22SEP2024

Happy Sunday everyone!

I’ve got a little bit of a different format for the newsletter today— In light of iOS 18’s release earlier this week, I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite indie iOS apps that are already taking advantage of the features the new OS provides for developers. That said, I couldn’t leave my fellow gear heads hanging with just apps in this issue, so I’m also sneaking in some fun kit that I’m drooling over this week. I hope you enjoy! 

On to the good stuff!

Gear

• 🏕️ Nestout Weather-proof Power Bank - I don’t have one of these waterproof power banks (yet), but I love the cut of their jib. Good looking, bomb-proof design with screw on caps to protect the USB-A and USB-C sockets on them. I also dig the dimmable camping lamp attachments that plug right in to the unit. These are definitely going on my fall camping shopping list. Thanks to BC for sharing this Gear Patrol Review with me.
• ✒️ Studio Neat’s new colors - The Mark One is my favorite pen to use at my desk. It’s equal parts art and dream-writing-machine. Austin-based Studio Neat launched a bunch of new beautiful color options for the pen this week, making it look even more like something that belongs in a design museum. They’re also including their beautiful wooden pen trays with all orders for the next two days. Thanks SC for putting my wallet in peril by sharing this.
• 🎒 Evergoods’ Griffin Line - Evergoods makes my favorite travel and EDC backpacks. They’re back with a new collaboration with Carryology, bringing beautiful (albeit pricey) waxed cotton shells to some of their most popular designs. These look perfect for either a motorcycle ride across Patagonia OR a quick trip to a Brooklyn coffeeshop to get some design work done. Don’t want to drop $400+ on a backpack, but still want the good stuff? Get on the waitlist for the restock of their CTB 20L, the dream carry-on backpack.

iOS 18-friendly Apps

Here are a few great indie apps I’ve either been beta testing on iOS18, or was just excited to see their new updates download on Monday. 

• Peak: Fitness Widget - Peak pulls Health and/or Fitness data from your Apple Watch/iPhone and displays progress, trends, goal accomplishment, and more in lovely looking ways while completely respecting your privacy— no data leaves your device. Peak’s 4.0 release is a doozy, adding all kinds of delightful widget options so that you can keep tabs on basically any fitness or health datapoint you’d like on your Lock Screen or home screen.
• Dark Noise: Ambient Sounds - This is the best “noise generator” app I’ve ever used. It’s beautiful, has a plethora of options, and the developer is always adopting the latest iOS API’s to keep it app at the cutting edge. This time round, we get things like quick access to the app from the Control Center and more beautiful widgets so you can turn on pink noise, the sound of the ocean, or any other pleasant background sound with just a tap.
• Sequel: Media Tracker - I use Sequel every week to keep track of the shows and movies that I watch and want to watch. The latest update adds a Control Center button that makes it easy to quickly add new media to your list, and now you can search for things you’ve saved right from Spotlight.
• Flighty: Live Flight Tracker - This is my go-to app for tracking flights. It keeps me updated on departure gates, delays, and all the nitty-gritty of air travel, and now, with the iOS 18 update, it also supports Live Activity tracking on the Apple Watch. You can see exactly how much time is left until boarding or wheels-up and track your flight progress from the Watch. Super handy for frequent flyers.
• Halide Mark II - Pro Camera - I’ve written about this app a lot lately, so I’ll spare you rehashing all the cool RAW photography features it brings to the table. The big iOS 18 update to the app enables you to replace the Camera button on your lock screen with Halide, so that you can click the button and jump straight into Halide’s camera without having to stop to authenticate first. It feels like magic!
• Plinky: Easily Save Links - Plinky is a great, design-forward app that makes it dead simple to keep track of links/bookmarks/articles you want to be able to find again down the road. It’s the best looking of all the bookmarking apps I’ve used, and with the new update they now have some fantastic looking widgets to be able to quickly jump to your most recent or favorite bookmarks. They've also added integration with Apple’s spotlight search so you don’t even have to open the app to find that article you started reading 3 months ago but never finished.
• Focused Work: Pomodoro Timer - Focused Work is a Pomodoro timer that helps you structure your work in sprints– There are lots of apps in this category, but this on is just nice. The design is clean and minimalist, making it easy to stay focused and productive. The iOS 18 update lets you quickly start or pause timers from the Control Center, and you can view your current session and timer as a Live Activity on your Apple Watch. Bonus Point: The developer gave me a very helpful tip to make my website better– Thanks Mike!
• Zenitizer: Meditation Timer - Zenitizer is easily my favorite meditation timer and meditation habit tracker... and I’ve tried dozens. Manuel added handy interactive widgets, Control Center and Lock Screen controls, and lovely new Dark Tinted app icons with this update.
  

That’s it for this week, be well everyone!