iOS 13your plate for today versus what you’ll have to tackle
tomorrow, and it sure beats having to look carefully at
the dates in a pile of reminders.
The Reminders app sorts these by itself, so long
as you marked a specific reminder while setting it up
(or added a flag for priority). This home screen is also
just a good springboard for making new reminders. To
add a new one, press the Today tab, the Flagged tab, or
the Reminders tab, and you’ll see the prompt for New
Reminder in the lower left-hand corner.Natural language input
makes adding reminders easier
Adding reminders used to be a major hassle with
Apple’s native app because you had to waste time
entering the time and date individually. A task that
should have taken 10 seconds would sometimes end
up taking what feels like ages.
Now, though, Reminders takes cues from popular
third-party apps like Fantastical and lets you use
natural language commands for adding entries. Let’s
say I want to remind myself to: “Watch the Super
Bowl on 2 February at 23.30.” I could tap out that
very phrase when making a new reminder, and the
date and time would light up in blue. If I tap those
blue phrases, Reminders automatically adds the
time and date to the entry. That kind of thing can
save hours. If you have your home or work set, you
can type something like, “Remind me to charge my
Apple Pencil when I get to work.”
You can also use your voice to add these entries
with Siri, and you won’t even have to type anything soiOS 13
yourplatefortodayversuswhatyou’llhavetotackle
tomorrow,anditsurebeatshavingtolookcarefullyat
thedatesinapileofreminders.
TheRemindersappsortsthesebyitself,solong
asyoumarkedaspecificreminderwhilesettingitup
(oraddedaflagforpriority).Thishomescreenisalso
justagoodspringboardformakingnewreminders.To
addanewone,presstheTodaytab,theFlaggedtab,or
theReminderstab,andyou’llseethepromptforNew
Reminderinthelowerleft-handcorner.Natural language input
makesaddingreminderseasier
Addingremindersusedtobeamajorhasslewith
Apple’snativeappbecauseyouhadtowastetime
enteringthetimeanddateindividually.Ataskthat
shouldhavetaken 10 secondswouldsometimesend
up takingwhatfeelslikeages.
Now,though,Reminderstakescuesfrompopular
third-partyappslikeFantasticalandletsyouuse
naturallanguagecommandsforaddingentries.Let’s
say Iwanttoremindmyselfto:“WatchtheSuper
Bowlon 2 Februaryat23.30.”Icouldtapoutthat
veryphrasewhenmakinganewreminder,andthe
dateand timewouldlightupinblue.IfItapthose
bluephrases,Remindersautomaticallyaddsthe
timeanddatetotheentry.Thatkindofthingcan
savehours.Ifyouhaveyourhomeorworkset,you
cantype somethinglike,“Remindmetochargemy
ApplePencilwhenIgettowork.”
Youcanalsouseyourvoicetoaddtheseentries
withSiri,andyouwon’tevenhavetotypeanythingso