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FocusList Review: A Minimalist, Pomodoro To-Do App

Through testing productivity apps like Doo and Time, my to-do preferences have changed; while I was once a fan of feature-rich task managers, I’ve learned to appreciate the simplicity of apps that just focus on helping me get stuff done.

FocusList is a great example of that sort of minimalism in action, an unadorned display of your tasks, their estimated completion time, and, on occasion, a timer. Its content is driven by your list of tasks, but no more – its one goal is to focus you on your work.

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Shazam Launches Redesigned, Simplified iOS App

Shazam for iOS has introduced an update that makes app navigation more simple and streamlined. Gone are the traditional navigation tabs at the bottom of the screen; they have been replaced by a paginated layout where a swipe left or right is used to switch screens.

Launching Shazam lands you on the Home page, which is devoted almost entirely to the Shazam button. Tapping it will cause the app to start listening to what’s playing; one change to the Home page is that you now activate Auto Shazam with a long-press on the Shazam button. Auto Shazam allows the app to continue listening to what’s playing even after the app closes.

The top of the Home page indicates that there are three pages in total to navigate through. To the left of Home is My Shazam, to the right is Discover1, and swiping back and forth is the primary way to get where you want to go. This type of layout resembles that of apps like Snapchat, only Shazam pulls it off in a less confusing manner. Not only do you always see three navigation dots at the top of the screen to indicate your current place within the app, but the Home page also contains icons that show which pages are placed on the left and right – Snapchat could benefit from similar aids, for new users at least.

My Shazam hasn’t changed much from before, but in an effort to consolidate the total number of pages in the app, Discover now includes the contents formerly found in Trending as well. A Chart Update card is included with your daily mix, plus you’ll find a button at the top and bottom of your 10 daily updates that takes you straight to Trending.

I appreciate what Shazam has done to try simplifying its app, both in the number of pages to navigate through, and in adopting the swiping gesture to handle that navigation with ease. Not every app would benefit from such a streamlined interface, but it works well here.

  1. Unfortunately Discover has not yet made it to the iPad, so Trending stands in its place on that device. ↩︎

Apple Releases How-To Videos on iPhone 7 Photography

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus include Apple’s most sophisticated cameras. Most of the time you see people out and about snapping quick shots that don’t necessarily take advantage of all the camera hardware and app have to offer. A series of 30-40 second videos released by Apple provide mini how-to tutorials on how to take iPhone 7 photography to the next level.

The videos are available on a new Apple website called ‘How to Shoot on iPhone 7’ and include videos on taking:

  • Portraits with the Portrait feature that’s exclusive to the iPhone 7 Plus;
  • Closeups using tap to focus and slide to adjust exposure;
  • Vertical panoramic photos;
  • Shots without using the flash;
  • Action photos with burst mode;
  • Selfies using the timer;
  • Photos framed with a unique angle;
  • Stills while filming video; and
  • Night time photos using street light.

Five of the videos are also on YouTube, and you can watch them after the break.

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Oilist Review: A Painter in Your Phone

If you’ve ever been to a fair or amusement park, you’ve likely stood and watched as a caricature artist drew a goofy picture while the subject sat completely still. As the artist’s hand glides across the page, you begin to see the bigger picture, and watch the artist’s style come to life in the form of a cartoonized version of a stranger. When the drawing is finished, the final product is not only a representation of the subject itself, but also one of the creator’s personality.

Oilist is an artist in your phone, one that you watch sketch, paint, and craft a unique version of a photo you’ve shot. The app uses AI – and your creativity – to turn pictures into works of art. Through creating with its own personality, you’ll get a new take on your old images in a fun and original way.

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Game Day: A.S.I.

Brian Mueller’s CARROT series of apps serve up healthy doses of snark along with the weather, fitness, tasks, and alarms. It’s a style that is immediately recognizable and adds an element of humor and fun that give his apps personality. That unexpected game-like quality, combined with utility and productivity apps, is what makes Mueller’s apps stand out from the crowd. Watching the family of CARROT apps grow over the years, it’s not surprising at all that Mueller has taken what feels like the next logical step and made an iOS game. A.S.I. brings CARROT, the star in his apps, to life in a sprawling and fun sci-fi sendup of artificial intelligence and tech culture.

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Rejected Apple Intern Applicant Reimagines the Music App→

Jason Yuan, writing for Medium’s Startup Grind:

Earlier this year I applied and interviewed for a graphic design internship at Apple Music (an opportunity of a lifetime), and was turned down with a very kind letter stating that although they liked my work, they wanted to see more growth and training.

At first, I was frustrated — Northwestern University doesn’t offer any sort of undergraduate graphic design program, so whatever growth they were looking for would have to be self taught…

…but as soon as I came to this realization, I became inspired to embark on what became a a three-month long journey to the holy grail — the iOS app that Apple Music deserves.

We don’t often link to concept pieces, but Yuan’s work is well worth a look. Besides the clean, elegant visual updates found here, one of the most interesting segments in the piece concerns a proposed new music discovery method called ‘My Sampler.’ The idea is that users can sample short clips of songs and either swipe down to add a song to their library or swipe up if they don’t like it. Yuan does a great job of showing how this type of gamification through gestures could be a welcome addition to the iOS Music app.

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PDF Expert 6 Adds Powerful Editing Tools and More

Readdle released a major update to PDF Expert today. Version 6 incorporates powerful PDF editing tools, in-place cloud-based editing and annotation, document-level assignment of passwords, and more. PDF Expert was already one of the premier PDF apps on iOS, but free alternatives have given it a run for its money recently. The new features in PDF Expert 6 should help maintain its status as a favorite for many PDF power users.

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Beddit Sleep Tracker Acquired by Apple→

Beddit, which makes a sleep sensor that collects sleep and other health data and sends it to companion iPhone and Apple Watch apps, was acquired by Apple. According to Beddit’s privacy policy:

Beddit has been acquired by Apple. Your personal data will be collected, used and disclosed in accordance with the Apple Privacy Policy.

Since the introduction of the Apple Watch Series 2, Apple has placed renewed emphasis on the health and fitness tracking features of the Watch. One notable hole in Apple’s lineup of built-in health and fitness apps has been the lack of a sleep tracker. With Beddit, Apple fills that gap and presumably adds a team of engineers that can help it develop additional sleep tracking capabilities in-house.

The Beddit 3 Sleep Monitor is available on Apple’s online store.

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