And between the two platforms there’s no connectivity at all. On iOS, Shortcuts has some weaknesses and an every-app-for-itself mindset prevails. On the Mac, the technologies feel old-fashioned, adrift, and increasingly unsupported. The problem is that today, everything about user automation on Apple’s platforms is fractured. AppleScript was an early attempt to demystify scripting for a lay audience Automator was sold as an easy building-block interface for performing tasks and Shortcuts on iOS brought a modern sensibility to Automator’s premise. Whether it’s a task that’s so specific that it only applies to one person, or a task that bridges a bunch of different apps and services that just aren’t focused on working together, automation can make our devices do the work so that we don’t have to.įor years, Apple has been a leader in user automation.
Not everyone is a programmer, but most of us perform repetitive tasks on our devices that can be eliminated by a judicious application of automation.
