Action Button folder:
Focus Off – turns off any active Focus mode
Reading Focus – turns on my Reading Focus mode
Choose Focus – allows me to choose from a menu of Focus modes to enable
20 min Nap Time – sets a 20-minute nap timer
Scan Document – opens the Camera app to scan a document and save it as a PDF
Perplexity Search – performs a Perplexity web search
Today’s Reminders – shows my Reminders for today
Log Weight – allows me to quickly log my weight each morning in the Health app
After months of ignoring it, the Action Button has become a useful and frequently utilized tool. I’ve enjoyed customizing it with a set of handy shortcuts.
Like a lot of folks, I’ve been a long time user of Apple leather iPhone cases. I like how they felt in the hand – with just enough friction to my grip to allow me to hold my phone securely even while angling for the best photo shot.
With the iPhone 15, Apple for environmental reasons has eliminated the use of leather cases and replaced them a new case material called FineWoven. I recently upgraded to a new iPhone 15 Pro Max and got one of the new FineWoven cases to match.
There have been a LOT of complaints in various articles online about this new material – about how it’s just not an adequate replacement for the old leather material. My view is different – I’m pleased with the feel of the new FineWoven material and find it to be a suitable replacement – especially if it’s better for the environment to make cases from this material instead of leather.
There is one minor complaint I have, however. I find the FineWoven case to be a bit “slippery” in my grip. I’m hoping I’ll adapt to it but at least initially its slipperiness is bothersome – as dropping my iPhone isn’t something I at all want to do!
I don’t have any particular suggestion to make as to how Apple might make the material less slippery and I certainly wouldn’t want some new additional coating to attempt to address the issue. I’ll hopefully adjust soon enough and try to extra careful in the meantime.
You must be logged in to post a comment.