I think Alfred added date snippets etc when they added text expansion in an update (I didn’t look into it much as I use TextExpander - but I may also do this experiment as I don’t like having to switch keyboard on ios)
@Tim_O Truly, the need to switch keyboards is a big reason for my looking to get away from TextExpander. More precisely, the clutter of having four keyboards activated on iOS – I often hit TextExpander when I meant to go to something else.
@tjluoma You joke, but I usually add strings on the Mac, not iOS. So a Keyboard Maestro macro might be a good idea for me.
I’m currently using Text Expander but could easily replace it with the builtin text substitutions and Alfred for data and address expansions. I can safely say that if I were buying now I’d do just that as the Text Expander subscription is way too expensive when I can do what I need for free or close to it.
Is there a way to use Apple’s text expansion to insert the current date or time? Those are my number 1 and 2 use cases for TextExpander, and part of the reason I spend so much time in Ulysses and Drafts on iOS.
Now if only Things and some mail app would add TextExpander integration I’d be set…
If the Google ios keyboard added TE support I’d be sorted 
You can’t use Apple’s text expansion to do this, but you can use Services, and assign a service that inserts the date or time with a key combination. I did this prior to getting TextExpander (and before Alfred would do it). Now the problem is getting a service to insert the data or time. But it is available for free. Go to the App Store and search for “WordService”.
Aaaaand I’m back to TextExpander.
The clincher: TextExpander can be set to expand text when you simply type the shortcut. With MacOS, you need to type the shortcut and then a space. Many of my TextExpander shortcuts are set to expand when I type a fragment of a word.
Also, I can easily search TextExpander shortcuts if I remember I have a text snippet but can’t remember what the shortcut is.
Still, I may just think about how I can make better use of MacOS/iOS snippets, in part because those are just plain easier to access on iOS.
Additionally, I really need to clean out my TextExpander shortcuts. I just found one that I set up to use in a job I left in 2009!
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I cannot get this (multi-line) to work, what am I doing wrong?
Are you pressing option-return (not cmd-return)? This is when you’re typing in the “With” column of the Text preferences. It definitely works because I just tried it again!
On Mac There is also aText which does everything I ever used in TE for a one off small payment. You can also use snippets in LaunchBar and assign them a quick shortcut
On iOS the tip about multiline has proved perfect apart from the dates thing, much appreciated.
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For me the macOS/iOS text substitutions work very well.
They sync across all my devices, are fast and are available without switching keyboards on iOS.
For more advanced snippets I use Keyboard Maestro on the Mac, and just don’t use them on iOS.
I find using the TE keyboard and expansion of advanced snippets on iOS is weird, ugly and time consuming, and I usually just end up typing the text myself (usually quicker)
All in all it has been solid for me, and I have not missed TE.
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Thanks, I am on a perpetual ledge with this one: I don’t use expansion enough to make the issue clear. I don’t like the way TE keyboard works on Messages for example on ios; I like KM and I could just do with that but there is something about the way TE works as you say. If I were not on the ‘cheap’ legacy sub though I would drop it frankly. I don’t use expansions that much; not as much as I thought in fact. I could also put dates and snippets in Launchbar, I already use one or two. I found your experiment very interesting and helpful actually, though I have come to no real conclusion I feel a bit clarified… ?
Glad you find my experiment helpful. I have come to no real conclusion either, other than that it seems like it’s easier to keep using TextExpander – keep doing what I have been doing – and for $3+/mo. I can afford that.
But now I see why TextExpander ads keep focusing on the business collaboration uses. Because if someone were thinking about starting to use TE today, I’d ask them what they need that they can’t just do with Mac/iOS built-in tools.
Reminds me of something that happened 10 or so years ago. A friend who is 10 years older than me moved in to a new house and said he and his wife were not having a landline installed. This was the New Hot Thing, and I said to him, “We still have our landline. I feel old now.” He said, “Don’t feel old. You’ve been living in that house for years. It doesn’t make sense to switch of the landline and go to the bother of changing your number for everyone. But for us moving into a new house it doesn’t make sense to have it switched ON.”
And 10 years later I’ve stopped using the landline. My wife likes it for what turns out to be good and interesting technological reasons.
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That runs on iOS? Part of the objective…
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Nope, still doesn’t work. However, I was able to get what I wanted by using the “Text Substitutions.plist” trick, so I’m happy 
I was trying this exact same experiment. I think I am going back to Text Expander. The first issue is having to hit the space bar after the abbreviation to make it expand. I prefer how Text Expander automatically expands with the keystrokes and you don’t need to hit the space bar.
The second issue that I came across was when I updated to Mojave. For some reason, when I updated, my text snippets list on my Mac reverted back a list I had about 3 months ago. So I lost all my new snippets on the Mac. My iPad and iPhone still have the new text snippets I added. So now my Mac and iOS substitutions are out of sync - which was the whole point in the first place.
Frustrating to say the least. I still have 7 months left on my Text Expander subscription so I am just going to continue with that for now. Maybe I will look again in a few months. Plus, I got in early with Text Expander so I have the discounted subscription. Most my use cases for text expansion on iOS are with apps that work with Text Expander. The one big one that does not work is Mail. The solution for me has been to use Drafts for most all of my writing for emails.
I‘m coming to the conclusion that even though I‘ll keep TE (I‘m not on the subscription anyway), it’s a good idea to put some of the important snippets into the iOS/MacOS system, just to access them easier. Especially for email addresses etc. that are often used outside of texteditors like Drafts.
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Same here! Seems like a small thing but that was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me.
Same here. For me, the cost in time of researching and configuring alternatives is greater than the financial cost of continuing to pay for TE.
I don’t write a lot of email on iOS. Mostly just check “Froms:” and subject lines to see if there’s anything requiring immediate attention.
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I have made this switch for the past month or so and have to say it’s largely successful. For me the only thing I consistently miss is the date shortcut I made in TE. Every so often an app does not accept the system autocorrect and I need to expand in spotlight and paste the text in but otherwise it’s pretty good for my use!
If anyone knows how to do date shortcuts using native expansion lmk!
Heres a reason why needing a trailing space to expand can make sense. Let’s say I want to have an expansion rule for “TextExpander”, useful in threads like this, for instance. I can use “Te” as my rule. Hitting the space bar triggers it. If I had it triggered immediately I wouldn’t be able to write words like “Tell” as they would become “TextExpanderll” So to use the immediate expansion I would have to have the trigger be something that would not normally occur, like “;te”. So which is easier? Hitting a special character at the start or the space bar at the end?