iOS 26 brings one of the largest Shortcuts updates in years. You get over two dozen new actions, smarter tools powered by Apple Intelligence, and deeper automation features across every major platform. The update makes Shortcuts more useful for everyday tasks and more flexible for advanced workflows.
Apple expanded Shortcuts across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS. Many of the new additions focus on creativity, communication, and automation. You also get improvements to existing actions, so older shortcuts now run faster and handle more complex inputs.
Here’s the full breakdown of what changed.
New details came from Apple’s published support document and from Matthew Cassinelli’s findings.
New Actions in iOS 26
Apple added new actions across several apps. These actions bring more control to key services and let you create stronger automations.
Freeform
“Add Files to Board”
Image Playground
“Create Image”
“Find Message”
Measure
“Launch Measure”
Messages
“Find Message”
“Find Conversation”
Photos
“Rename Album”
“Search Photos”
“Create New Memory”
“Filter Library”
Reminders
“Show Quick Reminder”
Screen Time
“Get App & Website Data”
Sports
“Get Upcoming Sports Events”
Stocks
“Delete Symbol from Watchlist”
“Add Symbol to Watchlist”
Use Model
“Use Model” allows you to send text to Apple Intelligence or ChatGPT and use the response in your shortcut
Visual Intelligence
“Open Visual Intelligence”
Voice Memos
“Find Voice Recording”
Weather
“Add Location to List”
“Remove Locations from List”
Writing Tools
“Adjust Tone of Text”
“Make List from Text“
“Make Table from Text”
“Proofread Text”
“Rewrite Text”
“Summarize Text”
Updated Actions
Several existing actions work better and support more input types. These updates improve accuracy and reduce friction during automation.
“Calculate Expression” now understands units like currency, temperature, and distance
“Create QR Code” now lets you choose styles and colors
“Date” now lets you set a holiday
“Find Contacts” now filters by relationship
“Transcribe Audio” runs faster
“Show Content” now displays scrollable lists like reminders or calendar events
Shortcuts Editor Improvements
Apple improved the editing experience so you build shortcuts faster and with fewer steps.
Improved drag and drop
Faster variable selection
Over 100 new icon glyphs
Rich previews for events and reminders
Option to hide or show shortcuts in Spotlight
macOS Automation Upgrades
Shortcuts on macOS now supports personal automations for the first time. You can trigger shortcuts using events on your Mac.
Time of Day
Alarm
Message
Folder
File
External Drive
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
Display
Stage Manager
App
Battery Level
Charger
Focus
You can also add shortcuts to the menu bar or Control Center for quick access.
