Running with Crayons today announced Alfred Remote, an iOS app that turns an iPhone or iPad into a remote control for various tasks on a user's Mac, from controlling a screensaver to launching apps (via The Verge).
Designed with parity of the Alfred app on the Mac App Store in mind, Alfred for iOS also allows users to expand into systemwide interactions with their desktop computers. Users with a Powerpack addition to their Alfred 2 experience, which costs about $25, can then use the Remote to control Powerpack-exclusive features via iOS.
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These include iTunes playback, copying and pasting from iOS to OS X, running user-defined scripts, AppleScripts, and terminal commands, and creating and controlling custom Workflows for enhanced productivity. Normal features like opening websites and setting a screensaver are available to all users.
With a single touch on your iOS device, you can control many Alfred 2 actions on your Mac, including:
- Show Alfred 2 on your Mac
- System Commands: Lock, restart, shut down, log out or sleep your Mac, eject all devices, quit all apps and empty trash
- Launch Applications and System Preferences on your Mac
- Open files and folders you've defined on your Mac
- Open websites and bookmarks, or pop up Alfred with a custom search filled in
- Replace hard to remember hotkey combinations and keywords with icons on iOS
To be able to fully use the features of each app, users will need both Alfred 2 for Mac and Alfred Remote for iOS, and have both of them running on the same Wi-Fi connection.
Alfred Remote can be purchased from the App Store for $4.99. [Direct Link]
Alfred 2 for Mac is a free download, with an option to upgrade with the Powerpack options.
Top Rated Comments
google chrome remote desktop works pretty well and is free.
Does anyone have some experience with Alfred or maybe some ideas on ways it could prove useful or timesaving?
As far as iTunes control goes, I have iTunes Match and can access all my media on my iPhone anyway. So controlling iTunes on my Mac would be redundant.
I haven't used it in a while, but it had a keyboard when I used it last. I think it required selecting the text box with the remote and then the keyboard should pop up automatically (it's one of the benefits of using the app instead of the Apple remote). I'll try it again when I get home tonight.
This is still how it works. Just select the text box, and you'll be able to use your normal iOS keyboard to enter searches. In fact I'd say that's the main benefit of using the Remote app instead of the Apple TV remote, though I find navigating through menus and lists to be quicker using the Remote app as well.