Launch Center Pro
Save time on complex actions
£3.99 Developer Contrast, contrast.co
Works with iPhone, iPod touch, iPad Version 2.6.1
This app lets you create your own shortcuts for doing things on iOS – it can simply launch apps for you, but it can also perform complex actions within those apps, queueing up common tasks for you, essentially. (Compatible apps and actions are listed at http://actions.contrast.co)
You can access these shortcuts either within the app itself, where they’re presented in a grid; or you can trigger them through the app’s widget in Today view; or using 3D Touch on compatible iPhones. Some can also be activated by location or through other triggers. Launch Center Pro is also massively expandable thanks to integration with IFTTT (http://bit.ly/MFLCPro). Basically, it’s there to make certain tasks easier to do on iOS.
At least, that’s the plan. Launch Center Pro can be very daunting – you might have an action in mind for it to perform, but finding the right set of options isn’t easy. There’s a huge number of possible actions, and their categorisation is only helpful half the time. You also don’t build complex tasks in easy-to-follow workflows, but rather just by choosing actions from a list to see the app build a URL that represents the task you specify.
Still, the possibilities are huge – though the app is great even for something a little smaller. We were able to add a button to Today view to get directions back to our home using Maps, and another to lock brightness to 100% for correctly exposing video. Both are helpful, and took seconds to create. Matt Bolton
Though it could be friendlier (guides are available), you may find it invaluable once you get to grips with it.