What is Automation & How to Get Started on Android

Did you know what is automation app? Automation apps may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But it can be unusually handy if used properly. As a user, all you need to do is look beyond the obvious and find out ways to automate your day-to-day tasks.

Contents

1 What are Automation apps and how do they work?
2 Apps to consider
3 Conclusion:

What are Automation apps and how do they work?

Automation apps work on the IFTTT — If This Then That — philosophy. You simply link actions with triggers, and your smartphone carries out those commands when the conditions are met. For example, if you want to turn on your Wi-Fi when you reach home, set your home location as the trigger and “turn on Wi-Fi” as action. Please note you might need to grant a couple of permissions for the routine to work.

Apps to consider

Now, that you’re a little familiar with the idea of automation. It’s time to help you pick the apps you should try to get the most out of your smartphone. So, without further ado, let’s dig in.

IFTTT:

The first app on our list is IFTTT. As it welcomes you with an intuitive and catchy UI, which is enough to pique your interest.

As you’d expect, the app lets you automate almost every aspect of your device. You can set triggers based on location, device battery level, the app in the foreground, date/time, and more. IFTTT calls these routines or functions Applets, which are fairly straightforward to build. The app also has a flourishing community and allows you to exchange Applets with other users. The app supports Google Home and Amazon Alexa.

How To create an Applet:

At first, open the app
Then click on Get more
Tap on the ‘+’ sign adjacent to ‘Make your Applets from scratch’
Choose ‘If This (set trigger)’
Pick ‘Then That (action)’

Download: Get IFTTT on Google Play

Automate

Automate, too, works on the same principle as IFTTT. But it looks a little differently. While IFTTT has a more interactive GUI, Automate takes pride in giving its users a genuine flowchart experience. You are greeted with over 300 building blocks, each of them catering to a different function on your device.

How To create a Flow:

At first, open the app
Click on the blue ‘+’ sign at the bottom right corner
Tap on the blue ‘+’ icon again
Pick a category of blocks
Select trigger
When returned to the main screen tap again on the ‘+’ icon
Select action
Connect all the blocks by dragging your fingers between connecting nodes

Download: Get Automate on Google Play

MacroDroid

MacroDroid can be considered a fusion between the two apps. It combines Automate’s vast app support with IFTTT’s simplicity to deliver an easy-to-understand automation experience.

It allows you to implement additional conditions called Constraints. On paper, it looks like a more complicated approach, but the result is quite different when implemented properly. The app also has instructions written on each screen which makes it easier.