As a Mac automator, I thrive on automations that reduce any amount of clicking, tapping, and mouse or finger movements I have to make to trigger actions. And that’s why I was pleased to learn about the new iOS personal automations for the iPhone.
iOS personal automations are somewhat different from the iOS Siri shortcuts, which I’m not ashamed to say I don’t use very much. For me, the best automations are ones that take place without having to manually trigger a workflow in order for it to run. But even if a single trigger, triggers two or more actions, I also see that as a useful automation.
In this article, I describe a few personal iOS automations I use, and how I put them together. If you’re not using iOS automations, you’re missing out on some geeky fun.
My Workout Automation Workflow
So far, I have almost a dozen iOS personal automations that are mainly day and timed triggered, but favorite automation workflows include one for when I start a workout, a few time of day actions that change my Apple Watch faces, and a few application triggered workflows.
My workout automation workflow is triggered when I start any Apple Watch workout. It runs the following actions:
- Sets my Activity Digital watch face, so I can monitor the progress I’m making in my workout.
- Next, it opens the Overcast podcast app, because I listen to podcasts while exercising.
- And finally, it sets the volume of my iPhone to 98% so I can hear a podcast while riding my e-bike on busy streets.
Notice in the screenshots below that I throw in a few wait seconds actions. Those actions seem to help the workflow run more smoothly.
I have a similar workflow for when I end my workout:
- Change back to my California watch face.
- Set the iPhone volume to 65%
- Trigger on the battery charger for my e-bike, which is triggered by a bluetooth Wemo trigger that is a part of my iOS Home Hub.
These workflows are not complicated, but they do require knowing what the iOS automation features can and cannot do.
iOS Actions Triggers and Actions
The iOS automation setup is similar to Keyboard Maestro and Automator workflows, in that workflows consist a series of actions that are ran by one of several triggers including day and time triggers, app triggers, Wi-Fi or bluetooth connection triggers, battery charger triggers, a Do Not Disturb trigger, etc..
The key to using iOS personal automations is knowing what you want and can automate. For my workout workflow, I wanted to reduce a few taps in my workout process. While many people may not be bothered by manually performing the same actions on their iPhone everyday, it bothers me to do so, especially when actions could be automated.
Triggers
The following is a set of screenshots all the iOS automation triggers.
How to Set Up a Time of Day Trigger
The Time of Day trigger (similar to the day and time trigger in Keyboard Maestro) is one of my favorite triggers, because the automation fires off without any manual triggering. The following screenshots show to create a Day of Time workflow in iOS automations.
Sample iOS Automation Actions
To get some ideas for what can be done with iOS automations, browse through the following screenshots of iOS 14 actions. Think about the redundant tasks you perform on your iPhone and see if there’s a way to build a workflow that reduces the number of steps you you need to take to perform those redundant actions.
iOS Personal Automation Ideas
Off the top of my head, here some ideas for iOS automations:
- Use a location trigger to open a grocery list or restaurant app when you arrive at a designated grocery store or restaurant.
- Have an app automatically open when you switch to a designated Wi-Fi network.
- Have your iPhone switch to Low Power mode when you connect to a charger. This will enable the phone charger to charge faster. Also create another workflow that turns Low Power when your iPhone is disconnected from the charger.
- Automatically run one of your Siri shortcuts when you leave or arrive home.
- Set up a workflow to call a Zoom number for a weekly scheduled meeting. Include a Play a Sound action at the beginning of the workflow so that you are that you’re reminded that phone call is about to be made for you.
Your Automation Ideas?
I hope you found some of the ideas I’ve shared useful. I would love to hear about your iOS automation ideas. Share your ideas and questions in the comment section below.
You have a header which says “Day of Time” instead of Time of day
Thanks, I’ll update that. I could definitely use an editor for my content.
I’ve been trying to figure out how to auto-reply to text messages certain clients in my contacts list.
There’s a shortcut action called, When I Get a Message FroM…”, but I think it only works for individual callers.
I would like an automation that calls a number that opens my garage when arriving by bike or car, but not when walking. I know I can make a phone call based on arriving a spot, but I would like that to happen only if I (and phone) is at movement speed at at least 15 km/h. Is that possible?