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Everything You Need to Know About iOS 16.1's Changes for Shortcuts

By Justin Meyers

Oct 24, 2022 05:00 PM

Oct 26, 2022 01:50 AM

Productivity & Shortcuts

iPad

The latest iPhone update introduces big features like Live Activities and Clean Energy Charging, but those aren't the only things you'll notice different on iOS 16.1. If you build your own shortcuts in the Shortcuts app, there are a few things you'll definitely want to know about the new software. It's not a massive feature drop as with iOS 16.0, but they are important changes.

You can use a few more actions in your shortcuts, but the most significant changes in Shortcuts affect glyphs. The changes below also appear on iPadOS 16.1 for iPad and macOS 13 Ventura for Mac, both released alongside iOS 16.1 on Oct. 24.

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1. More Shortcut Actions

Apple added almost 60 actions to Shortcuts with iOS 16.0, but you'll see a few more new ones on iOS 16.1. Here they are and what they do:

Get Current Focus (Scripting, Device): Returns the currently active focus.
Open Smart List (Reminders): Opens a specific smart list in Reminders.
Search in Shortcuts (Shortcuts): Opens Shortcuts and performs a search for the specified text.

However, one action has been removed on iOS 16.1:

Open Folder (Notes): Get quick access to one of your Notes folders.

And at least one received a minor name change:

Change Recording Playback Setting (Voice Memos): Changes playback settings in Voice Memos. (It used to be Change Playback Setting.)

Some of the new actions on early iOS 16.0 betas were absent on the stable iSO 16.0 release, such as seven additional actions for the Books app and "Delete Messages" for the Messages app. Those are still missing on iOS 16.1, but the new update did bring back the "Search in Shortcuts" option seen above.

2. Better Glyph Categories

Before iOS 16.1, there were only three categories — Objects, People, and Symbols — to sort glyphs in Shortcuts' icon picker. With so few groupings, browsing for an icon you didn't know the name of was exhausting. (Left GIF below.)

Now there are 29 total categories for easier glyph browsing. They are all listed alphabetically below, not in the order they appear in Shortcuts). (Right GIF below.)

Accessibility
Arrows
Automotive
Camera & Photos
Commerce
Communication
Connectivity
Devices
Editing
Fitness
Gaming
Health
Home
Human
Indices
Keyboard
Math
Media
Nature
Objects
Objects & Tools
People
Privacy & Security
Shapes
Symbols
Text Formatting
Time
Transportation
Weather

The glyph categories on iOS 16.0.3 (left) and iOS 16.1 (right).

However, unlike before iOS 16.1, when you search for a glyph, all results are in one big grid; It no longer separates search results by categories.

3. Glyphs Show in Multiple Categories

Having 29 categories for browsing glyphs is helpful, and you would expect all of the glyphs to appear in one category only. That's not the case. For even faster browsing, some glyphs appear in multiple categories. So if you're looking for a sun, you'll find it under the Nature, Weather, and Keyboard categories, not just one of them.

Some glyphs might show in multiple sections, as seen below. The names in parentheses are the names according to Voice Control. If there are no parentheses, Voice Control also uses the listed name.

Alarm clock (Alarm): Objects & Tools + Time
Back button (Back): Arrows + Camera & Photos
Band-aid (Bandage.fill): Editing + Health + Objects & Tools
Bathtub (Bathtub.fill): Home + Objects & Tools
Bed (Bedtime.fill): Health + Home + Objects & Tools
Bitcoin (Bitcoinsign.circle.fill): Commerce + Indices
Brain: Health + Human
Brain in human head (Brain.head.profile): Health + Human
British pound sterling (Sterlingsign.circle.fill): Commerce + Indices
Camera: Camera & Photos + Objects & Tools
Car: Automotive + Devices + Transportation
Cars: Automotive + Devices + Transportation
Clock: Objects & Tools + Time
Cloudy (Mostly cloudy): Nature + Weather
Cloud raining (Rain): Nature + Weather
Compose note (Compose): Editing + Objects & Tools
Crescent moon (Do Not Disturb): Nature + Weather
Crescent moon button (Do Not Disturb): Nature + Weather
Crop: Editing + Objects & Tools
Dial knob low (Dial.low.fill): Editing + Objects & Tools
Dial knob high (Dial.high.fill): Editing + Objects & Tools
Down button (Go down): Arrows + Camera & Photos
Electric car (Bolt.car.fill): Automotive + Devices + Transportation
Euro (Eurosign.circle.fill): Commerce + Indices
Exclamation mark triangle sign (Warning): Automotive + Privacy & Security
Eyedropper (Pick color halffull): Editing + Objects & Tools
Face mask (Facemask.fill): Health + Objects & Tools
Filters: Camera & Photos + Editing + Objects & Tools
Forward button (Chevron.forward.circle.fill): Arrows + Camera & Photos
Fuel pump (Fuelpump.fill): Automotive + Objects & Tools + Transportation
Game controller: Devices + Fitness + Gaming + Objects & Tools
Hand reading braille (Hand.point.up.braille.fill): Accessibility + Human
Home: Gaming + Home
Hourglass (Duration): Objects & Tools + Time
Human dancing (Figure.dance): Fitness + Human
Human hiking (Figure hiking): Fitness + Human
Human in wheelchair (Figure.roll): Accessibility + Fitness + Human
Human running (Running): Fitness + Human
Human running button (Figure.run.circle.fill): Fitness + Human
Human skiing (Figure.skiing.crosscountry): Fitness + Human
Human snowboarding (Figure.snowboarding): Fitness + Human
Human swimming (Figure.pool.swim): Fitness + Human
Human walking (Walk): Fitness + Human + Transportation
Human weightlifting (Figure.strengthtraining.traditional): Fitness + Human
Keyboard: Devices + Keyboard
Key (Passwords): Automotive + Objects & Tools + Privacy & Security
Lightbulb: Home + Objects & Tools
Lightning bolt (Flash): Camera & Photos + Nature
Lock locked (Lock): Objects & Tools + Privacy & Security
Lock unlocked (Unlock): Objects & Tools + Privacy & Security
Magic wand (Enhance): Editing + Objects & Tools
Magic wand and stars (Wand.and.stars.inverse): Editing + Objects & Tools
Minimize (Exit full screen): Arrows + Camera & Photos
Over-the-ear headphones (Audiobook): Devices + Objects & Tools
Over-the-ear headphones button (Audiobook): Devices + Objects & Tools
Paintbrush (Format): Editing + Objects & Tools
Payment card (Card): Commerce + Objects & Tools
Pencil (Edit): Editing + Objects & Tools
Pill bottle (Cross.vial.fill): Health + Objects & Tools
Pills (Medicine): Health + Objects & Tools
Plus button (Add): Gaming, Math
Printer (Print): Devices + Objects & Tools
Quote bubble filled (Bubble): Accessibility + Communication
Quote bubble unfilled (Bubble): Accessibility + Communication
Scissors (Cut): Editing + Objects & Tools
Shopping bag: Commerce + Objects & Tools
Shopping cart: Commerce + Objects & Tools
Shower (Shower.fill): Home + Objects & Tools
Stopwatch: Objects & Tools + Time
Stop hand (Block): Human + Privacy & Security
Stop hand crossed out, filled (Unblock): Human + Privacy & Security
Stop hand crossed out, unfilled (Unblock): Human + Privacy & Security
Storage drive connected (Externaldrive.connected.to.line.below.fill): Connectivity + Objects & Tools
Stove/Oven (Stove.fill): Home + Objects & Tools
Sun (Brightness higher): Keyboard + Nature + Weather
Syncing/Switch camera (Syncing): Arrows + Camera & Photos
Syringe (Syringe.fill): Health + Objects & Tools
T-shirt (Tshirt.fill): Human + Objects & Tools
Timer: Objects & Tools + Time
Timer in a box (Timer): Objects & Tools + Time
Trophy (Trophy.fill): Fitness + Objects & Tools
U.S. dollar (Dollarsign.circle.fill): Commerce + Indices
Up button (Go up): Arrows + Camera & Photos
Yen (Yensign.circle.fill): Commerce + Indices

4. Removed Glyphs

The new Shortcuts update also includes an anti-feature, so to speak, where Apple took something away from us. Actually, it took a lot away. From my count, Apple removed 100 glyphs when it introduced categories.

It's possible the Apple developers didn't immediately know which category the glyphs should go in or left out entire categories by accident or with the intention to add them back later. But for now, you can see everything that's missing below. The names in parentheses are the names according to Voice Control. If there are no parentheses, Voice Control also uses the listed name.

Airdrop
Airplay audio
Airplay video
Alien head (Emoji.alien.inverse)
Alien monster (Emoji.alien.monster.inverse)
Appearance
Barcode
Baseball (Emoji.baseball.inverse)
Basketball (Emoji.baseball.inverse)
Bear head (Emoji.bear.face.inverse)
Calculator (Calculator.fill)
Cat head (Emoji.cat.face.inverse)
Checklist
Chicken head (Emoji.chicken.face.inverse)
Circled i (Info)
Click
Close button (Close)
Closed fist (Emoji.closed.fist.fill)
Columns filled (Column View)
Columns unfilled (Column View)
Compass (Safari)
Cow head (Emoji.cow.face.inverse)
Database (Cylinder.split.1x2)
Dog head (Emoji.dog.face.inverse)
Dotted circle (Circle.dotted)
Download arrow (Download)
Dragon head (Emoji.dragon.face.inverse)
Duplicate
Face blowing a kiss (Emoji.face.blowing.a.kiss.inverse)
Face grimacing (Emoji.face.grimacing.inverse)
Face grinning (Emoji.face.grinning.inverse)
Face grinning with squinting eyes (Emoji.face.grinning.with.squinting.eyes.inverse)
Face rolling on the floor laughing (Emoji.face.rolling.on.the.floor.laughing.inverse)
Face smiling (Face.smiling.fill)
Face smiling with heart eyes (Emoji.face.smiling.with.heart.eyes.inverse)
Face smiling with hearts (Emoji.face.smiling.with.hearts.inverse)
Face smiling with smiling eyes (Emoji.face.smiling.with.smiling.eyes.inverse)
Face smiling with sunglasses (Emoji.face.smiling.with.sunglasses.inverse)
Face winking with tongue out (Emoji.face.winking.with.stuck.out.tongue.inverse)
Face with starry eyes (Emoji.face.with.starry.eyes.inverse)
Face with tears of joy (Emoji.face.with.tears.of.joy.inverse)
Football (Emoji.american.football.inverse)
Gauge (Dashboard)
Ghost (Emoji.ghost.inverse)
Hearing aid (Hearingaid.ear)
Horse head (Emoji.horse.face.inverse)
Human figure (Figure)
Human running in motion (Figure.run.motion)
I love you hand sign (Emoji.love.you.gesture.fill)
List
Memoji face (Memoji.inverse)
Monkey head (Emoji.monkey.face.inverse)
More button/ellipsis (More)
Mouse head (Emoji.mouse.face.inverse)
Music
Music square stack (Music.square.stack.fill)
Nightshift
Note (Song)
Peace hand sign (Emoji.peace.hand.sign.inverse)
Peace sign (Peacesign)
Person with halo/Noise cancellation (Person.closed.fill)
Person with transparency halo (Person.open.fill)
Pig head (Emoji.pig.face.inverse)
Pile of poop (Emoji.pile.of.poop.inverse)
Playlist
Podcasts
QR code
Rabbit head (Emoji.rabbit.face.inverse)
Ram head (Emoji.ram.face.inverse)
Rectangle grid filled (Rectangle.grid.2x2.fill)
Rectangle grid unfilled (Rectangle.grid.2x2)
Rectangle split (Rectangle.split.2x1)
Rich text document
Robot head (Emoji.robot.face.inverse)
Rocket (Rocket.fill)
Scan QR code
Shiny heart (Emoji.heart.fill)
Shiny hearts (Emoji.hearts.2.fill)
Shortcuts icon (App.2.stack.3d)
Skull (Emoji.skull.inverse)
Slow Mo
Snowflake (Snow Flurry)
Snake (Emoji.snake.inverse)
Soccer ball (Emoji.soccer.ball.inverse)
Sparkles (Emoji.sparkles)
Square 3D stack (Burst)
Square 2x2 grid (Grid 2x2)
Square 4x3 grid (Square.grid.4x3.fill)
Square stack (Square.stack.fill)
Star (Favorite)
Star half-filled (Star.leadinghalf.filled)
Thumbs up (Emoji.thumbsup.fill)
Tiger head (Emoji.tiger.face.inverse)
Train in tunnel (Tram.tunnel.fill)
Thermometer
Timelapse
Truetone
Upload arrow (Share)
Waveform
Wrench