Automation

Shortcuts Focus: enforcing Picture in Picture on YouTube & other unsupported websites on iPad

Your iPad supports Picture in Picture (PiP) videos in apps and webpages, but this handy mode isn't universally supported across all video-streaming websites. Crucially, PiP is unsupported by YouTube.com's iPad interface on Safari. But there's a shortcut for that, too—thanks to the power of iOS automation, you can enforce Picture in Picture on YouTube and other websites.

Shortcuts Focus: getting Dark Mode on virtually any website

Darkened interfaces look good in apps, not so much on websites. The problem is, web content remains a major source of visual inconsistency as far as the popular Dark Mode feature is concerned. Thankfully, you can get a Dark Mode-alike environment on almost any website thanks to a handy Dark Mode V2 shortcut for your iPhone and iPad.

Apple announces Shortcuts, a Workflow-like automation app for iOS

Folks hoping to see Apple improve upon its digital assistant Siri in iOS 12 will be happy to hear it has announced a new app called Shortcuts. The app, which looks every bit like the Workflow automation app it acquired a year ago, will allow you to connect 'Shortcut' operations to Siri, making complex tasks as simple as speaking a command.