8 iPhone Shortcuts I Cannot Live Without

Debuted with iOS 13, Shortcuts is a built-in app on an iPhone that offers useful automation and shortcuts to perform a specific task. Right from editing your photos to accessing ChatGPT, you can do everything with the Shortcuts app, without having to download individual apps for each task. If you’re a first-time Apple user, you might not know how powerful the Shortcuts app actually is. But, you need not worry. In this article, I’ve shared the 8 most useful iPhone shortcuts I can’t live without. These free iOS shortcuts will help you unlock the true possibilities of what you can do with your iPhone. Without any ado, let’s jump to the list!

1. Merge Photos

If you ask me about one iPhone shortcut that has made my life easier, it has to be this one. Being an Apple Ecosystem writer, I have to deal with a lot of iPhone screenshots and images, which I have to combine into a single image. Earlier, I had to move all my screenshots to my MacBook where I would combine them using Canva, Photoscape, or any other third-party photo editing tool. Well, that’s the thing of the past now. Thanks to this custom-made iPhone shortcut, I can combine multiple images into a single one right on my iPhone, without hampering the overall quality. I can combine pictures horizontally or vertically and even adjust the spacing between them.

This shortcut might be a little complex and time-consuming to set up, but trust me it works wonders and can help you save a lot of time. Well, you don’t have to go through the hassle of creating this Shortcut from scratch, just click on the below link to add it on your iPhone. If you also have similar photo-editing needs, I recommend downloading this iPhone shortcut right now!

2. ChatGPT with Siri

The good news is Apple Intelligence brings the much-useful ChatGPT integration to Siri. And, the bad news is it’s only available on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 models, and other Apple Intelligence compatible devices. So, if you’ve got an iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, or an older model, you can’t use ChatGPT integration on your device. Thankfully, there’s a way to use ChatGPT with Siri on any iPhone model. Previously, you could use handy shortcuts like Siri Pro or SiriGPT. Since ChatGPT has now launched its own app and chat assistant, the previous integration won’t work now.

Interestingly, you can now utilize that app to use ChatGPT on an iPhone. First, you have to download OpenAI’s ChatGPT on your iPhone and then create a custom shortcut to start a new conversation with that ChatGPT app. When you run this shortcut using Siri, it will instantly start a new conversation with ChatGPT. For complete instructions, refer to our step-by-step guide on how to use ChatGPT with Siri on iPhone.

3. When Do I Need To Leave By?

Sometimes, it takes me 10 minutes to reach yo my office, and there are times when it takes around 30 minutes. With varying traffic, it can be hard to know the exact time you need to travel to your work. If you also find yourself in such situations, there’s a pre-made iPhone shortcut that can help you cut through the hassle. The “When Do I Need To Leave By?” shortcut uses your location and traffic information to calculate when you need to leave for your work, school, or other destination.

When you set up the shortcut, you’ll be asked to enter your home and work addresses. Once you add them, you just have to tap on the shortcut or ask Siri to run it for you. It will instantly show you the travel time and tell you when you must leave to reach there on time. You can always change the addresses and time, or customize other settings by tapping on the three dots on the top-right of the shortcut.

4. Speed Dial

Unfortunately, iPhones don’t have a speed dial option like Android smartphones. Thankfully, there’s a super-useful iPhone shortcut that lets you create a speed dial button on your iPhone. With the Speed Dial shortcut, you can create an app tile on the home screen, so you can call anyone in your contacts with just one tap, without having to open the Phone app. This is the easiest and quickest method to set up speed dial on an iPhone.

To configure the shortcut, simply type in a phone number or choose a person from your contact list. Next up, tap on the three dots present on the top-right of the shortcut, hit the Share button and add the shortcut to the home screen. Once you’ve done that, you can simply tap on the speed dial button to make a call. You can add multiple speed dial buttons on your iPhone home screen in the same way.

5. Shazam

Shazam is probably one of my favorite and most-used iPhone shortcuts. I’ve been using this shortcut for quite a while now and it’s doing a great job of identifying songs that I randomly hear while traveling. If you’re also a melophile who loves to discover songs playing around you, their lyrics, artists, and more, Shazam is a must-have shortcut for you.

When you run the Shazam shortcut, it will identify the song playing around you and then give you options to play that song in Apple Music or save it to your Apple Music library.

6. Intelligent Power

If your iPhone often runs low on battery and you can’t charge it every now and then, the Intelligent Power iPhone shortcut is gonna be your savior. It lets you save battery life with a super-useful Ultra Low Power Mode. With this shortcut, your iPhone will automatically enable Low Power Mode when the battery is less than 25%, and enter the Ultra Low Power Mode when the level dips to 5%. When the Ultra Low Power Mode is enabled, you can’t access the internet but can continue to make phone calls. Also, it will turn the display brightness to zero and disable other features like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Location Services, and more.

The best thing about this iOS shortcut is that you can choose the battery levels at which you wish to activate the Low Power and Ultra Low Power modes. You can always change the value later to suit your convenience.

7. Water Eject

Even though the latest iPhones have great water resistance, they aren’t completely waterproof. Also, Apple’s one-year warranty and even AppleCare+ don’t cover water damage. Therefore, it’s better to handle your device with care. Now, that doesn’t mean there’s no way to save your iPhone if it ever gets wet. Thankfully, there’s a super-useful iPhone shortcut that can help you get water out of iPhone speakers if you ever accidentally drop your iPhone in a pool or a bucket.

When you run the Water Eject shortcut on your iPhone, you’ll see the volume slider with the device volume set to 100%. You’ll hear a tone and your phone will vibrate. Once the process completes, you’ll hear a beep sound. The shortcut usually takes around 15 to 20 seconds to complete. With this shortcut, you never have to freak out if your iPhone is ever exposed to water. So, it’s worth having it in your Shortcuts gallery.

8. Charge Time

For years, Android smartphones can tell how long it will take to charge your phone. I always wanted Apple to bring a similar feature that displays the iPhone’s charging time estimates. While iOS 18 is expected to offer a similar “Battery Intelligence” feature, it might remain exclusive to Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhones. Now, that doesn’t mean there’s no way to check charging time estimates on devices not compatible with Apple Intelligence.

Charge Time is a must-have iOS shortcut that shows charging time estimates based on the current battery levels of your iPhone. For instance, if your current iPhone battery level is 60%, the Charge Time shortcut will tell you the approximate number of hours and minutes required to fully charge your iPhone.

Those were my all-time favorite iOS shortcuts, and they have simplified my life. These shortcuts will also help you save a lot of time and enjoy an improved iPhone experience. Do let us know your favorites in the comments below.