MacStories editor-in-chief Federico Viticci has created an awesome new shortcut for iPhone and iPad comprising 800+ actions that enhances your Apple Music subscription and allows you to control AirPlay 2 media streaming and your HomePod speaker with ease.
Dubbed MusicBot, this iOS automation script is being billed as a powerful assistant for your Apple Music account that not only speeds up common interactions but also offers several unique features that Apple should have implemented in the first place.
After downloading MusicBot, run it from within Apple’s Shortcuts app. At first run, you’ll go through an onboarding experience requiring you to pick your three favorite playlists, choose a calendar for new music releases, name your favorite mixes and similar.
Some of the more interesting features of MusicBot, according to 9to5Mac’s Zac Hall:
- Setting device playback destination without tapping through Control Center
- Initiating audio handoff to HomePod and Apple TV
- Pausing AirPlay 2 speakers including HomePod with a tap
- Playing smart mix playlists including recent played songs, albums, and songs by decade shuffled
- Playing your music library by genre
- Shuffling one of your three favorite playlists
- Jumping into Beats 1’s live stream or specific radio host shows
Zac highlighted a few other features, too:
One of my favorite features that I didn’t know I needed is initiating the new ambient sounds feature on HomePod. You can start one of a few ambient sound loops by voice, but you need to know the lingo. MusicBot includes shortcuts to starting nature, rain, ocean, and white noise loops with a tap.
You can also share a currently playing song right from the Music app using the share sheet extension, and you aren’t limited to sharing the song as an Apple Music link. You can also include Spotify, YouTube, Pandora, and other service links. Just select each service that you want to include in your shared message including combinations of services.
Aside from the Shortcuts app, MusicBot can also be launched from your Home screen, from the Music app by adding it to the share sheet or from the Shortcuts widget.
Best of all, MusicBot is available to everyone for free. Viticci also announced MusicBot Pro with additional advanced features, coming later this week exclusively for Club MacStories members.
Here’s a laundry list of MusicBot Pro’s features:
- Love or dislike any song currently playing in the Music app, even if it hasn’t been added to your library, without having to open the Music app.
- Save playlists by Apple Music or other Apple Music curators to your Favorites or New Releases collections.
- Get the release date for any song or album, regardless of whether it came out years ago or is coming out in the future.
- Go beyond your local music library and search the entire Apple Music catalog for artists, songs, or playlists.
- Play any song from the Apple Music catalog without adding it to your library first.
- Add any song, album, or playlist from the Apple Music catalog to your library.
MusicBot Pro’s more advanced Apple Music integrations are powered by Toolbox Pro, which is available separately on the App Store and has to be installed for MusicBot Pro to work.
This is just one of the more than 150 shortcuts that the MacStories has created from scratch and is offering at no charge whatsoever. Additionally, the Mac and software-focused publication earlier this year released a set of 300+ Home screen icons for your shortcuts.