When we recently reviewed
Alfred 2 for Mac --
it was a rave. We noted how it was the perfect app to feature in a Hands On piece because that's the point: just about anything you can do on your Mac, Alfred 2 lets you do from the keyboard. It's not the only application that does this, but it does it very well, and is a true boon for getting things done. So much so that the application has been around and continuously developed for many years, just always with this hands-on idea.
Until now.
Now the makers have practically gone entirely the opposite way, and released a tool that means you do have to take your hands off the keyboard -- you have to take them off the Mac keyboard, and start tapping at your iPhone or iPad. It shouldn't work. It should be the antithesis of all that is Alfred.
Yet it is ridiculously useful.
Alfred Remote does what the name suggests, and lets you control Alfred 2 from your iOS device, and through that lets you control your Mac. It's useful for very specific things, so it may not suit you, but what it sets out to do it is good at.
The specific thing is that it may be called Alfred Remote, but it can't be all that Remote. On the same Bonjour (local) network is essential, right by your Mac is best. We have now got into the habit of locking our Macs via Alfred Remote as we walk out of the door, but for most things you need with you at your Mac: keyboard, trackpad, Alfred Remote on iOS -- you'll want to have the three in front of you.
When you do, one tap on Alfred Remote controls your iTunes music, launches apps, quits them again, and (most handily) runs Alfred 2 workflows. Whatever simple or massively complex system you've set up in Alfred 2 on your Mac, one tap on your iOS device launches it. This must be an illusion, but it's a nice one: switching Mac apps seems a lot faster via Alfred Remote than it does when we do it manually on the Mac.
What it
can't do is anything that requires confirmation: we can lock our Mac, or put it sleep, but we can't shut down because the Mac will ask if we're sure. So, fine, you can do that while you're at your Mac, but you're not going to be running Alfred from your local Starbucks.
Alfred Remote
costs $5 in the App Store, but features such as controlling iTunes or running workflows require the paid version of Alfred 2 on your Mac.
Download Alfred 2 from the official site, and buy the Powerpack add-on for £17 (approximately $25). Alfred Remote requires iOS 7.1 or later.
Who is Alfred Remote for:
Mac users looking for faster, handier ways to speed up tasks
Who is Alfred Remote not for:
Dedicated keyboard fans for whom Alfred 2 is better on its own
-- William Gallagher (
@WGallagher)