SSPAI Review | Best New Apps to Try This Week

少数派编辑部

AIDA: An All-in-One Calendar and Task Planning Tool

  • Platform: iOS, iPadOS
  • Keywords: Scheduling, To-Do Lists

@ElijahLee: Aida is a calendar and to-do list app developed for iPhone and iPad by Harry, one of the former founders behind the task management app Sorted. It combines to-do lists, calendars, and time planning tools into a single interface for viewing, planning, and taking action.

The app’s main interface is a daily timeline. At the top is a compact overview of the upcoming seven days, while the center of the screen is dominated by the current day’s time blocks. You can immediately see plans like watching a movie at 10 AM, writing app reviews at noon, working out in the evening, along with reminders to water your plants at night — all without constantly switching between multiple apps. Aida’s quick adjustment feature allows you to simply press and drag events directly on the timeline to reorder your day, while the associated time slots automatically update, making schedule reshuffling extremely convenient.

Using the add button in the bottom-right corner, you can freely add actions or events to the timeline. Actions function as to-do items, supporting text input and reminder times. Aida creatively introduces a drag-based time-setting system: by swiping the bar chart at the bottom left or right, you can adjust reminder times in 15-minute increments, making time adjustments feel surprisingly intuitive and efficient.

Of course, you can also tap the time directly for more precise hour-and-minute adjustments. Events in Aida function as standard calendar events and must include both start and end times. Users can also select calendar categories, set all-day events, and more.

Aida also introduces GTD-style project management features, including default categories such as Inbox, Anytime, and Someday. Custom projects allow users to organize related actions and events together into centralized collections. Aida is deeply integrated with iOS Calendar, allowing users not only to view iOS calendar events directly inside the app, but also to edit and sync them in real time. However, Aida currently does not integrate with Apple Reminders. The batch operations feature allows users to select multiple actions at once to complete, reschedule, move, or duplicate them, making it easy to adjust entire blocks of tasks quickly.

Aida is available as a free download on the App Store, though the free version comes with significant limitations, including support for only one integrated calendar, no ability to adjust action times, and restrictions on the number of actions and events that can be added. Paid subscriptions unlock advanced features such as unlimited projects, unlimited time blocks, and support for multiple calendar integrations. Pricing is 58 RMB per month, 298 RMB per year, or 698 RMB for a lifetime purchase, with a one-week free trial included.


Cogito: A Markdown Editor Designed to Connect Humans and AI Agents

  • Platform: macOS
  • Keywords: Markdown, AI

@Vanilla: By now, I think everyone has seen more Markdown editors than they can count. But with the rise of AI Agents, Markdown as a file format feels like an old tree blooming again, suddenly regaining popularity among a new generation of users. Cogito is a Markdown editor designed for both humans and AI Agents. It is not knowledge-base-oriented like Obsidian, not focused on WYSIWYG editing like Typora, not writing-centric like iA Writer, and not developer-oriented like Visual Studio Code. Instead, its defining characteristic is being “file-first” and “agent-friendly.” So let’s take a closer look at what makes this new-generation Markdown editor different.

Cogito’s entire library is built directly on the local file system — no proprietary formats, no encryption barriers, no built-in syncing systems. The structure of files and folders mirrors Finder exactly, with zero learning curve. In my own workflow, for example, I directly set Codex’s workspace folder as Cogito’s main location. The app automatically scans all folders and Markdown files inside the Codex workspace, organizes them by date, and presents everything in a clear and intuitive layout.

After selecting any Markdown file, Cogito opens directly into editing mode by default, allowing us to freely edit content however we like. Clicking the first button in the top-right corner switches between edit mode and preview mode, with the keyboard shortcut Command + R. I often use Codex to generate industry or company research reports in Markdown format, and Cogito makes both editing and reading those files incredibly convenient, eliminating the constant back-and-forth between Codex, Finder, and separate Markdown editors.

By clicking the second “Outline” button in the top-right corner, users can quickly view the current document’s outline and jump directly to any section by clicking its heading.

In addition to being AI-Agent-friendly, Cogito can also directly invoke local AI Agents inside the app itself to summarize, analyze, edit, or otherwise process documents displayed within the application.

Overall, for someone like me who frequently works with AI Agents and Markdown documents, Cogito feels like an excellent Plan B — clearly separated from my primary writing tool iA Writer and my knowledge-base system Obsidian. It launches instantly, gets the job done efficiently, and disappears just as quickly, making it a highly streamlined tool.

Cogito is currently available as a free download from its official website and is presently in public beta.


AndDrive: Seamlessly Connect Your Android Device and Mac

  • Platform: macOS
  • Keywords: File Management, Phone Management

@化学心情下2: While there are already plenty of tools that allow wireless file transfers between Android phones and computers, “transferring files” and “managing files” are two completely different things. For example, if you want to batch-delete screenshots stored inside the Pictures folder on an Android device, traditional transfer tools quickly become awkward to use. This kind of task is far better suited to a desktop file manager, where filtering and preview features make handling large numbers of files much more efficient.

On Windows, this requires no third-party software at all: simply plug in a cable, select “File Transfer,” and Android is mounted as an MTP device, allowing direct management just like a removable drive. On macOS, however, things become much more troublesome. Since MTP is a Microsoft-specific protocol, macOS can only access Android internal storage either through USB debugging or by relying on third-party MTP implementations. OpenMTP is probably one of the better-known options, but the project has not been updated for more than two years, stability is mediocre, and it relies on its own custom-built file manager instead of Finder, making the overall experience less intuitive.

So is there a tool that allows Android files to be managed directly through Finder? That’s exactly what AndDrive aims to do. Developed by an independent developer, AndDrive avoids the MTP route entirely and instead builds its file management system on top of Android’s official ADB debugging channel.

After installation, AndDrive lives in the macOS menu bar and supports both USB and Wi-Fi connection methods. Before using it, users need to enable ADB debugging on their Android device, authorize the current Mac, and install the companion app AndDrive Helper on the phone following the provided instructions. Once completed, the Android file system becomes directly visible inside Finder.

AndDrive offers several mounting modes, including SD card directory, root directory, or no mounting at all, with each mode exposing different content. The SD card mode only displays internal storage, while the root directory mode additionally exposes the system root directory — though without root access, many files still remain inaccessible. In daily use, users can directly preview files in Finder, filter them by date, or drag files from the Mac directly into Android folders. The experience feels far more intuitive than digging through files using Android’s built-in file manager.

Because it relies on ADB, AndDrive also includes built-in screen mirroring functionality. Clicking the “Screen Mirroring” option inside AndDrive instantly projects the Android device’s display onto the Mac, offering an experience similar to iPhone Mirroring on macOS. Users can directly interact with apps, perform Chinese-language searches, and even use features such as clipboard synchronization, screen recording, and screenshots. Compared to manually typing scrcpy commands, the barrier to entry is significantly lower.

Overall, while AndDrive does not use the more mature MTP protocol, it leverages Google’s officially recommended ADB method to make managing Android files directly inside Finder simple and practical, while also adding iPhone-style screen control features. For anyone with this kind of workflow need, it is definitely worth trying.

You can download AndDrive for free from the App Store.


Fauxx: A Privacy Tool That Fights Back Instead of Just Defending

  • Platform: Android
  • Keywords: Privacy Protection

@大大大K: Every search you make, every network request you send, and every bit of your location history is quietly being collected by data platforms and advertisers. They piece together these fragments to reconstruct your identity, preferences, habits, and even the people you interact with most often, before trading your data behind the scenes and feeding you highly targeted ads. That’s why after you or a friend casually search for something, within ten minutes nearly every app and website suddenly starts surrounding you with ads related to that exact topic.

Because of this, countless privacy protection tools have appeared on the market. Most of them follow the same strategy: “blocking” — blocking data uploads, intercepting cookies, masking IP addresses, and so on. But Fauxx takes a completely different approach. If advertisers insist on collecting data anyway, why not bury the real you inside a mountain of carefully generated “garbage” data?

The first time you open Fauxx, the app walks you through a setup process where you can optionally enter broad details such as your age range, profession, and interests. The main purpose is to help the app generate misleading profile data that intentionally contradicts your real identity, though you can also skip this step entirely if you want. Fauxx does not force you to provide any personal information. Once setup is complete, you simply enable the main switch to activate its data obfuscation system. The main interface then shows how many “confusion” actions Fauxx has performed recently, which fake persona is currently active, and what types of information are being distorted.

As for what exactly can be obfuscated, users can configure both intensity and categories through the “Targeting” and “Modules” tabs. The “Targeting” section offers three levels: the first generates noise data intentionally opposite to your real profile, or randomized fake information if you skipped setup entirely; the second attempts to directly interfere with advertiser profiling systems, though in my own testing this feature occasionally failed to load properly — fortunately without affecting overall usability; and the third introduces “persona rotation,” where Fauxx continuously cycles through fabricated identities to make tracking much more difficult.

Meanwhile, the “Modules” tab contains seven separate obfuscation modules that can each be enabled or disabled individually. Settings also allow users to adjust obfuscation frequency and define active time windows.

So how do these “fake data” streams actually fool advertisers? Normally, trackers embedded inside apps monitor device identifiers, IP addresses, DNS requests, and other signals to follow browsing behavior across a device and gradually build a user profile. Fauxx fights back by simulating human-like behaviors such as searches and link visits — including pauses while typing and even fake ad clicks — in order to bypass bot detection systems and successfully feed trackers false behavioral data.

In many ways, Fauxx completely flips the traditional philosophy of privacy protection, shifting from passive defense to active offense. If you want to take a different approach and make life a little harder for advertisers, you can download Fauxx for free from GitHub.


Roll: Fresh Film Every Day

  • Platform: iOS
  • Keywords: Mobile Photography, Film Simulation

@Snow: These days, smartphone photography can branch into nearly infinite possibilities. Different lenses, different filters, different manual settings, different image adjustments, even different accessories — as long as you are willing to spend time experimenting, you can master almost any style you want. But more choices often bring more “decision paralysis.” If you are starting to feel overwhelmed by endless options, or simply do not enjoy constantly tinkering with settings in the first place, then Roll might help you rediscover the joy of simple photography.

Open Roll, complete the brief onboarding process, and you will receive your film stock for the day. The app gives a short description of the film’s characteristics — sensitivity, contrast, saturation, and more. Some film stocks bring warm golden tones beneath sunlight, some shimmer with rose-like hues, and others almost feel as though they are inviting you into a “Close Encounter of the Third Kind.”

Unlike the random film systems used by most photography apps, Roll gives every user exactly the same “dice roll.” No matter where you are in the world, everyone is shooting with the same film stock at the same moment. The remaining available time for the current film is displayed directly on the film description page. Since time is limited, all that’s left is to press “Load Film” and start shooting.

Roll does not ask you to switch lenses, tweak colors, or hesitate over endless creative decisions. The only optional feature it provides is a flash toggle for low-light environments. All you need to do is press the shutter button. And honestly, there is something oddly romantic about imagining strangers on the other side of the world creating photos with the exact same film filter at the same time.

Roll works quite well as a tool for documenting everyday life. But if you are looking for serious or highly professional creative work, its heavily stylized filters and fixed 1080 × 1080 output resolution will probably feel limiting.

You can download Roll for free from the App Store.


Sufei: Appreciating the Beauty of Classical Chinese Poetry

  • Platform: Android
  • Keywords: Poetry

@Peggy_: As a teacher, our workplace still maintains a tradition where every Monday each person writes on a small blackboard. Every week, the person in charge selects a poem fitting the season or occasion, and everyone carefully copies it down by hand. But honestly, after leaving high school behind, how many of us still actively appreciate classical Chinese poetry? Outside of studying or teaching requirements, voluntarily sitting down to read and analyze an ancient poem has become surprisingly rare nowadays. Yet every time I personally copy each line character by character, I still find myself amazed by the elegance and precision of ancient writing.

Sufei is a practical tool designed to help users appreciate and search classical Chinese poetry. Even from its calm and elegant name alone, it is easy to sense the quiet, refined beauty the developer is trying to convey. Upon opening the app, there are no noisy advertisements or overwhelming visual effects on the launch screen — only a simple message quietly appears: “Preparing rice paper for you.” And somehow, that alone makes you curious about what kind of poem is about to appear.

One of the app’s core features is presenting a randomly selected poem or ci every hour. In terms of page design, the interface uses a restrained and elegant background while focusing only on the title and one or two highlighted lines from the work itself. The developer chose a clean, readable serif font and arranged the text vertically, creating an atmosphere that feels much closer to traditional Chinese literature. By tapping anywhere on the main screen, users can view the poem’s full content, including annotations for difficult vocabulary, modern translations, and literary analysis. The app also provides historical background information for each work, helping users better appreciate poems they may not already be familiar with.

Sufei also allows users to search for any poem directly. Beyond basic search functions by title or author, the app includes an extensive tagging system organized by dynasty, literary style, and poetic themes, making it easy to quickly browse specific categories of poetry. For example, poems can be filtered into farewell poems, landscape poems, love poems, and more. Poets’ stylistic schools are also categorized separately, including bold and unrestrained styles versus delicate and restrained styles. Searching by dynasty, ci pattern names, and other literary classifications is equally supported. Tapping any tag immediately displays all related works within that category.

Of course, users still need to choose tags logically. Selecting combinations such as “Yuan Dynasty,” “Qinyuanchun,” and “Three Hundred Tang Poems” simultaneously will naturally return no results. By swiping left on the tag bar, users can enter the “Tag Plaza,” which also supports direct keyword searches for tags themselves. Searching for commonly used literary themes such as “expressing ideals through objects” or “criticizing the present through historical references” quickly returns relevant poems.

For works you particularly enjoy, you can tap the heart icon to save them at any time. All bookmarked poems are collected under a section called “By the Pillow.” As an app primarily focused on poetry display and discovery, Sufei’s design philosophy is remarkably restrained. The only customizable options are font size and line spacing, though users dissatisfied with the default color palette can also enable dynamic color extraction. One small drawback is that the sharing function currently supports only plain text exports. If future updates introduced several aesthetically matched share-card templates, it would probably become much easier for users to save and share their favorite lines.

If Sufei sounds interesting to you, you can download it through F-Droid and try it yourself. The app is completely free.


App Briefs

  • Obsidian has launched a new Obsidian Community plugin and theme directory alongside a developer Dashboard, introducing improved browsing, submission management, and automated security review mechanisms.
  • OpenAI announced that Codex has been integrated into the mobile version of ChatGPT in preview form. Users can now view progress, guide tasks, approve commands, and continue connecting Codex workflows across local or remote environments directly from their phones.

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