SSPAI Review | Best New Apps to Try This Week

VWFNDR™ + MBL: An Android-Exclusive Camera App with Distinctive Interaction Design

Platform: Android
Keywords: Camera, Third-Party, Manual Controls, Interaction Design

@克莱德: Nuevo Tokyo Design Studio first became known for its concept camera designs and small creative hardware projects. I personally started following them because of one particularly unique camera concept. Later, they also released a black-and-white film simulation tool called AgBr.

*This new VWFNDR™ + MBL also recreates one of their earlier camera hardware concepts.*

Much like AgBr being exclusive to the Apple ecosystem, Nuevo Tokyo unexpectedly launched a new Android camera app called VWFNDR™ + MBL last week.

The “VWFNDR” in the app’s name already hints at its core feature. Nuevo Tokyo brought many design ideas from its earlier VWFNDR concept camera series into the app itself. The gallery, viewfinder, and control area are arranged in a continuous vertical (or horizontal, depending on orientation) layout. Swiping up and down seamlessly switches between photo aspect ratios, while pulling the viewfinder down into full-screen mode opens the gallery. Combined with crisp sound effects, well-tuned haptic feedback, and a control area that responsively changes layout based on available space, the entire experience feels smooth and refreshingly original.

In practical use, the app runs very smoothly on my Pixel 9 Pro, though there’s a slight delay in image processing after taking a photo—you’ll need to wait a moment before previews appear in the gallery. Controls follow the traditional manual-camera approach, offering exposure, shutter speed, focus distance, and more, while also supporting camera-style P and S modes for switching control behavior.

The only real issue right now is that the current version cannot access lenses other than the main camera. In a follow-up blog post, Nuevo Tokyo harshly criticized the inconsistency of multi-camera APIs across Android hardware. They simply couldn’t achieve a unified, seamless multi-camera switching experience across different devices, so they decided to skip multi-camera support entirely. A pretty stubborn move, honestly.

Pixel 9 Pro stock camera (left) vs. VWFNDR™ + MBL (right) image comparison

As for image quality, VWFNDR™ + MBL bypasses the hardware manufacturer’s ISP post-processing pipeline. It captures DNG RAW files directly and then generates JPEGs using its own processing algorithm. You can also enable simultaneous RAW + JPEG saving in settings. The resulting images focus on minimal post-processing and lighter computational photography, delivering a strong optical feel. If you dislike the overly painterly or plasticky look of many stock camera apps, VWFNDR™ + MBL will probably appeal to you.

You can download VWFNDR™ + MBL from the Play Store, and the app is completely free.

Pedometer++: Redesigning the Apple Watch Experience

Platform: iOS, watchOS
Keywords: Step Tracking, Hiking, Walking Exercise

@ElijahLee: Pedometer++ is a long-running pedometer and walking exercise app that, after years of refinement, has gradually evolved into a complete tool focused on outdoor walking, hiking, and light exercise tracking. Recently, the app released its major 8.0 update, with nearly all changes centered on rebuilding the Apple Watch experience. The developers even describe it as a completely redesigned watchOS app.

The first thing you notice is the fully dashboard-style homepage. On Apple Watch, the app uses large typography to display daily step counts, with walking distance and floors climbed shown as secondary information. More eye-catching is the progress ring below, which uses roughly one-fifth of a circular ring to indicate progress. The color gradually fills as you approach your goal, visually resembling Apple’s native Activity rings, but focused specifically on walking.

Scrolling down from the homepage opens the workout selection list, which has also been redesigned in the new version. Apple redesigned the Workout launch interface in watchOS 26, adding many buttons that make operation more cumbersome, while Pedometer++ does the opposite by returning to an earlier approach with large buttons and bigger touch targets, making it easier to use during exercise.

The newly introduced Expedition Mode is the core feature of this update. In this mode, the app no longer continuously monitors heart rate at high frequency, instead relying on Apple Watch’s lower-power heart-rate sampling to significantly reduce battery usage, extending battery life by up to 40%. The feature makes a lot of sense, since when hiking, people often care more about battery endurance than heart rate tracking.

Finally, the map experience has been significantly improved, now spread across five pages to present multidimensional information. The main watch face page displays the route map in real time, with support for switching between dark/light map modes and different visual styles. Rotating the Digital Crown switches between additional watch pages, which permanently display distance while also showing pace, steps, floors climbed, elevation changes, heart-rate zones, and more. The interface is also very convenient to operate while exercising.

You can download Pedometer++ for free on the App Store. A paid subscription unlocks the premium version, which includes workout tracking, training plans, weather information, and Apple Watch map functionality. Pricing is ¥15/month or ¥198/year.

Tripsy Update: Adding Claude MCP Brings Travel Planning Into the AI Era

Platform: iOS / iPadOS / watchOS / macOS / visionOS
Keywords: AI, Travel Planning, Claude

@Vanilla: Honestly, travel planning is exhausting. Even though we already have tools like Tripsy to help collect, organize, and manage itineraries, most of the work still has to be done manually, and the longer the trip, the more complicated adjustments become. Finally, in its latest update, Tripsy introduced its own MCP tool that can be used directly inside Claude or Claude Code. With Claude’s powerful capabilities, we can now plan trips much more efficiently.

The first step: taking Claude Desktop as an example, switch to the Code interface, click the Customize button in the left sidebar, choose “Connectors,” then click the + button to add a custom connector. You can name it anything you like. In the URL field, enter https://mcp.tripsy.app, then click Add.

Once added, you’ll see all the tools provided by Tripsy MCP, including 17 read-only tools and 19 editable/deletable tools. Each tool can have individual permissions configured, including Always allow, Needs approval, Block, and Custom.

The second step: return to the Code interface and start a new conversation. Then simply describe the travel itinerary you want Tripsy to create, with as much detail as possible. After a short wait, Claude will generate an itinerary matching your requirements and write it directly into the Tripsy app through Tripsy MCP.

The third step: if you notice anything unsatisfactory in Claude’s generated overview or while viewing the itinerary directly inside Tripsy, you can simply ask Claude to modify it. You can provide alternative options for replacement, or let Claude search for recommendations on its own.

Finally, when you return to the Tripsy app, you’ll see a complete travel itinerary, including flights, accommodations, locations, routes, and detailed information for every stop.

At this point, I don’t think much more needs to be said—Tripsy MCP feels like the ideal solution for travel planning in the AI Agents era. Tripsy can be downloaded for free from the App Store. A subscription unlocks expense management, reservation forwarding, advanced travel statistics, calendar subscriptions, daily activities, 10-day weather forecasts, timezone changes, and more. Pricing is $7.99 per month or $39.99 per year, with a 7-day free trial available, and it’s also included with Setapp. For me personally, with Tripsy MCP and Claude, the free version is already more than enough.

GoalKit: Let AI Help You Break Down Your Goals

Platform: iOS / iPadOS
Keywords: Habit Building, Goal Management

@Snow: Habit-building apps and to-do list apps are two types of tools we often use when breaking down goals in daily life, and GoalKit attempts to merge both into a single framework. Instead of focusing solely on daily habit check-ins or task completion, it helps users break long-term goals into executable and trackable steps, so you won’t give up halfway because a goal feels too ambitious. By taking small steps every day, eventually you’ll arrive at your destination.

GoalKit offers four different goal types: one-time checklist goals, quantifiable progress goals, milestone goals suited for long-term planning, and habit goals for cultivating daily behaviors. Whether you’re preparing for a trip, learning a new skill, or organizing a project, GoalKit can basically cover most everyday goal-management needs. For example, if you’re currently preparing for a home renovation, you can use milestone goals to divide the process into stages such as clearing waste, structural adjustments, and furniture purchasing. Combined with daily progress check-ins, milestone goals help provide a clearer understanding of completion status and expected timelines for each stage.

If you’re unsure which goal type suits you best, you can rely on GoalKit’s built-in AI capabilities. When creating a goal, you can describe your objective in natural language and tap “Create with AI.” The AI will automatically match the appropriate goal type, break down the plan, and add notes for you. During execution, the AI can also provide more detailed recommendations based on your progress.

The bottom drawer of the app includes two sections: “Goals” and “Insights.” After completing a certain number of tasks, you can track the progress of each goal in the “Insights” section. Scrolling to the bottom of the page reveals an AI summary. If you don’t have time to study detailed data and progress reports, this AI-powered “too long; didn’t read” version may be exactly what you need.

GoalKit includes a subscription service priced at $3.99 per month or $15.99 per year, with a one-time lifetime purchase option for $29.99. Paid features unlock unlimited goals, widget syncing, image attachments, and more.

GoalKit is not yet available on the China App Store, but you can download it for free from the U.S. App Store.

Vivaldi 8.0: Rebuilt Interface with Six New Preset Layouts

Platform: macOS / Windows / Linux
Keywords: Browser

@化学心情下2: Desktop browsers today are almost entirely dominated by Chromium, but browsers like Chrome, Edge, Opera, and Vivaldi all differentiate themselves through interface design. The problem is that users can barely customize these interfaces in depth—at most, you can change a theme, while adjustments to title bars, menu bars, and other modules remain extremely limited. For browsers like Chrome and Edge that prioritize out-of-the-box simplicity, this may not be a major issue, but for Vivaldi, which is known for extensive customization, it’s a different story.

As a result, Vivaldi 8.0 doesn’t introduce a flashy new feature like previous major releases. Instead, it completely reconstructs the browser interface in what the company calls the “Unified UI.” The fragmented feeling caused by stacked components has been eliminated, with all browser elements now treated as different layers of the same system, unified through consistent alignment and spacing while smoothing out subtle design inconsistencies between components. According to Vivaldi, the new interface creates a more cohesive theme throughout the browser, eliminating awkward color mismatches between tabs and backgrounds. Combined with translucency and blur effects, transitions now feel much smoother visually.

Vivaldi has always been known for its rich layout customization options, but new users often don’t know where to begin. To address this, version 8.0 introduces six preset layouts: Simple, Classic, Auto-Hide, Bottom Tabs, Vertical Left Tabs, and Vertical Right Tabs. New users can quickly pick a layout that matches their habits and later customize it further as needed.

Beyond the Unified UI, Vivaldi 8.0 also brings a series of optimizations to the panel editor and start page. The browser supports macOS, Windows, and Linux, and can be downloaded for free from the official website.

Braincup: Stop Mindless Scrolling, Start Training Your Brain

Platform: Android
Keywords: Brain Training

@Peggy_: The last time I realized my memory was deteriorating was after staying up all night, when I simply could not remember the pickup code for a Hive parcel locker. The panic I felt over such a tiny incident was very real. Although proper rest later restored my short-term memory, the experience still served as a wake-up call: I need to keep exercising my brain, stop endlessly scrolling on my phone, and build more positive habits, including but not limited to exercise, writing, and creating. Braincup, the app I’m introducing today, is a collection of tools designed to help improve brainpower and reaction speed.

The next time you unlock your phone and have no idea what to do, maybe use Braincup to make yourself smarter instead. Braincup includes many mini-games designed to train calculation ability, thinking skills, short-term memory, and reaction speed. Familiar categories include Sudoku, mental arithmetic, and Schulte tables. Sudoku and calculation games effectively train math skills, while Schulte tables test concentration. Ghost Grid, Visual Memory, and Orbit Tracking challenge short-term memory. In addition, Braincup also offers Mini Chess and Huarong Dao puzzles to develop thinking ability, while Color Shapes and Color Confusion train reaction speed.

Opening any mini-game first brings up a brief instruction guide, after which you simply complete the required tasks before the countdown ends. Once time runs out, Braincup calculates a score based on your accuracy and the number of completed tasks. As you play more often, the app also continuously updates your personal high-score records.

In practice, some of Braincup’s mini-games are genuinely challenging. The most demanding one in terms of concentration and reaction speed is probably Color Confusion, where you must identify the one color word whose text matches its actual color among many misleading options. It feels exactly like being back in a psychology reaction-time experiment. While most games aren’t particularly difficult, Mini Chess allows difficulty selection, giving it more replayability. The next time you’re bored and want to kill time, instead of sinking into short videos, you might as well open Braincup and randomly pick a puzzle game.

If you’re interested in Braincup, you can download it through F-Droid. The app is completely free.

App Quick Hits

The macOS launcher Raycast has opened public beta testing for version 2.0. The new release features a redesigned interface, upgraded file search capabilities, and transforms Presets into Agents that support reuse across chats, among other improvements.

During Google I/O, Google demonstrated the ability to create personal-use Android apps with AI Studio and export them directly to smartphones.