![]() Next, we’ll write a loop that gradually increments the “Volume” variable, setting the system volume to the variable’s value each time. ![]() We can do this using the “Number” and “Set Variable” actions. Starting with our fade-in shortcut, we’ll create a variable “Volume” and initialize it to 0. ![]() ![]() We’ll create two new shortcuts that we’ll invoke from our automations, titled “Slowly Fade In” and “Slowly Fade Out.” These shortcuts will use variables and loops, concepts familiar to any software developer. Let’s improve this by adding a slow fade transition. Our automations work, but having the audio abruptly cut in and out is a bit jarring. Optionally, you can add another “Set Bluetooth” command at the end of the automation to turn Bluetooth back on after the speaker has disconnected. This automation only requires two actions: “Play/Pause” and “Set Bluetooth.” As you’d expect, running this automation stops the audio and disconnects the Bluetooth speaker: This automation might be triggered by an alarm going off, or, in my case, when Sleep focus ends. While it’s great to automate turning on white noise at night, we can go even further by adding a new automation to turn it off in the morning. Running the automation now, it successfully connects to the Bluetooth speaker and starts playing white noise. The audio I like is directly from Apple Music, which makes things a little more convenient, but there are other third-party apps that support Shortcuts too. Next up, we’ll use some more actions to set the volume and start the white noise sound. From there, you can select whichever device you want to play audio from, in my case, Jon’s JBL Flip 3: Afterward, insert the “Change Playback Destination” action. Search for the “Set Bluetooth” action and insert it into your automation. The first thing we need to do is make sure Bluetooth is on and connect the speaker. We’re greeted with an “Add Action” button, which pulls up a searchable palette of actions. Some of the automation triggers available in the Shortcuts app.įrom there, we can build out a simple automation to connect our Bluetooth speaker and start up white noise. You can get these on Amazon for really cheap. I decided to use an NFC tag that would trigger the automation any time I tap my phone on it. You can choose whichever trigger makes the most sense for you. There are several automation triggers available, including arrival at a location, connecting to a charger, and opening an app. The first step to building an automation is deciding how and when to activate it. Why bother doing all this every day when I could have done it automatically? Enter the Shortcuts app. In the morning, I had to do the reverse: turn off the white noise and make sure to disconnect from my Bluetooth speaker before playing any other media. For a long time, I had to do this manually every night: connect to my Bluetooth speaker, turn on the white noise, and adjust the volume to the right level. I have noisy neighbors, so I like to play white noise and/or rain sounds at night to help drown out the sound. Below, you’ll learn how I built my own personal automation to simplify my daily routine. Thanks to Apple’s Shortcuts app, you can build them yourself with little to no coding experience. But you don’t have to be a software developer to use automations. We write tests to keep our code in check, build pipelines to ease deployment, and create scripts to simplify repetitive tasks. It’s time to figure out the best use cases for your iPhone setup.Software developers love building automations. The question is whether you want to depending on the size of the screen or the features you need at the moment.īut the best iPhone shortcuts will be those that take advantage of phone-only features and work well on the small screen that’s always in your pocket. In theory, many shortcuts that work on iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac will also work on your favorite iPhone. Take these Shortcuts on the goĪs you can see, there is a wide range of opportunities for Shortcuts that take particular advantage of how folks use their iPhone - and they’re not limited to these use cases either. ![]() Finally, Log this Location can save exact GPS coordinates into a note for later in case you want to revisit a very particular spot. The Meet at the Halfway Point can find destinations that are in between you and another location so you can split the distance with someone else. Shortcuts like Get Travel Time Home can help you estimate how long it’ll take to get home as well as your approximate arrival time (handy if you’re trying to decide if it’s time to leave yet or not). Finally, another great opportunity for automating with iPhone is using the Location actions, which use the device’s GPS data to detect your location for mapping purposes, calculate distances to other places, and even pull latitude/longitude data. ![]()
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