Why build another to-do app?
There are thousands of to-do apps. So why build one more?
Because almost all of them work great for about two weeks. Soon is a to-do list app for iPhone that you can talk to. Here’s why we made it.
The list that grows and grows
You know how it goes. You download a new app, add everything on your mind, and feel wonderfully organized. Then life happens. A few things don’t get done. A few more get added. You open the app less, because every time you do, it greets you with a long list of things you didn’t do.
Eventually the list stops helping and becomes one more thing to look after. So you delete it and go back to sticky notes, or to nothing at all.
Most to-do apps are built for people who already have their life in perfect order: people who enjoy tags, folders, priorities and weekly reviews. That’s great if it’s you. For most of us, it feels like homework.
We wanted something for everyone else.
Easier than the Reminders app
Our bar was simple. Soon had to beat the Reminders app that’s already on your phone. That means two things:
- Adding something has to be as easy as texting a friend. Or easier: just saying it out loud.
- Seeing what to do next has to take one glance, without scrolling through everything you’ve ever written down.
So we spent a lot of time on the small stuff. Soon is a fully native app. It opens right away, with no loading screen, and stays quick even with a thousand things on the list. You can add it to your Home Screen or Lock Screen as a widget. One tap opens a text field ready for typing, and another starts listening right away.
A to-do list you can just talk to
Talking is the fastest way to get something out of your head. With Soon you can talk naturally. Say things the way they come to you, change your mind halfway through, add three more things at once.
“Pick up oat milk, call mom tomorrow at six, oh and the rent’s due Friday.”
Soon works out what the separate things are, when they should happen and where, and adds them for you. You can watch the list update while you speak. There are no commands to learn and no special words. You just say it, without thinking too hard, and Soon knows what you mean.
The right thing at the right moment
A list of fifty things isn’t useful. The one thing you can do right now is.
Soon looks at the moment you’re in: the time of day, where you are, what’s on your calendar, who you’re about to meet. It brings the relevant things to the front. Near the shop? Here’s the oat milk. Coffee with Tom in ten minutes? Here’s the thing you wanted to ask him. Friday morning? The rent.
Everything else stays out of the way until it matters.
It tidies up after itself
Things you didn’t get to don’t pile up into a wall of overdue red. Every now and then Soon gently checks in on the old stuff: still want this, want it later, or should we let it go? A few taps and your list is clean again. It should feel like a fresh morning every time you open it.
It gets to know you
Soon learns as you use it. From time to time it looks over what you’ve added and tries to understand it better. If something isn’t clear, and only if you allow it, Soon asks. Who’s Kasia? Is “Atlas” a company, a project, or the code name for a surprise party? You answer the way you’d answer a friend, and it remembers. Everything you tell it helps next time, so Soon gets more useful the longer you use it.
Why we built it
We wanted a to-do list we would actually keep using: one that listens, understands what we mean, and tells us what to do now, so we can get on with our day. That’s the whole idea behind Soon.
Come try it
Soon is in early access, and we’re letting new people in every day. It’s free, with unlimited tasks, and a paid plan adds extra features. If you try it and share any feedback with us, we’ll give you six months of the paid plan for free.
Join the queue below. You can also read how Soon works. We’d love to hear what you think.