The Shortcuts app has evolved from a basic automation tool into a powerhouse, especially with recent updates tying into Apple Intelligence. You can now build workflows that read your screen, transcribe audio, and organise your life with a single tap.
If you are looking to get more out of your iPhone, here are ten custom shortcuts that tackle everything from file management to expense tracking. Let's dive in.
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Keeping up with industry news usually means bouncing between a dozen different websites. The Tech News Aggregator pulls RSS feeds from your favourite sites and grabs the latest 50 articles.
Instead of dumping a massive list on you, it passes those articles through Apple Intelligence. The AI looks for duplicate stories, ranks them based on how frequently a topic is covered across different sites, and generates a clean Apple Note. You get the top five stories of the day, complete with a summary and a source link.
You can hook Shortcuts directly into image generation APIs to create new wallpapers on the fly. By connecting to Google's Gemini model, you can run a prompt and have a perfectly sized image dropped right onto your screen.
When you run this shortcut, you select a style like "Ocean," "Mountains," or "Gradient." It sends the request with the specific pixel resolution of your iPhone. Moments later, it generates the image and uses the Set Wallpaper Photo action to apply it to both your Lock Screen and Home Screen simultaneously. You don't even need to see a preview if you toggle it off in the settings.
We all have moments where we need to brain dump ideas quickly. This shortcut turns your ramblings into organized, actionable text.
When triggered, it starts recording audio immediately. Once you tap to finish, Apple Intelligence transcribes the recording verbatim. It then passes that transcript through a language model to generate a tight summary. Finally, it creates a new Apple Note in a specific folder containing both the summary and the full transcript.
Pro tip: Add this to your Control Center. Just hit Edit Controls, tap the plus icon, and drop the shortcut right next to your flashlight for instant access.
Sometimes you see something in a text message, on a website, or in an app that you just need to remember. The Make Note of This shortcut handles this perfectly without breaking your workflow.
When you run it from the Control Center, it takes a silent screenshot of whatever is currently on your screen. If you are in Safari, it grabs the URL. It uses Apple Intelligence to extract the text, phone numbers, or context from that image. It then appends all of that data as a new bullet point to a running "Stream of Consciousness" note in the Notes app.
Naming downloaded files is tedious. This is where Apple Intelligence truly shines on macOS and iOS. You point this shortcut at a specific folder, and it evaluates every file inside based on its extension.
If it finds an audio file, it generates a transcript. If it finds a PDF or Word document, it extracts the text. If it is an image, it pulls any visible text. It feeds that extracted context to the AI, asks for a short descriptive title, and renames the original file automatically. It handles an entire folder of randomly named downloads in seconds.
If you are running the iOS 26.4 Beta 2, you have access to a brand new native action for battery management. You can now build automations that adjust your maximum charge limit on the fly.
Search for the Set Battery Charge Limit action. You can configure this to drop your charge limit down to 80% during the workday. If you expand the action, you will find a Set Until Tomorrow toggle. This automatically resets your device to target a 100% charge the following day.
The official Apple Shortcuts gallery includes a tool to turn videos into GIFs, but it is notoriously unreliable. Building a custom one fixes the issue and gives you more control.
This version prompts you to select a video directly from your Photos app. It brings up a trimming interface so you can isolate the exact few seconds you want. Tap Save, and it encodes that snippet into an animated GIF. You can then preview it using Quick Look and save it right back to your camera roll.
Navigating the iPhone Settings app to clear storage or tweak notifications takes too many taps. You can build shortcuts that bridge that gap based on the app currently active on your screen.
Trigger this from the Control Center while an app like Instagram is open. The shortcut identifies the active app and deep-links you directly to its specific storage pane or notification preferences. It saves you from digging through the main settings menu every time you need to manage a heavy app.
If you find a great sound bite on a social media reel, you can easily turn it into an alarm or ringtone without needing a computer.
First, use the built-in screen recording feature to capture the video. Run the Screengrab to Ringtone shortcut. It asks you to select that recent screen recording and lets you trim the audio. It converts the file and prompts you to name it.
When the Share Sheet pops up, just tap Use as Ringtone. Your custom audio is immediately available in your Clock app to use as a morning alarm.
You don't need a bloated third-party app to track your daily spending. Shortcuts can pipe data directly into an Apple Numbers spreadsheet.
This shortcut triggers a series of quick prompts. It asks for the date, the total cost, and a brief description. It then gives you a menu of top-level categories like Food, Transport, or Office. Once you select a category, it offers relevant subcategories.
It takes all those variables, formats the date to match your spreadsheet columns, and appends a brand new row to the bottom of your designated Numbers document.
Shortcuts can feel intimidating at first, but starting with utility tools like these shows you exactly what your device is capable of. Add a few to your Control Center, test them out, and see how much friction you can remove from your daily routine.
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