Start vibe-coding your own iPhone Shortcuts already
Thanks to Siri AI and Shortcuts in iOS 27, I’ve finally created a better version of Shazam. Shazam is great for identifying songs you hear in the wild, but not so great at revisiting them later. It requires either Apple Music or Spotify to play the songs in full, and there’s no way to add more context about what made you tag a song to begin with. Now, I can press a button on my iPhone to make…
With the introduction of Siri AI and Shortcuts in iOS 27, users can now create personalized versions of popular apps like Shazam. Shazam is excellent at identifying songs, but falls short when it comes to revisiting them later, as it requires Apple Music or Spotify for playback and lacks context for tagging songs. Now, users can utilize Shortcuts to make Shazam function as desired: after identifying a song, the app adds the name and artist to an Obsidian page, links to a free YouTube stream, and provides space for notes on where and what they were doing at the moment.
All of this can be accomplished without any coding knowledge, by simply describing the desired Shazam setup in the Shortcuts app. Apple's Shortcuts app has been available since 2018, enabling users to chain actions into powerful routines. However, the process often required intricate tinkering with variables and if-then statements.
The new "Describe a Shortcut" feature in iOS 27 streamlines this process significantly, making iOS automation more accessible. To use Describe a Shortcut, users need an iPhone, iPad, or Mac supporting Siri AI, running iOS 27, iPadOS 27, or MacOS 27 Golden Gate, and must opt into the Siri AI beta. Once eligible, open the Shortcuts app, tap the "+" button, and describe the desired action in natural language.
Examples include a "Full charge" shortcut that overrides battery limits, an "Urgent reminder" shortcut that schedules tasks with alarms, a "Rambler" shortcut for dictating and sharing text, and a "Turn on grayscale" shortcut for bedtime grayscale mode. Once created, Shortcuts can be triggered via the app, Siri by name, home screen, physical Action Button, or Back Tap.
Shortcuts can also be set to run automatically based on various triggers. The "Describe a Shortcut" feature allows users to refine their shortcuts through follow-ups, similar to an AI chatbot. While the new method is simpler, users can still manually edit shortcuts via the "Edit" button, providing a fallback for more complex automation needs.
Written by urgent.news from Fast Company's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
