Workflow

What Workflow does

Workflow, founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, originally built an iOS automation app that connected users' apps and services to automate everyday tasks without coding. Following Apple's acquisition, the product was rebranded as "Shortcuts" and is now distributed as a pre-installed native application across Apple's full device ecosystem—iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision—with support for 33 languages globally. The original Workflow startup received early-stage backing from Eniac Ventures, General Catalyst, Lowercase Capital, and Rough Draft Ventures.

Shortcuts provides a visual scripting interface in which users compose custom automations by chaining hundreds of built-in actions sourced from native Apple apps including Calendar, Camera, Reminders, HomeKit, Safari, and the broader first-party productivity and creative suite (Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, GarageBand, Apple Books, Apple Podcasts, Shazam, TestFlight). Trigger mechanisms span Home Screen icon taps, Siri voice commands, and automatic event-based triggers driven by time, location, or device state. Use cases include media creation (animated GIF generation, Safari-to-PDF conversion), HomeKit smart-home orchestration, quick contact calling, and bespoke multi-step workflows that combine apps without requiring programming knowledge.

The product operates as a free, pre-installed default application with no in-app purchases, subscription tiers, or premium features. Distribution is exclusively through Apple's App Store and factory-default installation on devices running iOS 13.0+, iPadOS 13.0+, watchOS 7.0+, and visionOS 1.0+. The Shortcuts app has accumulated approximately 44,000 App Store ratings with an average score of 4.6 out of 5, indicating strong user satisfaction. Revenue generation is indirect, contributing to Apple ecosystem engagement and lock-in rather than direct monetization of the Workflow/Shortcuts product line.

Name

Workflow

Legal name

Apple Inc.

Website

https://my.workflow.is

Company type

Public

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Workflow, now Apple's Shortcuts, is a pre-installed iOS/iPadOS/watchOS/visionOS automation app enabling users to build custom multi-step automations across Apple's device ecosystem without coding. The free, 33-language product has 44,000+ App Store ratings averaging 4.6/5.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Automation Software

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Workflow Automation & No-Code Collaboration (BPAMAMAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Integration-Centric Low-Code (Workflow + iPaaS) (HDAEAKAC), iPaaS & Workflow Automation (BPAMAOAB)

Keywords

• Workflow automation
• Task automation
• No-code automation
• Mobile productivity
• App integration

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. App Distribution: The Shortcuts app is distributed free of charge as a pre-installed default application on Apple devices. Revenue generation is indirect through ecosystem lock-in and driving engagement with other Apple services and the App Store.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Workflow develops a mobile automation application that connects apps and services to automate everyday tasks without requiring coding knowledge. Users create custom automations using a visual scripting interface that combines hundreds of built-in actions from native Apple apps such as Calendar, Camera, and Reminders. The product is now distributed as Apple's Shortcuts app, available pre-installed on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple Vision, and Mac devices.

Product overview

Apple's Shortcuts is a native iOS/iPadOS automation platform that provides a single core product (Shortcuts app) enabling users to create custom automations using built-in actions from Apple's suite of productivity apps. The broader portfolio includes companion apps like Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, and GarageBand that serve as action sources for automation workflows. Shortcuts is available across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple Vision, and TV platforms, with cross-app integration capabilities to native Apple apps.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Shortcuts Apple's native automation app that enables users to create custom automations or choose from hundreds of built-in actions in native apps such as Calendar, Camera, and Reminders to accomplish everyday tasks via Home Screen tap, Siri voice commands, or automatic triggers. Available for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision users.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IFTTT: IFTTT is the most direct consumer-facing automation platform, letting users build conditional applets across apps and smart-home devices — directly comparable to Shortcuts for everyday consumer workflow automation, although it works cross-platform.
• Tasker: Tasker is the leading Android automation app, providing deep context-aware triggers and actions on mobile — the closest functional analogue to Shortcuts, but on the competing OS platform.
• Stringify: Stringify was a consumer automation platform for connecting apps and smart-home devices with a visual flow editor — a direct functional peer to Shortcuts that was eventually acquired by Comcast/Xfinity.
• Samsung Bixby Routines: Bixby Routines is Samsung's built-in automation feature for Galaxy devices — directly comparable to Shortcuts as a first-party, OS-level consumer automation tool, but on Android hardware.

Broad incumbents

• Zapier: Zapier is a broad web-based workflow automation platform connecting thousands of SaaS apps — overlaps with Shortcuts' workflow model but targets prosumer/SMB web workflows rather than on-device consumer tasks.
• Make (Integromat): Make offers visual scenario-based workflow automation with deep app integrations — a comparable no-code orchestration platform, though oriented toward business users rather than on-device consumer automation.
• Microsoft Power Automate: Power Automate is Microsoft's enterprise workflow automation suite with mobile triggers — shares the visual no-code automation model with Shortcuts but is anchored to Microsoft's productivity ecosystem.

Emerging players

• n8n: n8n is an open-source workflow automation platform with a visual node editor — addresses similar no-code automation use cases as Shortcuts but targeted at technical users and self-hosters.
• Home Assistant: Home Assistant is an open-source home automation platform with deep device integrations — overlaps with Shortcuts' HomeKit and smart-home automation use cases but is DIY and not tied to a mobile OS.

Others

• Apple Siri (shortcuts surface): Siri is the voice and intent layer that triggers Shortcuts workflows — included as an adjacent/embedded relationship because Siri's capabilities directly determine how Shortcuts' voice-automation promise is delivered.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Apple
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Apple
• Facebookfacebook.com/Apple
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/deskconnect
• Instagraminstagram.com/apple

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Workflow