Hello @tjluoma,
I have not used Pushcut yet but I have done some reading about it as, like you, I am thinking about using this but I have not yet decided.
From the Pushcut website the minimum requirement is iOS 12 and an internet connection.
To get started, install Pushcut on your dedicated server device (iOS 12 or higher, internet connection required
It does not specify a particular device; just a minimum version if iOS.
Until recently I had it running on an iPhone 6S, I only switched to my old Xs Mac because the old iPhone had a limited amount of storage space and couldn’t hold all the apps I needed to be able to run my automations. Personally, I think running the latest iOS is ideal - after all, it means all your shortcuts will run.
Well, the old SE is running 14.3 so that ought to cover for a little while at least. 64GB, which isn’t a lot, but is more than my iPad mini which has sixteen because I did not read carefully enough when buying it during a Woot!Off.
Yeah, the 6S had 16GB of space, and installing iOS updates on it was a pain in the neck. Though I say that just after offering it to a friend to try as an automation server
To state, I think, the obvious: The higher the OS level the more Shortcuts capabilities (and donated actions) you have to play with.
I had Automation Server running on iOS 12 once. But abandoned it for this reason. (I really didn’t want to have to figure out which shortcuts would run where.)
I looked at that and concluded it was an expensive way to carry on. No matter what device you buy. Do you have an old phone or iPad that can still run (at least) iOS 13?
(I’ve also concluded there’s not much that has to run on iOS/iPadOS.)
Hence my current obsession with using Raspberry Pi computers to do lots of the work.
I would assume that a second-hand iPhone SE or iPad Touch would be the cheapest option. The question becomes how much longer they will be supported in terms of newer versions of iOS.
It might even be worth looking on eBay/Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace for someone who has an iPhone or iPad with a cracked-but-functional screen, since really you don’t need the screen to do much, you just need the device to be on.
Yeah, I’d love to find a way to offload the bulk of this capability to a pi or my Linux server. Obviously it won’t run shortcuts automatically that way.
$350+ is hard to swallow for an iOS device that has to sit there doing one thing.
On the Pi front: Back when travel was a thing I had a Pi kit that:
Had a battery and a rubber band and a Pi in a small bag I could attach to my bigger “under my feet” bag.
Bluetooth networking set up between iPhone / iPad and Pi.
But we all know what happened next . Actually the iPhone, iPad, Pi all got replaced by newer ones. So if travel becomes a thing then I have a lot of setup to do.
But, to be serious for a moment, node.js can get you a long way on a Pi.