Hands-on with the iOS 12 Shortcuts beta: the ability to hook into system events is a big upgrade, but it is otherwise similar to the original Workflow app
Peter Cao / 9to5Mac : Tweets: @davemark , @viticci , @viticci , @viticci , @stroughtonsmith , @stroughtonsmith , @stroughtonsmith , @stroughtonsmith , @viticci , @viticci , @lorenzolade , and @livbem Tweets: Dark Mode Dave / @davemark : I really like the way Shortcuts handles permissions. For example, the attached pic is what Shortcuts shows to ask for Location access. Press the button and the official Location Manager permission process kicks in. Of all the approaches I've seen, this seems the cleanest. pic.twitter.com/uqQLeHazzh Federico Viticci / @viticci : More highlights from Shortcuts beta: - Scriptable Do Not Disturb (!!) and other device settings - Third-party URL schemes fully supported - Show Result for Siri with Magic Variables - New payment actions based on SiriKit pic.twitter.com/qwyiBFM7eb Federico Viticci / @viticci : There are no Clock triggers (or any automated triggers whatsoever), and only HomeKit scenes can be configured in Shortcuts. https://twitter.com/... Federico Viticci / @viticci : Indeed. Multiple Siri shortcuts can be placed in a custom shortcut, though they won't be chained by input and output. https://twitter.com/... Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith : Wow they really let the Workflow folks go nuts with the power of private API. Knowing the team, this app is only gonna get more powerful http://twitter.com/... Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith : Oh wow! Shortcuts runs on iOS 9 and higher, TestFlight confirms http://twitter.com/... Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith : Shortcuts (left), Workflow (right). I am so happy to see this full app intact. And not only that, it can do even more things that they would never be able to do as a third-party developer. Gotta be one of Apple's best app acquisitions (since, like, Final Cut Pro) http://twitter.com/... Steve Troughton-Smith / @stroughtonsmith : Shortcuts + Siri is about the closest to a commandline that iOS is gonna get anytime soon, but it's still immensely powerful. Especially when different teams at Apple decide they want to integrate support for all kinds of crazy things http://twitter.com/... Federico Viticci / @viticci : Absolutely. All my API workflows are working out of the box, no changes necessary. https://twitter.com/... Federico Viticci / @viticci : The Siri Watch face in watchOS 5 will suggest custom shortcuts at specific locations/time based on previously detected patterns. https://twitter.com/... @lorenzolade : Yep confirmed, all my workflows are now in shortcuts pic.twitter.com/pNdBWmlHSE Louie Livon-Bemel / @livbem : Some example Shortcuts I've written that use this feature: PiP any video, speed up videos, populate your calendar with your class schedule, export attendees from a Facebook event
Context & Ripple Effects
When MacStories previewed Siri Shortcuts at WWDC, the pitch was a standalone Shortcuts app arriving on the App Store in the fall — Apple productizing its Workflow acquisition rather than burying it in Settings. This hands-on of the July beta is the first real read on what changed under the hood.
The verdict: the engine is recognizably Workflow, but the new ability to fire automations off system events — plus a notably clean permission flow that hands off to the official Location Manager prompt — turns it from a button-press tool into something closer to background infrastructure for iOS.
First-order effects
- Power users who built their workflows around the original app get system-event triggers for the first time, while developers who expose SiriKit intents gain a new surface where their actions can be chained into automations.
Second-order effects
- Shipping Shortcuts as a separate App Store app decouples it from the annual OS cycle, letting Apple iterate the automation layer continuously — a cadence that later showed up when iOS 14.3 let shortcuts run from the home screen without opening the app.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, user-built shortcuts become training ground for generated ones: eight years later Apple announced AI-powered workflow creation in the iOS 27 Shortcuts app, where natural-language prompts replace manual step-building — the assistant becoming the front door to automation.
The trend: Apple is steadily converting Shortcuts from a manual, user-assembled automation tool into an assistant-driven workflow layer, with each iOS release widening what can trigger and generate automations.