Do you like shortcut automations on your iPhone? With the Shortcuts app on the Apple Watch, you can activate shortcuts directly from the wrist. And since the shortcuts run on the Watch itself, you do not have to touch your iPhone.
Apple Watch users with watchOS 7 and higher have access to the Shortcuts app on their portable. It works seamlessly with the Shortcuts app on the iPhone.
The Shortcuts app automatically categorizes shortcuts that can work on the Apple Watch and makes them available on your wrist. That means you do not have to create separate shortcuts just for your Apple Watch.
Shortcuts can be activated from both the Shortcuts app and from complications on the watch. But if you activate the keyboard shortcut from the clock, you must first confirm it by tapping the “Run” button.
View and manage Apple Watch Shortcuts on iPhone
You can find all shortcuts supported by Apple Watch in a separate folder in your shortcut library. To access it, open the “Shortcuts” application on your iPhone. You can do this easily with the Spotlight search feature. Swipe down on your home screen, search for the shortcut app and select it.
Now go to the “My Shortcuts” tab.
Tap the “Shortcuts” button in the top left corner.
Select the “Apple Watch” folder.
You’ll see all the Apple Watch compatible shortcuts here.
If you have dozens of shortcuts, you will see that most of them are supported on Apple Watch. Fortunately, removing shortcuts from the Apple Watch folder is easy.
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Simply tap the “Select” button from the top.
Then tap the shortcuts you want to delete and tap the “Delete” button in the bottom toolbar.
Now tap the “Done” button to save changes.
Adding an iPhone shortcut to the Apple Watch is also very simple.
Go to the “My Shortcuts” tab and find the shortcut you want to add to your Apple Watch. Then tap the three-point menu button in the top right corner of the shortcut.
Here again, tap on the three-point menu button in the top right corner.
Tap the link next to the “Show on Apple Watch” option.
You can now tap the “Done” button to save the option.
Tap the “Done” button in the shortcut again to save it.
Shortcuts on Apple Watch
Now that you know what shortcuts are available on the Apple Watch, it’s time to actually use them. This can be done using the Shortcuts app.
Tap your Apple Watch on the Digital Crown to see the Apps screen. Now open the “Shortcuts” application.
You will now see a simple list of all your shortcuts. Use the Digital Crown to scroll through the list. Simply tap on a shortcut to execute it.
If the shortcut is simple and requires no input, it will run automatically. If it does require an import, you will be asked to make the selection in the Shortcuts app itself.
And that’s how simple it is to activate shortcuts from the Apple Watch.
Trigger shortcuts from a watch
The Shortcuts app is pretty simple, but there’s a faster way to activate shortcuts. And that’s the use of the clock complication. Thanks to the new complication framework, you can add multiple complications from the same app to your watch.
This means you can create a clock face with up to eight shortcuts (using the Infograph clock).
Tap and hold the clock, then tap the “Edit” button to add a shortcut (or the Shortcuts app) as a complication.
Swipe left to go to the “Complications” section and select the complication you want to change.
Use the Digital Crown to scroll through the list. Here you will find the section “Shortcuts”. You will now see the first three available shortcuts here. Tap the “Move” button to see all available shortcuts.
Now you can select a specific shortcut you want to add to the watch. To create a complication for the Shortcuts app itself, go to the bottom of this list and select the “Shortcuts” option.
You can repeat this process to add other complications. Once done, press the Digital Crown twice to return to the clock.
To activate the keyboard shortcut, simply tap the keyboard shortcut from the clock. Then tap the “Run” button to take the shortcut.
Like using different watch plates during the day? Here’s how you can use the automation feature in Keyboard Shortcuts to automatically switch from your face to your Apple Watch based on the time of day.
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