Introducing MacStories Shortcuts Icons: 300 Custom Home Screen Icons for Your Shortcuts

Update: October 18, 2019: MacStories Shortcuts Icons has received its first free update, which adds 50 new icons to the set. You can read more here.

I’m thrilled to announce MacStories Shortcuts Icons, a set of 300 custom icons for shortcuts added to your Home screen, designed by the MacStories team.

Here’s the short version of this story: the set contains 300 Home screen icons, it has been specifically designed with Shortcuts users in mind, and it works on both iPhone and iPad. It’s available today at $14.99 and you can buy it here.

If you’re a Club MacStories member, check your member area for a discount code first: for you, the set is 33% off, so you can purchase it at $9.99.

All sales are final. You can read our license and terms of use here.

You can find a complete preview of MacStories Shortcuts Icons’ 300 glyphs here..

With these icons, you’ll have more options than what is provided by default in the Shortcuts app for Home screen icons. There are no workarounds, no hacks: our icons can be installed using a native feature of Shortcuts supported in the just-released iOS and iPadOS 13.1.

And here’s the best part: MacStories Shortcuts Icons will keep the original colors of your shortcuts, so you’ll be able to create Home screen shortcuts that are consistent with the app, yet unique and personal. MacStories Shortcuts Icons is the first Shortcuts-specific icon set to support this.

Here are actual examples of my iPhone and iPad Home screens, which I updated using MacStories Shortcuts Icons:

Mixing and matching apps with MacStories Shortcuts Icons on my Home screens.

Mixing and matching apps with MacStories Shortcuts Icons on my Home screens.

We’ve teamed up with our designer Silvia Gatta for this set, which is the first product we’re launching under the new MacStories Pixel brand.

We spent months crafting MacStories Shortcuts Icons with attention and care for the Shortcuts community, and I’d love for you to check it out.

Now, let me share a few more details on how MacStories Shortcuts Icons came to be.

Read more

Drafts 15 Review: Multiwindow, Shortcuts, and More

One of my favorite things about Drafts is its quick adoption of the new OS features that come year-over-year. Not only are they quickly adopted, but they are well implemented, carefully considered, and provide increased capability for both existing and new users alike.

This year with the release of iOS 13, iPadOS 13, and macOS Catalina, Drafts gains an updated look, improvements to the interface and navigation, full iPadOS support, and greatly improved Shortcuts integration. While this may not seem like a big list, I can assure you that the new features of the app are fantastic, and have made a monumental improvement to my daily workflows.

Let’s dive in to what version 15 of Drafts has to offer.

Read more

Things Adds Multiwindow, iOS 13 Dark Mode, Shortcuts, New Share Extension, and Reminders Import

Today as Apple releases iPadOS into the world, Things 3 for both iPad and iPhone has fully updated to add multiwindow functionality on iPad, integration with iOS 13’s system dark mode, shortcuts with parameters, a share extension that introduces key new functionality, and finally a new Reminders Import feature for moving easily all your reminders into Things. There’s a lot to explore, so let’s dive in.

Read more

AppStories, Episode 131 – Shortcuts and Third-Party Apps→

On this week’s episode of AppStories, we explore what the changes to Shortcuts mean to third-party apps, who’s using them, and what it all means to users.

Sponsored by:

  • Things is a best-in-class to-do app for iPad, iPhone, and Mac.
  • Linode – High-performance SSD Linux servers for all of your infrastructure needs. Get a $20 credit.
  • Moo – Custom business printing and design. Save up to 35% until September 25.

Permalink

Adapt, Episode 9: Shortcuts – What’s New in iOS 13→

On last week’s episode of Adapt:

On iOS 13 release day, Federico and Ryan kick off a series covering everything new in the updated Shortcuts app. Afterward, Ryan outlines his efforts creating an image for MacStories sans-shortcuts.

You can listen below (and find the show notes here), and don’t forget to send us questions using #AskAdapt and by tagging our Twitter account.

0:00
58:57

Adapt, Episode 9

Permalink

iPhone 11 Pro and Apple Watch Series 5 Impressions: The Best of Iteration

The general expectation leading up to this year’s iPhone and Apple Watch debuts was that “boring” updates were in store. The iPhone, it was reported, would have an unattractive triple-camera system and little else in the way of improvements; some thought the Apple Watch might not get an update at all.

When Apple officially introduced its new devices to the world, my own reactions were largely positive, though a little mixed. On paper, the latest iPhone and Apple Watch models offer less year-over-year improvements in quantity than Apple usually treats us to. But the advancements that are here – cameras and battery for the iPhone, always-on display for the Watch – are qualitatively huge.

Apple is really good at making two key things: revolutionary products and iterative ones. Every now and then the company creates something that’s truly transformative, a product with undeniable cultural impact. The iPod, iPhone, and iPad are classic picks, but more recently AirPods and the iPhone X deserve similar recognition. However, in-between these giants sit a lot of iterative updates, where existing products get a little bit better. Stacked against the culture-shakers these iterative updates are comparatively less exciting, but they’re almost always objectively better products than their predecessors.

The iPhone 11 and Apple Watch Series 5 lines aren’t revolutionary, but they may well be remembered as some of the best iterative products Apple has ever shipped.

My early impression, after just a few days with the iPhone 11 Pro and Watch Series 5, is that this year’s updates have the potential to stand out over time for one main reason: they give users what we’ve all been asking for.

Read more

Apple Harnesses TV+ and the Books App to Launch Oprah’s Book Club→

Earlier this year when Oprah Winfrey took the stage at Apple’s March event, she teased a book club project that would manifest in some way through Apple’s new TV+ service. Today in a press release, Apple has shared the full details about this new project, officially named Oprah’s Book Club, which will utilize both TV+ and Apple Books in a special cross-service format.

Apple and Oprah Winfrey today announced Oprah’s Book Club will connect a community of readers worldwide to stories that truly matter by today’s most thought-provoking authors. Winfrey, the esteemed producer, actress, talk show host, philanthropist and CEO of OWN, will partner with Apple to build a vibrant, global book club that has the power to both transport and transform people — turning every book into an opportunity for self-discovery, and bringing the world together through reading.

Winfrey’s first book selection is “The Water Dancer” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, available for pre-order now on Apple Books in both ebook and audiobook formats, and debuting tomorrow. Winfrey will interview Coates for the first installment of her new exclusive Apple TV+ series, “Oprah’s Book Club,” premiering November 1. A new episode will be available every two months. For every Oprah’s Book Club selection sold on Apple Books, Apple will make a contribution to the American Library Association to support local libraries, fund programs that give access to everyone and create lifelong readers at an early age.

As if the marriage of TV+ and Books for Oprah’s Book Club wasn’t enough, Apple’s also leveraging its business by hosting the very first of Oprah’s author interviews at none other than Apple Carnegie Library. Additionally, Apple News today is offering a special preview of Oprah’s first book selection. Now that’s some synergy.

It’s exciting to see Apple start to utilize its roster of services such that they complement one another. The company has dabbled in similar efforts before, like through its featuring of the World Cup last summer, but we haven’t seen anything as sustained and on-going as Oprah’s Book Club will be. I’m curious to see what other potential cross-overs Apple has planned moving forward.

Permalink

Daylite: Bye-Bye Busy, Hello Efficiency [Sponsor]

Looking for a way to keep everything in one place so you never miss a thing? It’s here! Built exclusively for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, say hello to organization and peace of mind with Daylite.

Capture every email, every meeting, and every call, all in the same place. Follow up when you say you will. Stay top of mind with your customers. Projects are so streamlined, you never worry about what’s next. Everything you need is just a click away.

Integrate with Apple Contacts, Apple Calendar, Apple Mail, and Reminders for a seamless Apple experience. Big fan of leveraging different apps to be more productive? Daylite and Zapier integration allows you to connect Daylite with 1500+ apps. Want to see a notification created in Daylite every time an action happens in another app? Automate it!

Easily organize contacts into lists for email campaigns and follow-ups. Keep a history of every interaction with a client. Track communications and next steps for client projects and always know what’s next.

New in Daylite: Always on the go? With the newly released Daylite Mail for iPhone and iPad, you can now process your email anywhere and make sure everything you need is in Daylite no matter where you are. Create tasks, follow-up reminders, and appointments without leaving your inbox – or your location!

You know how important efficiency and productivity is to your success. You know that when you’re in control, your potential is limitless. Sign up for a free 30-day Daylite trial now and become unstoppable!

Our thanks to Daylite for sponsoring MacStories this week.

watchOS 6: The MacStories Review

With last year’s release of the Apple Watch Series 4, it felt as though Apple had finally reached a point of equilibrium on the hardware side of the device. The Series 4 brought the first physical redesign, thinning the Watch out and stretching its slightly larger screen to the corners. It packed a processor that finally felt overpowered rather than underpowered, and it kept the Apple Watch’s all-day battery life going strong. The update rounded out with added health sensors for ECGs, background heart monitoring, Bluetooth 5 support, and a new speaker system. Those advancements joined the cellular capabilities from the Series 3, and have now been joined by the always-on display of the Series 5. I’m running out of feature requests for the Apple Watch.

The hardware may now be in place, but as we all know hardware is only part of the story. On the software side, the Apple Watch found its footing two years ago, but had a lot of catching up to do to reach the level of maturity of its hardware. Iteration is Apple’s specialty, and their increasingly strong understanding of the Apple Watch’s purpose has made the software path clear. Last year’s watchOS 5 brought significant fitness and audio improvements, the addition of web content and more interactive notifications. This year’s update brings us even more.

watchOS 6 flew under the radar at the packed and exciting WWDC keynote this June. It isn’t the most flashy update, but the Apple Watch had enough flashy updates in its early years to last a while longer. This is a year for iteration, and Apple has been iterating on all cylinders. watchOS 6 is a quiet giant, adding or redesigning more first-party apps at once than we’ve seen in years, dropping the largest batch of new watch faces since watchOS 1, providing a new way to track fitness over time, and kicking off a nascent foray into Apple Watch independence. Let’s see how Apple did.

Read more