Handy iPhone and iPad Shortcuts You Should Check Out
With the launch of iOS 13, Apple introduced Shortcuts support and the Shortcuts app, adding a whole range of new functionality to the iPhone. Shortcuts have continued to be popular since their debut, and in iOS 14, the addition of Home screen widgets made it even easier to get to your Shortcuts, so we thought we'd round up some of our most useful Shortcut options for iPhone and iPad.
- Photos Toolkit - Photos ToolKit is an all-in-one shortcut that can resize images, convert images to different formats, rotate images, combine images in a collage, make GIFs, and more.
- Make PDF - As the name suggests, the Make PDF shortcut can turn documents and webpages into PDFs.
- Apple Frames - Apple Frames from from MacStories' Federico Viticci adds frames to screenshots taken with your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch and makes them look nicer. It's a favorite that we use often here at MacRumors.
- Dictate to Notes - With Dictate to Notes, you can use voice dictation to create a note in the Notes app, which is useful for jotting down quick thoughts without having to type something out.
- YouTube PiP - If you want to be able to watch YouTube in Picture in Picture mode on the iPhone, this is the app for you. With an app called Scriptable, when you run YouTube PiP through the Share Sheet, it will open a YouTube video in a floating window.
- Music Finder - To identify a song that's playing nearby you can use Shazam, but Shazam saves music to Apple Music, which is not ideal if you're a Spotify user. Music Finder identifies a song and saves it to your Spotify playlist.
- Set AirPlay - Set AirPlay makes it easier to swap between your iPhone and your other AirPlay devices, saving you a few taps if you want to switch sources quickly.
- Url Shortener - URL Shortener makes long and unsightly URLs shorter, which is useful when you need to share a naked URL. It lives in the Share Sheet, so all you have to do is select the Shorten URL option when viewing a website and it will generate a short URL. Alternatively, you can copy a link and run it from the Shortcuts app, which will shorten the last copied URL.
Do you have a favorite Shortcut? Let us know in the comments and we may feature it in a future video.
Popular Stories
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed.
Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles."
If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself.
Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update.
Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September.
Below, we recap the key...
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you skipped the iPhone...
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
Apple today released iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
There have been complaints about ...
Apple today released tvOS 18.4.1, a minor update to the tvOS 18 operating system that came out last September. tvOS 18.4.1 comes two weeks after Apple released tvOS 18.4, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models.
tvOS 18.4.1 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the Apple TV. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software....
Apple has quite a few security features that it's added to iPhones, iPads, and Macs over the years. Now more than ever, it's important to make sure you're taking advantage of the built-in security tools that are available to keep yourself and your data safe, so we've rounded up a list of the most important options.
If you don't already have these enabled, you might want to consider turning...
