Automation favorite Launch Center Pro 2.3 released with IFTTT integration & more

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In the burgeoning world of iOS automation, Launch Center Pro is king. What may initially look like just a grid of icons soon turns into a world of never-ending possibilities as soon as you scratch away the surface of an app that has become the center of many iOS users’ workflows. In short, Launch Center Pro is the app to install on your iPhone or indeed, iPad.

So when it was announced that a new version was in the works, Launch Center Pro 2.3, everyone took notice. Today, that update is finally in the App Store for all to enjoy and, if we’re being honest, they could have easily sold this as a 3.0 release, rather than the 2.3 moniker it has taken on.

If you crave new ways to make your iOS device the true center of your digital and online life, then you’re going to love the new Launch Center Pro, complete with IFTTT integration and more…

The app itself tries not to stray too far from the tried and tested formula that has seen Launch Center Pro gain pride of place on many a Home screen, so don’t expect huge UI overhauls here. What you will receive as part of the 2.3 update though is a handful of carefully thought out, well implemented additions that give the app yet more power, yet more options and yet more ways to turn any iOS device into one hell of a tool.

The additions live in Launch Center Pro are:

  • Trigger Launch Center Pro actions using Geofences and iBeacons
  • Integrate web services with native apps using the new Launch Center Channel on IFTTT
  • Share GIFs with built-in Giphy search
  • QR and barcode scanning

Being able to trigger Launch Center Pro actions based on a location is an important addition, because it means that you can have actions kick off as soon as you reach work, for example. Imagine having OmniFocus beg to be launched as soon as you get to the office, so you know just what needs doing. Of course, your action knows where you are, so it’s going to push you straight into your ‘Work’ perspective too, so all you see is things that really are work tasks. It’s an overly simple example of what’s possible, but we’re sure you get the idea.

Where things really start to get interesting for us though is the addition of IFTTT to Launch Center Pro. Now, with the 2.3 update installed, you can trigger IFTTT actions right from within Launch Center Pro. What that boils down to is quite simple, yet hugely powerful, because any IFTTT trigger can now be fired off by a tap of a button in Launch Center Pro. In fact, tie this in with the location-based firing of actions mentioned above, and the world is your oyster.

But it works both ways, too. Using the new Launch Center Pro IFTTT channel, you can have IFTTT send notifications to Launch Center Pro which contain custom URLs. That means you could have IFTTT monitor an RSS feed for example, and then have the URL for new posts be pushed to Launch Center Pro. Swipe the notification on your phone, and Launch Center Pro acts on the URL it’s been passed. That could launch Chrome, Safari, or any other web browser. But thanks to in-app URLs, the notification could do anything Launch Center Pro can do.

It’s magic, there’s no other word for it.

The true power of having both a Launch Center Pro IFTTT trigger and action won’t be realized until people start making their own chains, and that starts today. We’ve been testing Launch Center Pro 2.3 for a little while now, and we can’t wait to see what people come up with.

Launch Center Pro 2.3 is available to download from the App Store for both iPhone and iPad now and cost $4.99 each.