The Comunicano App Review

Apps That Make Your Life Better

For many years, I have been using apps that improve my life. Starting today and every Saturday, I’ll be sharing the apps I’ve found and use that you need to know about. These apps are part of my daily life, saving me hours of work and making me feel more relaxed and consistently way more productive.

Here's a snapshot of what I'm reviewing today:

- Cleft Notes: AI-powered voice-to-text app for quick, structured note-taking. Integrates with Obsidian and Zapier.

- Granola: The meeting productivity tool for Mac users with AI transcription and summaries. Integrates with Zoom, Slack, and more. .

- Hedy: AI meeting assistant offering real-time insights and summaries.

- Todoist: Comprehensive task manager for individual or team use. Integrates with Google Calendar and Slack.

- Craft: Collaborative writing tool with media embedding and real-time sync.

- Drafts: Instant note-capturing app for Apple devices, with advanced automation and integrations galore.

- SaneBox: Email management tool to declutter inboxes and save time. Sanity for the price of dinner.

- Substack: Newsletter reader with podcast integration and curated content feed.

Enjoy exploring these apps, and let me know what is working (or not working) for you! And if you find an app you like, please feel free to share it with the community and me.

Have an “APPY” weekend, and if you know someone who would enjoy this edition of “The Comunicano App Review,” please feel free to share it.

Andy Abramson

CLEFT Notes

Cleft Notes is an AI-powered voice-to-text app that converts spoken thoughts into structured, editable notes. It supports Markdown for easy organization and lets users share or export notes across apps like Obsidian or Zapier. Designed for those needing a quick, intuitive way to capture ideas, Cleft offers integrations with various apps, along with features like on-device transcription and privacy-first principles. It’s available for macOS and iOS, with free and premium plans.

You can check out Cleft Notes here.

Granola

Granola is an AI-powered notepad designed for Mac users to enhance meeting productivity. It automatically transcribes your conversations, organizes notes, and provides actionable summaries such as follow-up emails, action items, and key takeaways. Granola works with major platforms like Dialpad Meetings, Zoom, Slack, and Teams and uses customizable templates tailored for different meeting types. If you use a softphone, you can record those and use the Mac’s microphone to capture in-person meetings. The app's transcription and note-enhancement features allow you to focus on the conversation rather than taking notes. Granola is free to try, with premium options starting at $10/month per user.

Learn more at Granola.

Hedy

Hedy makes you more intelligent when you're in a meeting or simply conversing with someone. It’s an AI-based meeting assistant designed to provide you with questions to pose, along with real-time insights, recommendations, and summaries on your iPhone during business meetings, lectures, or conversations. It listens and analyzes discussions, which helps you formulate answers, spot issues, and create action plans. Hedy also supports multiple languages, generates summaries, and integrates with existing workflows to enhance productivity. Available for iOS, with Android coming soon, Hedy offers a free trial and premium plan at $9.99 per month.

Click here for more information about Hedy.

Todoist

Todoist is a powerful task management app designed to help individuals and teams stay organized and productive. With features like task creation, project management, deadlines, and priority levels, Todoist allows users to track their to-do lists efficiently. It integrates with tools like Google Calendar and Slack and supports collaboration on shared projects. Todoist is available on multiple platforms, including iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and web browsers, making it highly versatile for any workflow.

For more information, visit Todoist.

Craft

Craft is a beautifully designed writing and collaboration tool that allows users to create, organize, and share documents effortlessly. It uses a block-based editing approach, enabling flexible layouts and embedding of media like images and videos. Available on iOS, macOS, and via the web, Craft supports real-time collaboration, cross-device sync, and deep linking between notes, making it ideal for both personal and team use.

You can learn more or download it from Craft's website.

Drafts

If you live in the Apple ecosystem, Drafts is for you. It’s a powerful note-taking and writing app for iOS, macOS, and Apple Watch platforms. Drafts is designed for quick capture, letting users instantly jot down notes, ideas, or tasks. The app features an extensive automation system, enabling users to organize, tag, and send notes to various destinations, such as email, social media, or other apps. Drafts also supports Markdown formatting, customizable actions, and seamless integration with productivity tools.

You can download Drafts from the Drafts website or via the Apple App Store.

SaneBox

SaneBox is an email management tool designed to declutter your inbox by automatically filtering emails into folders based on importance. I’ve been using this web app for over seven years, and it has been a time-saving essential. It works with any email service and helps prioritize what matters while reducing distractions from junk mail. Key features include email snoozing, reminders, and a "BlackHole" for permanently removing unwanted senders. SaneBox offers a free trial and helps users save hours each week by improving email productivity.

You can explore more at SaneBox's website

SubStack

As a reader of The Comunicano, you will be interested in using the SubStack App. I’m suggesting it because Substack has become a popular platform for independent writers, journalists, and creators to monetize their content through newsletters. Their mobile app makes the platform user-friendly and more readily available when you are on the go. Available for iOS and Android, the Substack app allows readers to quickly subscribe to, manage, and read newsletters directly from their devices. It offers an enhanced reading experience compared to email inboxes cluttered with other distractions.

The SubStack app also includes three outstanding features:

Reading Focus: This makes for immersive reading, offering distraction-free views of your subscribed newsletters.

Podcast Integration: Substack also hosts audio content, so if a newsletter includes a podcast, you can listen directly within the app.

Curated Feed: Instead of only email-based newsletters, the app organizes your subscriptions in a feed, making it easy to discover and consume content.

As apps go, Substack’s app is a fantastic way for readers to keep all their Substack subscriptions in one place. Writers also benefit from it because their content is displayed in an optimized, mobile-friendly format, enhancing engagement. If you follow many independent journalists or creators, this app is a streamlined way to stay updated. Compared to other content distribution platforms like Medium or Patreon, Substack focuses squarely on newsletters and audio. It strongly emphasizes helping writers monetize their work through subscriptions, whereas others cater to broader types of content and payment structures.

Depending on your device, you can download Substack from the App Store or Google Play!