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Want to make your phone more useful? Try automating tasks

It might not be for everyone but it can speed tasks up or allow you to carry out entirely different actions.

SURE YOUR SMARTPHONE can do some impressive things but at the same time, you’re normally tied down to carrying out one or two actions at a time.

It’s not that smartphones aren’t capable, it’s just the very nature of smartphone software can only do so many tasks at any one time or keeps it simple to avoid complicating things.

For those who feel limited, a way around this is to use automating tools. Doing this might sound like an unnecessary addition to things – and for most people, it probably is – but if you take the time to learn it, it can speed things up for you and open up new possibilities.

Granted, this is more useful for tasks you already do regularly, but it doesn’t hurt to know what’s out there.

How it works

It’s best to think of automating as two steps: input and result.

Input is the action that you (or your phone) carry out while result is the new action that happens.

To give a quick example, for Tasker (one of the apps below), you could set up your phone so the screen dims anytime you open up a music app, or save a photo to Dropbox as soon as you take one, or to email yourself articles you’ve liked on Twitter.

There is more scope for creativity here, and the above is just a small taster of what you can do. If you’re stuck for examples, the apps below offer a number of different examples, directly or otherwise.

Many of them allow you to save shortcuts on the home screen for easy access and some like Do Button are dedicated to that one purpose. Below are a few apps that will help you get started.

IFTTT An example of how automation works through IFTTT, one of the apps available. IFTTT IFTTT

Tasker
For: Android
Cost: €2.99

One that’s been available for Android for quite a while, Tasker is still one of the best versions out there giving you an unprecedented level of control over your phone.

It’s not one for beginners since it takes a bit of time to get to grips with, but it’s one of the more versatile automation apps out there. Once you get the hang of it, there’s an impressive amount of customisation available.

Tasker Tasker / Google Play Tasker / Google Play / Google Play

Workflow
For: iOS
Cost: €2.99

A more recent addition to the automation game, Workflow takes the form of a linear flowchart, designed to make automating tasks easy. As well as pinning actions to the home screen, widget support means you can carry out actions without going into the app itself.

The ease of use means that anyone can string together actions in moments but if you don’t feel up to it, there are enough suggestions in Gallery to get you started. However, what you can do with it is more limited compared to the apps on Android.

download Workflow / App Store Workflow / App Store / App Store

IFTTT
For:
iOS, Android, Web 
Cost:
Free

The most accessible of the apps listed here, If This Then That (IFTTT) is broken up into two main apps. The first one is IF which is the general task app. This allows you to automate tasks when they happen, either automatically or by completing an action.

The other app is DO, a collection of three apps dedicated to a general task, a note-taking task and a camera task. These are more useful for single actions you carry out sometimes but not often enough to make it automatic.

Even if you don’t know where to start, there are enough ready made ‘recipes’ on the service to get you started, and it’s linked up to enough popular apps for you to find it useful.

download IF / App Store IF / App Store / App Store

Automate
For: Android
Cost: Free (includes in-app purchases)

Automate is best described as a cross between Workflow and Tasker. It’s similar to Workflow in that it displays actions as flowcharts, but much like Tasker, there are hundreds of conditions you can create using most of the settings, sensors and apps on your phone.

It’s a little bit easier to get into than Tasker since it’s a little bit more user-friendly but you will still need to dedicate some time to learning it before you get the hang of it.

Automate Automate / Google Play Automate / Google Play / Google Play

Alloy
For: iOS
Cost: €4.99

If you’re looking for something more powerful than Workflow on iOS, but don’t mind taking the time to learn how to use it, Alloy might be the one to look at. It’s one for the more tech-savvy users as you can delve deeper and fine-tune certain actions.

The actions themselves take the form of mini-apps which you can either access within Alloy or on the home screen. It’s harder to learn but if you need something more powerful than Workflow, it’s worth considering.

2Q== Alloy / App Store Alloy / App Store / App Store

Read: The reason why the Internet of Things revolution is about to kickstart in Ireland >

Read: This is how you should take care of your headphones >

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9 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Vladimir Vasyectomy
    Favourite Vladimir Vasyectomy
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    Jan 31st 2016, 11:17 AM

    It would be great if there was an app. that allowed the phones to chat with each other, which would leave the human beings free to meet and interact, like nature intended.
    The vast majority of communication is body language, – so put away that phone for a while and LIVE…!!

    55
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Neil Holland
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    Jan 31st 2016, 11:33 AM

    What did you type that on?

    37
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Vladimir Vasyectomy
    Favourite Vladimir Vasyectomy
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    Jan 31st 2016, 11:56 AM

    My Swedish au-pair just typed it when I got out of the Jacuzzi for another bottle of Bollinger…,

    53
    See 2 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ian Graydon
    Favourite Ian Graydon
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    Jan 31st 2016, 12:02 PM

    Haha, you need any savlon for that burn!

    19
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Neil Holland
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    Jan 31st 2016, 1:11 PM

    Wouldn’t a ‘burn’ typically have more upvotes than the original question?

    6
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Random_paddy
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    Jan 31st 2016, 3:55 PM

    Is there an app you can get to delete voicemails from yer mammy so you don’t have to ring in and delete it

    12
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Barry Higgins
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    Jan 31st 2016, 11:16 AM

    I use IFTTT a lot. I have it set up to turn my phone to vibrate when I get close to work, mute when I’m in meetings etc.

    10
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dave Davis
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    Jan 31st 2016, 2:54 PM

    Tasker is fantastic. I use it to turn on my coffee machine in the mornings with my voice by telling my watch. It then tells me, in an Irish accent (using an Irish TTS engine which is brilliantly creepy) when it’s ready, so I can get out of bed. It also sends me an email with a selfie attached of the person who tried to unlock my phone and entered my pin code incorrectly.

    To do anything useful with it, you really need a whole suite of third party plug-ins though. Total cost is about €15 but it’s very much worth it. I believe development has stalled (with locale picking up where it left off) but it’s very stable and surprisingly easy to learn.

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute alwin smith
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    Mar 1st 2016, 7:42 AM

    Great Article!! This is really useful app list for smartphone automation apps. I am using some apps such as IFTTT, automate and Tasker. I love them a lot as they are useful for me. Tasker is fantastic. I use it to turn on my coffee machine in the mornings with my voice by telling my watch. It then tells me, in an Irish accent (using an Irish TTS engine which is brilliantly creepy) when it’s ready, so I can get out of bed. It also sends me an email with a selfie attached of the person who tried to unlock my phone and entered my pin code incorrectly. Thank you for sharing such a good article. Get more information about App development company please visit http://julyrapid.com/company/

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