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Over a ten ago , a simple to - do list app calledClearlaunched to much fanfaredue to how it capitalise on the smartphone ’s skin senses user interface to build a new sort of app : one without buttons and menus and that is rather operated via gestures and swipes . Now Clear ’s developer is debuting the next generation of the app — Clear 2 — a new version rebuilt from the footing up , but one that still heavily relies on motion to sail and interact with the app ’s components . What ’s extremist about Clear this time around is not how it exploit , but how it stool money . Amid a sea of subscription - ground apps , Clear is dropping its price to disengage and will monetise via a rotate daily shop where users can reward themselves for getting things done with paid cosmetics — that is , thing like new app icons , colouring material themes , sound packs , cite packs and fonts .
Explains Clear ’s developer Phill Ryu , the initial love consumers had for Clear came from a touch that it was the first app that could “ only materialize on the phone ” — intend smartphones with a touch screen . At the time of its original launch , we asked Ryuif the world was ready for a buttonless app and he pointed to the ease with which even belittled children could pilot an iPad via touch . It was born and intuitive , he had tell .
Ten - plus years later , Ryu expected smartphone apps to have evolved more than they have . But alas , Clear ’s consumption of gestures did not become the young status quo . If anything , Ryu guess the state of smartphone apps has gotten sorry , not better .
“ [ They ’re ] more complicated , more overstuffed , ” he tells TechCrunch of today ’s apps . Plus , they have “ all this desperate monetization clobber , like holding you hostage for core features unless you sign , ” Ryu add together . Clear bid a specific vision for how to - do lists should shape and , as an indie app , it does n’t have to fork up increase returns on investment or solvent to investor .
“ It feel a slight punk equate with the medium app on the App Store , ” notes Ryu about Clear ’s lack of subscriptions . “ That ’s all it takes to be punk these days , ” he tote up with a jape .
Despite its age , Clear has asseverate a core follow who favour its swipeable to - do ’s over more traditional to - do list apps , like Apple ’s Notes or Microsoft To Do , for instance . Surprisingly , Clear still has around 70,000 monthly active users and around 20,000 who employ it daily .
“ Not immense , ” Ryu admits , “ but interestingly active for an app mostly static for 10 geezerhood , ” he says .
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The app itself hails from Ryu ’s companyImpending , the developer of the popular mobile game psyche Up ! , and other cagey apps , like the addictive , swipeable web browser app Web Roulette , launched originally this year . impend acquired the right field to Clear from the app ’s two other original developersRealmac SoftwareandMilen Dzhumerovback in 2007 and had been tease a relaunch of the to - do list app for years . But for most of that time , the app was just being update on TestFlight , not on the public App Store .
The original team had kind of “ burned out ” on Clear , Ryu explains , after being overloaded with projects like porting Clear to Mac or adding iCloud Sync . The new Clear 2 does n’t have those features either , aiming alternatively to just tap into its core client base of iPhone users for monetisation purposes .
The new rendering is entirely reconstruct in Swift , we ’re state , but is n’t designed to be cutting - edge . There ’s no AI assistant , for instance .
“ Maybe in the future tense , we ’ll have some fun AI estimate project estimation , but I find it improbable for Clear because we put so much piece of work into making Clear a very quiet and pristine position , just for you and your thoughts … we almost treat that with some kind of sacred reverence , ” Ryu says .
Clear 2 delivers a slating of gestures to be used for common undertaking like using a back button or batch retarding force - and - drop curtain . you could also drag in and drop item between inclination , cabbage to docket reminders , screenshot to share leaning and swipe to archive lists .
Taking a cue from the free - to - play game market — or one of Ryu ’s favorite “ cozy ” games “ Animal Crossing ” — the shop will be rotated day by day to feature dissimilar perquisite .
“ There has always been something really , lawfully good about free - to - shimmer and that whole idea , right , and it ’s more the people that milk it to expiry that gave it a bad name , ” Ryu propose .
No longer a $ 5 download , Clear 2 is free with the option to buy the cosmetic features via in - app purchases at a flat rate of $ 2.99 each .
What happened to productivity apps in the past 10 ?
We all merit well . Try the fresh Clear :
🧘 ♀ ️ Pristine with no clutter🤌 100 % gesture silver-tongued 🎨 Beautiful + personalizable 🏆 Addictive to get things done with it 🆓 gratuitous to utilise
process yourself : https://t.co / hnLfB8IGL3pic.twitter.com/6n7Mmsl3ut
— Clear Lists ( @UseClear)January 8 , 2024
Clear : Why This Simple To Do List App Has Everyone Talking
