Are you a user of the Reminders app for organizing your shopping lists? If your answer is yes, then you’re in for a treat with the new features in iOS 17. And if you haven’t been using it, you might just find a reason to start.
In iOS 17, the Reminders app truly embraces its role as an indispensable productivity tool. It has undergone numerous improvements, but one particular enhancement is bound to catch the eye of users.
The Reminders App and Siri
One of the aspects that Apple ecosystem users cherish most is the seamless integration of this native app with Siri. You can effortlessly instruct Siri to add items to your shopping list, and it will oblige without a hitch. Moreover, you have the option to share your shopping list with others, a handy feature, or access it from various devices, be it your iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, or Mac. Notably, the Reminders app recently introduced templates, enabling you to kickstart your list with predefined items and save valuable time.
In iOS 17, Reminders introduces a novel feature tailored for crafting shopping lists, and it’s available on iPad OS 17, watchOS 10, and macOS Sonoma. Now, the app boasts the ability to automatically categorize the items on your list, greatly streamlining the shopping experience.
How does the app discern that it’s a shopping list?
Initially, you might assume that renaming your list from “Shopping” to “Shopping List” is the key to activating this function. However, to our pleasant surprise, the app proves to be smarter than we imagined.
Any list you create can serve as a shopping list, which is particularly useful if you maintain separate lists for different stores and desire automatic sorting of items. The Reminders app allows you to designate a list type, whether it’s standard or shopping. This can be achieved by tapping the three ellipses button located in the top right corner of the list, whether you’re using an iPhone or iPad.
By designating the list type as “shopping,” whenever you add common items to your shopping list, Reminders will intelligently categorize them into groups, simplifying your shopping experience. You also have the option to manually reorder the categories to align with your store’s layout or even create new categories. Additionally, you can opt for a column view that groups categories vertically.
In the initial beta version of iOS 17, shopping categories include: beverages, fresh produce, meats, frozen foods, wines, beers and spirits, bread and cereals, pasta, rice and legumes, dairy, eggs and cheese, sauces and condiments, personal care and health, and household items. Reminders, by default, hides categories that lack at least one item, though you can disable this feature if you prefer to view all categories while planning your purchases.
If the app cannot automatically identify the category for an item, it will place it under a “Other” category. You have the flexibility to manually reassign items from this category to their appropriate places or even create custom categories of your own.