Pushcut: Shortcuts Automation

Pay wall for all the features you are actually going to need to use, free ones are literally useless

Tested it on my phone and it worked great, I was able to trigger shortcuts using the URL. However, when I moved the server to a dedicated device, device specific shortcuts didn’t run properly. For example, I have a shortcut that disconnects all airplay speakers from my device and set playback to my device. This runs great when server is on my phone, but when the server is on another device it runs that shortcut on the server device. That device isn’t playing anything though so the music is still playing through the speakers from my phone.

This app fills the need for working notifications from shortcuts, but like most apps these days uses a subscription service model. If this was a one-time $20 purchase I'd gladly pay but I'm not going to sign up for ANOTHER subscription. App is limited to only three notifications in the free tier which is pretty greedy on the developers end. If I can find another app that fills this need I'll be switching right away.

THIS APP IS JUST AMAZING I USE IT ALL THE TIME AND JUST WOW ITS AMAZING

This is the only reliable way I have found for invoking Apple Shortcuts from Alexa/Lambda. I have Automation Server running on an old iPhone 6s that wasn’t being used. Running for several weeks now with no issues. I use the api url to execute the shortcut from an Alexa Skil Lambda function. Pushcut allows the shortcuts to run without human interaction, which was one of the problems with Apple’s native “Automation”. Super easy to setup and use. Well done!

Offers a trial then subscription but no terms or price. Won’t pull the trigger until I know the details

Attended to use api calls for push notifications on important appointments and it just wasn’t reliable enough. The Power Automate ran as expected but the sound alerts didn’t regularly work. I had to switch to an SMS service for now.

This app has the ability to solve major issues with Siri Shortcuts and automations which is why I was willing to pay almost $40 for a lifetime license. However the main feature that most people would want/need requires an additional monthly/annual subscription on top of the lifetime license. Scheduling a one-time server execution/action for a specific date and time should not be behind an additional pay wall for people who already purchased lifetime licenses. Nearly every other “pro” feature of the lifetime license in this app is able to be accomplished by other workarounds or natively in iOS. The one problem it could actually solve, is deceptively locked behind an expensive monthly IAP. 🙄

When you are in a hardware store, you can see the product in its full form before purchasing it. Developers, unfortunately, are far too comfortable to lock their products behind a wall so you can’t even experience it without paying. This app supposedly lets you make widgets, but except for marketing images, one has no idea how you go about making them. The product is the widget. So don’t let me put the widget on the Homescreen. But, I’d like to experience the UX behind creating it before I spend any money. Maybe the widget look nice, but are far too difficult to create.

HomeKit’s automation feature is still a puzzle and somewhat limited. PushCut picks up where Apple fell short. The notification feature is really capable when combine with Shortcuts and Home App’s automations. But, the learning curve is pretty steep. PushCut should have built-in animated diagrams explaining how all this work and I can bet that if they do this, this app’s user base would easily double in no time. They really tried to incorporate the same UI language Apple uses with Shortcuts, which is very good. But, this type of “configuration” language is very limiting to the normal user who needs to do quite a lot of tests, trial and error, in order to find out the real power of being able to automate shortcuts. I only expect things to get better form here.