Oliver Haslam·

New In iOS 14.3: Custom Shortcuts Icons On Home Screen No Longer Open The Shortcuts App First

Apple seeded the latest build of iOS 14.3 to developers recently and it brought with it one change that could be huge for people who like to create custom app icons using the Shortcuts app – the Shortcuts app will no longer need to launch before the app in question.

Right now anyone who taps a shortcut on the Home screen will see the Shortcuts app open briefly before the linked app opens properly.

That’s less than ideal for all kinds of reasons, not least the fact it has to be one of the most irritating things ever. But with iOS 14.3 installed that no longer happens.

Instead, users see the Shortcuts banner appear from the top of the screen in a similar way to how an incoming phone call would be displayed. The banner automatically disappears on its own without any input from the user.

This will be a huge deal for those of us who want to be able to make our Home screens look just right without having to watch the Shortcuts app open first. It seems like a small thing, but just ask anyone who has to watch it happen every time they tap an app icon. It gets old, and fast.

iOS 14.3 Beta 2 no longer opens shortcuts app before lauching an app from a custom icon from shortcuts

There’s no indication when the iOS 14.3 update will be made available to everyone, but with beta 2 now in the hands of developers we can only hope that it isn’t going to be too long.

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