Apple this week introduced macOS Monterey at WWDC, and it brings a variety of new features to Mac users. One of the most anticipated changes is that the Shortcuts automation app is now available on the Mac. In a new interview on Relay FM’s Mac Power Users podcast, Apple’s Vivek Bhardwaj talked more in-depth about Shortcuts on the Mac and how it integrates with other Mac automation tools like Automator.
In the interview, Bhardwaj, who works in product marketing for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS at Apple, explained why this marked the year that Apple decided to officially bring Shortcuts to the Mac:
“We’ve been working towards this for some time. When we first launched Shortcuts, bringing it on iPhone and iPad was powerful, it was a great opportunity for all of us to get some great feedback. Those are devices that you carry with you everywhere and automation on those platforms didn’t really exist before Shortcuts. So it was a great opportunity to kind of test it out, bring it out there and work closely with the developer ecosystem, get them excited about all the different the different Shortcuts they can go build. And then really bring it home to the Mac.
I think we learned a lot, we took a lot of feedback, and we’re now building on this really, really strong foundation. So we feel it’s just the right time to really bring Shortcuts to the Mac.”
One of the highlights of of Shortcuts on the Mac is the deep integration the app features with the rest of the macOS experience. This was something Apple set out to achieve from the beginning, Bhardwaj explains in the interview:
“It’s one of those things that at Apple we pay a lot of attention to, that kind of deep integration. We’re not just building an app for the sake of the Mac. This is about deeply integrating it into the OS. Some of my favorites is actually popping up in Finder based on the files and things you’re looking at. That’s just such a Mac thing, and feels so at home. Same with the menu bar.
I think that deep integration was really something we knew would be a really compelling experience for users. I think it’s also one of those things that helps builds familiarity.”
You can listen to the full interview on Mac Power Users, which is available on the Relay FM website right here. The interview includes a ton of details on how Shortcuts will integrate with Automator, more details on the “multi-year transition” to Shortcuts on the Mac, and more.
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