TL;DR: Motion is an all-in-one productivity app that combines smart scheduling, task management, and AI-powered automation. After using it for a week, we found it particularly helpful for reducing decision fatigue, optimizing work hours, and replacing multiple tools like Calendly, Asana, and even Notion.

What Is Motion

Motion calls itself the AI-powered SuperApp for work. This multipurpose platform aims to replace multiple tools you need for your team. Motion aims to replace project, task, calendar, meeting, document, and note management tools with a judicious use of AI.

In doing so, Motion claims to help you get work done at a 10x pace. If these claims are true, having Motion means you don’t need things like Things, Asana/Monday, Calendly, Otter, and Notion/Evernote/Obsidian. In addition, Motion works with platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Calendar.

There are two major USPs to Motion. One, it brings multiple tools together to create a central dashboard for your (personal or team-based) projects. Two, all these modules use the power of AI to boost productivity across your team.

Motion Features

Let’s look at some of the core features that Motion offers:

• AI-Powered Calendar: This Motion AI module lets you make the best out of your time without all the hassle of scheduling. It can efficiently analyze your calendars and find the right spot for your projects and tasks.
• Project Manager: The project management utility from Motion claims to help your team save up to 50% of the time through prediction, analysis, and constant improvement. The AI engine helps your team with analytics and standard proceedings.
• Gantt Charts: Motion brings the power of AI predictions and updates to traditional Gantt charts. This module makes it easy for big teams to manage multiple projects at once while not engaging in micromanaging.
• Task Manager: Motion’s Task Management module also goes beyond the conventional idea. On top of keeping track of all your tasks, Motion will re-prioritize everything to meet your needs. It can also give you a heads-up for tasks that won’t be completed on time.
• Meeting Assistant: Motion also works as a meeting assistant, integrating well with platforms like Google Meet and Zoom. It takes care of scheduling, note-taking, and availability tracking and works with popular platforms.

Motion prioritizes workload and team efficiency instead of focusing on numbers and dashboards.

Our Hands-On Motion Review

Like we do for other products we review, we wanted to test all aspects of Motion. We were a bit concerned, though — our small team and flexible work style might not be the best fit to showcase Motion’s project management and Gantt chart capabilities.

So instead, we focused on how Motion supports individual workflows, daily scheduling, and note/document handling.

Getting Started with Motion

Getting started with Motion is quite straightforward, thanks to a wizard-like interface. As soon as you log into the account, Motion will ask you for a few things. For instance, you can connect all the calendars you want to manage and set up recurring tasks. More importantly, Motion lets you provide details about your work week and timings. The AI engine will use these timings when scheduling your tasks across the week.

Everything is editable and customizable to the dot. For instance, if you want to adjust the working hours for some days of the week, you can do it anytime. We also found that Recurring Tasks add great value. Motion will notify you about these things at the right time—like your lunch or tea break..

In a few seconds, you can complete the setup for Motion, and the dashboard will welcome you.

UI Design and User Experience

Those who are familiar with tools like ClickUp and Notion won’t have any trouble navigating across Motion. The left sidebar is the central navigation element, which lets you access different modules such as Tasks, Agenda, Calendar, All Projects, Team Schedule, and Meeting Notes. This sidebar interface also lets you access your workspaces and some real-time notifications.

Each module has a well-optimized UI of its own. For instance, the Calendar module lets you choose between multiple viewing options.

Similarly, you get to decide how different tasks, projects, and their priorities would be shown on screen. So, Motion retains a design that makes things easier for those who are migrating from platforms like Notion, Monday, or Asana. At the same time, the UI leaves enough room for customization. It is pretty convenient that you can choose between multiple viewing options regardless of the module.

Overall, we really loved the user experience that Motion offers.

Now that we have covered the basics of Motion, we shall see how the AI-powered platform helped us in day-to-day tasks and battles.

Daily Battle Against Decision Fatigue

Prioritizing tasks and making the right decision was something we struggled with, especially when there were too many projects. Earlier, we had to maintain priority lists on different apps in addition to sticky notes on our table.

With Motion, however, we can skip most of these routines. All we have to do is add a task on Motion AI and set the deadline. Because the AI engine knows our working hours and can access our calendar entries, it will assign that task to a suitable slot. Because we receive on-time notifications about starting the tasks, things are easy and hassle-free.

We get more time to focus on the task instead of worrying about whether things will clash with another lecture or a meeting. Because the engine has access to our recurring tasks like food and workout sessions, we can stay away from those worries as well.

Another standout is Motion’s ability to connect multiple calendars to the Motion Calendar. This way, we get to make sure that all parts of our lives are considered before tasks are scheduled.

Overall, we love how Motion helps us deal with the various difficulties we face when it comes to scheduling tasks and following up.

Calendar as Command Center

The AI-powered calendar module on Motion works as a comprehensive command center for all your tasks and projects. First, the calendar on Motion is quite customizable, and you can choose between different viewing modes and priorities. The Day view offers a clear preview of what is lined up for the day as well as how Motion has scheduled the tasks for us.

You can easily add events or tasks to your schedule as usual. With the ‘Reschedule Tasks’ button, Motion will automatically reorganize them for you. If the engine can find a suitable time on the same day, it will be rescheduled accordingly. Otherwise, Motion will push the event or task to the next available period.

It is impressive that we can get to know almost everything about these schedules from a single screen. We must also appreciate how intuitive the User Interface is. It feels so convenient to drag-and-drop or pull-to-expand tasks.

Priority-Driven Deep Work Optimization

Something we deeply appreciate about Motion is that it is not intrusive. At the same time, you can use the platform to prioritize and optimize your work schedule for improved productivity. It’s impressive that we get to choose what tasks are a priority to us.

Thanks to this approach, if we need to ensure that we spend quality time with our family, a week with intensive workloads would not prevent us. As a result, we get to stay calmer about how our work week ahead looks like. The Project Manager feature also deserves a mention.

We tried the feature to create project templates for something up ahead. Motion makes it easy to not only split the project into chunks but also assign sufficient work blocks/chunks to each section. In the end, we don’t have to worry about whether we are on track with the project.

Once again, for someone who overthinks a lot, having a proper plan that is flexible is no less than a blessing. Because we know that the Motion calendar will find time within our time, we are less worried about unexpected meetings or deadline changes.

Performance and Efficiency

Thanks to its different modules working together, Motion has contributed to improved performance and efficiency in work life.

First, because it takes care of scheduling, we can spend more time on the actual tasks. It also considers our workday schedules and other commitments. It essentially makes sure that none of our time is wasted. It is a big achievement for someone dealing with deadlines from multiple realms of their life. Using Motion also helped us realize how much time we normally spend on scheduling our week.

We also noticed that a well-packed calendar has made us more efficient, especially because we know we are getting time for important events, nevertheless. This tool has also helped us recognize underlying patterns in our productivity. We have started relying on these insights while choosing deadlines for tasks and general planning. In short, although Motion is designed for teams, it has made our individual work lives better.

Apps and Integrations

Motion is designed to work with multiple services and apps. It also offers dedicated clients for mobile and desktop devices. For the review, we have used the macOS app for Motion, which works great. You can get the official apps for Android and Windows as well. However, we haven’t heard great things about the Android app.

When it comes to integrations, Motion does not disappoint. First, you get native integration with services like Google Calendar, iCloud Calendar, Zoom, Google Meet, and Gmail. You can also set up your Microsoft Outlook account with it. These are the basic options, and you get decent functionalities for accessing all the features that Motion offers.

When it comes to third-party integrations, the list includes platforms like Zapier, Make.com, and Pipedream. All these are designed in such a way that you can get the most out of task automation, custom workflows, and collaboration at the team level.

In short, it works great with existing apps/services that you may already be using.

Pricing and Plans

You can choose between two plans from Motion: Individual and Business Standard.

The Individual plan gives you access to features like scheduling, task management, calendar, etc. It will cost you $19 per month when paid annually. This plan is great for individuals.

The Business Standard plan would cost $12 per user per month and is available for smaller businesses with less than 15 members. You get advanced features like Timeline, Gantt views, project delivery predictions, AI for SOP, etc.

At first look, Motion is indeed expensive. If you are paying monthly, you will have to pay around $34 per month, which is not a small amount. But what you should keep in mind is the time that Motion can help you save.

For someone handling multiple projects every day and having trouble taking care of all these aspects, this could be a good investment by any means. We should also remember that it can easily replace your other premium subscriptions, such as Asana and Monday.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• AI-driven scheduling and task prioritization for optimized workflows.
• Unified platform for calendar, task, and project management.
• Automatic rescheduling of tasks based on changing priorities.
• Time-blocking and focus-time features to enhance productivity.
• Integrates with tools like Google Calendar, Outlook, Slack, and Zoom.
• Mobile, desktop, and web apps for accessibility on the go.

Cons:

• Steep learning curve for new users; not very intuitive initially.
• Auto-scheduling may not always align with user preferences.
• High pricing compared to other productivity tools; no free plan available.

FAQs

Who uses Motion?

Motion is for everyone who wants to get organized, stay on top of the tasks, and experience a bit more control over the work they do without having to worry about the tasks and scheduling.

Is Motion worth it?

Yes, Motion is worth it for two reasons. It’s very affordable, AI-powered, and it provides extreme value for individuals, teams, businesses, and even some of the largest enterprises.

Can students take advantage of Motion?

Yes, Motion is ideal for students who have a busy schedule. Inputting tasks that need to be done might take a while but Motion can change how and when you study to maximize your time spent studying.

Is there Motion alternative for smart scheduling?
‘While Motion excels in smart scheduling, several tools offer a different but valuable experience. Reclaim AI prioritizes work-life balance with AI suggestions, while Clockwise focuses on calendar clarity and scheduling efficiency. Research and compare options to find the best fit for your needs.

Conclusion

After testing Motion for over a week, we have found it quite impressive and worth the money it asks for.

Motion has been able to replace multiple services like Monday and Asana and bring the best of AI into rudimentary tasks. In particular, the options for automated scheduling and due date predictions can offer incredible value at individual and enterprise levels.

The macOS app of Motion works flawlessly, offering a seamless experience thanks to keyboard shortcuts and other integrations. But please note 2015 and older Macs currently aren’t supported.

Overall, if you need an AI-powered, centralized way to schedule and manage your work life, Motion is a great choice.

For more details, visit the official site usemotion.com

<p>The post Motion: A Multipurpose AI Productivity App That Delivers first appeared on TheSweetBits.</p>

If you don’t know, macOS comes with a built-in text expansion utility, but it is hardly enough. TextExpander for Mac, however, addresses the multiple issues with such built-in tools and offers a brand-new experience when it comes to auto-correcting and expanding text on your Mac.

About TextExpander

In its essence, TextExpander is a text replacement and keyboard shortcut management app. It’s available for macOS, Windows, iOS, iPadOS, and Android. It also offers a Chrome extension, which is available on multiple Chromium-based web browsers.

The idea behind TextExpander is simple. When you type something, TextExpander will replace it with content you have decided before. For instance, you can write something like “today”, and TextExpander can replace it with the current date.

This is a simple example, and the possibilities with TextExpander are virtually endless. Depending on where you work and what you do, you can customize TextExpander to suit your needs. But you can get a jumpstart with some resources as well.

Features Highlight

Here are some core features of TextExpander:

• TextExpander can help you save the time you spend on hitting keystrokes. You can use this feature to put your full signature or a cold mail template by typing a single word.
• TextExpander can also help you easily type letters or characters that are difficult to find on a normal keyboard, like the symbols for copyright (©) or infinity (∞).
• All keyboard shortcuts and expansions through TextExpander are 100% customizable. You get to edit not only the content but also how TextExpander behaves across your Mac or iPhone.
• You can download and set up different TextExpander devices for easy use. Then, when needed, you can enter the respective shortcuts to proceed. It could be an offer letter or thank you mail.
• Thanks to its support for fill-ins and macros, TextExpander can help you with form-filling and creating custom content without breaking a sweat.
• The TextExpander apps for macOS, Windows, and iOS integrate so well with the system and third-party apps like note-taking apps and project management suites.

From the TextExpander Team

“We have an exciting year planned, with new features and innovative AI-powered functionality designed to help you curate a valuable Snippet library, more easily access the Snippets you need, keep your Snippet library clean and up to date without lots of manual work, and more.

We’re currently working on features such as:

• Snippet change history and reverting changes
• Suggesting changes to shared Snippets
• Increased admin visibility into org member Snippets
• More powerful search across your library and within Snippets
• Library cleanup tools

We hope you’re as excited as we are for these enhanced curation tools!”

TextExpander Review

All features of TextExpander sound great on paper, but the reality could be different. We wanted to see how TextExpander performs in real life. So, we decided to set up everything and try TextExpander for Mac for an entire week. Here’s a brief review of what we found:

Getting Started

Installing and getting started with TextExpander for Mac takes only a few minutes. You need to download a setup file from the official site and complete the installation. During this process, TextExpander will ask for Accessibility permission, which is needed for text replacement and correction.

You will also have to log in using the TextExpander account. After these steps, TextExpander will run in the background, and you can access the main interface through the dock icon or the menu bar widget. It offers a few more ways to access the snippets and more resources.

You may also want to configure team-based collaboration options during the setup. For instance, you get to control who from your team can access which snippets. Depending on the business plan, you may have other options, such as custom domain setup as well.

UI and Navigation

Something we love about TextExpander is that it integrates well with macOS. So, when it runs properly, you don’t know there is a third-party app under the hood. Instead, you feel like the built-in text replacement has become far better.

When you install TextExpander, you get to install some public text expansion collections. Some of them are Accented Words, Contractions, Past and Future Dates, Symbols, and TidBITS AutoCorrect. When you finally open the TextExpander interface, you can see these collections on the left sidebar.

You can click one of the snippet collections, select a single snippet, and customize it accordingly. It is equally easy to add a new snippet or collection. As you can see above, I am adding a new snippet where the trigger word is “address”, and it will be expanded to the full address.

TextExpander also lets you seamlessly download and install snippet collections from its website. So, if you’d like to have some expansions that would help you in particular instances, you can download them instead of adding individual snippets.

Overall, unlike the many tools we have come across, TextExpander is easy to use and navigate. It does not expect you to be proficient with command-line interfaces or complex coding languages.

Let’s now look at how TextExpander for Mac fares in some important aspects.

Text Expansion and Correction

TextExpander for Mac does an excellent job with text expansion and correction. What makes it great is the amount of customization you can utilize. As we saw, you can customize all personal snippet collections like you want them to. These features can help you optimize productivity across your workflows.

For instance, you can decide the type of content you want to paste when you enter the trigger word. It could be plain text, rich text, Shell Script, Apple Script, and JavaScript. Choosing Rich Text means you can craft fully-fledged content as expanded text.

However, if you want to go a step further, you can use Apple Script or JavaScript.

The interface also lets you choose the case sensitivity of each snippet. We particularly loved the option called Adapt to Case of Abbreviation. It will intelligently alter the content text according to how you type the trigger word.

By the way, you can use a universal search function to access all the (public and private) snippets connected to your account. On Mac, you can use the Command + / shortcut to access the search menu. So, if you don’t want to type the trigger phrase, you can search for it and press the Enter key.

This option works great when you have too many snippets and want to have a preview of what you will be doing to the text.

Overall, text expansion and correction work great when you use TextExpander for Mac.

Personal Snippet Management

Categorization and labeling are two strong suits of snippet management using TextExpander for Mac.

You can have two categories of snippets on TextExpander: Just Me and Public. The first category consists of snippets that you can add and customize as per your choice. On the other hand, Public snippets are mostly read-only, and you can download these templates from the official TextExpander site.

For instance, here’s a snippet collection named CamelCase that I downloaded from the official site. This set of snippets can convert brand names into the correct case, like “car play” to CarPlay and “itunes” to iTunes. Though you can’t edit the snippets in this collection, you can duplicate the set and modify entries later.

You can also subscribe to snippet collections so that you get updates made to them. We also loved the ever-growing collection of ready-made snippets from Public Groups. The core developers make some of these groups, but third-party individuals are also involved.

Team Snippet Management

When it comes to an Enterprise setting, TextExpander offers additional options for snippet management. It has some positive impacts, too. For instance, you can auto-subscribe users to snippets and use organization-controlled snippet sharing.

As an admin, you get more control than ever before when it comes to snippet management. For instance, it helps to have a powerful snippet editor that can deal with images and other multimedia elements. You can also use the three-tier structure—Just Me, Organization, and Public—to manage the collection better.

The statistics you get from TextExpander will also help you analyze how the use of snippets is affecting your team’s overall productivity. We also loved the option of Usage-based billing, where inactive users will not rack up your monthly/annual budget.

Along with these, TextExpander also offers some additional security measures and Single Sign-on (SSO) with some advanced business plans. These features work great in ensuring that your teams follow the structures that you have designed for the organization, starting with how your brand name is stylized.

Macros for Personal Use

If you want to go the extra mile for productivity, you’d love how TextExpander lets you make use of macros and other scripting tools. The best part? You don’t need to be a hardcore coding expert to get this job done.

I will show you a simple example of how I have used these macros.

I want to keep a manual journal for my daily thoughts, and I prefer to use a markup editor, not a journal app. However, having to type the date and time manually isn’t all that fun. Instead, I created a TextExpander snippet, which uses the trigger phrase “timepicker”.

So, whenever I type this phrase, TextExpander will replace it with the current month, day, and time. In the same way, you can make use of other macros related to time, keyboard, special characters, etc. You can use this script to interlink two snippets as well.

Macros for Business Use

Let’s say that you are using TextExpander macros for your team. In this case, the possibilities are endless. I will take you through some examples.

At the base level, you can integrate macros into email messages and templates that you regularly use. This way, users across your team can send standard email messages without typing the same thing again. Because TextExpander macros draw information in real time, you need not worry about accuracy, either.

Another instance where TextExpander can help is with the management of SOPs and FAQs. Because a central authority can control these snippets and make users subscribe to them, you can modify settings once and make sure that all teams follow through.

As you can guess, you can use TextExpander to create and manage signatures. At a business level, you can use this feature to keep things consistent as well. For one, I can use the fill-in function to allow team members to insert a standard signature structure while also allowing them to customize it to an extent.

Overall, the custom macros and scripting options on TextExpander offer so much value for those who need additional options.

Pricing & Plans

We must add that TextExpander is made primarily for enterprise teams, but we have found it useful for both personal and professional environments alike. TextExpander for individuals has plans starting at $3.33 per month.

However, if you have a small team and want collaborative and sharing features, you can get its Business plan for $8.33 per user per month. You can also go for the Growth plan, which will set you back at $10.83 per user per month. Bigger teams may require the Enterprise plan as well.

Regardless of the plan you choose, you can enjoy a 30-day free trial for TextExpander. This free trial provides you with access to features and apps on platforms, including Windows, macOS, Chrome, Android, and iOS.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• It can save minutes, if not hours when configured properly
• Integrates so well with macOS; works across most applications
• You get impressive customization options for each module
• TextExpander offers an amazing collection of snippets and templates
• Increasing compatibility with devices like Android and iPad

Cons

• It would be nice to have a free version
• Some issues with macOS Terminal

Final Notes

Compared to the many text expansion apps available for Mac and other platforms, TextExpander is a value-adding solution for most people. It does more than replace text with something else. Its integration with macOS and other platforms makes TextExpander a must-have tool for boosting productivity.

As you have seen, TextExpander for Teams offers additional possibilities as well. The ability to manage and modify snippets at a team level is impressive, indeed. So, you may want to consider that upgrade if you can benefit from consistent text, FAQs, SOPs, and more.

More details, please visit offical TextExpander.com

<p>The post TextExpander: Your Secret Weapon for Typing Less first appeared on TheSweetBits.</p>

What Is Elephas?

Elephas works as a digital assistant app that can help you with many productivity-oriented tasks, such as research, brainstorming, and content creation. However, unlike ChatGPT or Perplexity, Elephas is designed to prioritize context.

Therefore, instead of relaying information between you and an AI service, Elephas understands the resources you provide and comes up with actionable responses. More importantly, Elephas creates a Brain, which is a knowledge base. It lets you have multiple brains that you can use for various projects.

You always have the option to chat with these brains or a mainstream LLM like ChatGPT or Claude. Elephas also packs additional utilities such as system-wide writing tools and grammar checks.

Core Features

Let’s look at the core features of Elephas for Mac:

• Create smart AI brains that you can use to feed information and chat with. These digital brains can access information from versatile document formats like PDF, DOCX, images, and videos.
• The Super Chat function allows you to engage in a semantic chat with your brain and documents. It’s also designed to show references and connections whenever appropriate.
• The Super Command functionality of Elephas can help you with dictation, book summaries, creating presentations, etc.
• Elephas also brings a system-wide AI writing assistant, helping you fix grammar mistakes, rephrase, summarize, and chat with webpages.
• An offline mode allows you to use local-run LLMs to power Elephas and ensure that your documents never leave your premises.

As Ayush Chaturvedi, co-founder of Elephas, notes:

“Elephas today has a range of powerful features, but its core appeal is in its ability to provide a layer of AI anywhere you need on your Mac.”

Elephas Review: A Deep Dive into Features & Benefits

Setting up and getting started with Elephas does not take more than a few minutes. You can get the official app from the website or Setapp. After the installation, you can configure Elephas in different ways. You get to choose between efficiency, privacy, and performance.

One, you can pick one of the integrated service options or connect an existing API for services like ChatGPT or Grok. Alternatively, you can run an LLM on your Mac and ask Elephas to use it.

Once set up, Elephas offers powerful features that transform how you manage information and tasks.

# Super Brain

Super Brain is at the core of Elephas’ functionality. Either way, you can start interacting with Super Brain to interact with complex information from different parts of your Mac. For instance,

• Writing Assistance: As you draft an important email, you can summon Elephas’ writing tools with a quick hotkey. It helps you refine the language, ensuring the message is clear and impactful.
• Research and Summarization: When you’re working on a project that requires extensive research, with Elephas’ Super Brain, you simply feed it with relevant documents, web pages, and your own notes. Then, you can chat with this brain to quickly extract key insights without manually sifting through all the material.
• Content Creation: While brainstorming ideas for a blog post, you can use Elephas to generate outlines, expand on concepts, or even help with writer’s block. Its AI-powered suggestions often spark new angles you hadn’t considered.
• Email Management: When faced with a full inbox, you can leverage Elephas to draft quick replies or summarize long email threads. As Ayush explains:

“Let’s say you want to answer an email, you can bring up the Elephas shortcut menu, and get it to reply to the email. You can even give it a prompt based on how you want the reply to be. And it works right there inline, inside your favorite email app, no need to go to a different browser tab and copy pasting long emails.”

“This is why we built the super brain feature in Elephas. It’s where we integrate with a wide variety of note taking and personal knowledge management apps, and help them bring all their data from different sources into a single ‘brain’.”

# Super Command

Super Command is another game-changing feature that brings almost all of Elephas’ capabilities to your fingertips. Let’s say we need to quickly understand the key offerings of OpenAI. We navigate to openai.com, then activate Super Command by pressing Control + /. From the command palette, we select “Summarize webpage.” Within seconds, Elephas provides us with a concise summary of OpenAI’s main products and services, saving us the time of reading through the entire website.

Additionally, you can use Super Command for tasks like:

• Generating and fixing content directly in emails, notes, and documents.
• Accessing AI features through customizable hotkeys.
• Creating custom AI commands tailored to our specific workflow needs.

Elephas integrates seamlessly with other services we use daily, such as Notion, YouTube, Bear, and Obsidian, making it a central hub for our productivity needs. Plus, with its cloud-sync feature,  you can access your digital brains from your iPhone as well.

# Workflow Automation

Elephas recently introduced a powerful Workflow Automation feature for Mac users, currently in beta. This new functionality allows you to create custom AI-powered workflows, automating complex tasks across your applications. The feature includes a library of pre-built workflows for common use cases such as summarizing brain files, finding files that discuss specific topics, web searching, and drawing mindmaps or charts.

Users can trigger workflows from the Super Chat by typing “@” followed by the workflow name. For example, you can filter specific files using the filter icon in the Chat tab, then type “@Summarize Brain Files” to quickly summarize the selected documents. This feature significantly enhances Elephas’ ability to streamline work processes and boost productivity.

# Our Take

Considering the features it offers and the value you get, Elephas for Mac is an effectiveway to leverage AI for productivity and research. Its context-aware nature improves the accuracy and reliability of results. We also loved the options for using custom AI engines and running the entire thing locally and the newly introduced Workflow Automation feature, which takes task automation to the next level.

Pricing and Plans

Elephas offers a free version that you can use for as long as you like. However, you won’t get some features like Integration.

If you want the complete feature set, you need to purchase an Elephas license, which starts at $7.50 per month. If you are looking for unlimited AI credits, you have to pay $15.83 per month. An alternative option is to grab the basic plan and hook it up with your OpenAI API key.

If you have a powerful Mac (16GB RAM), you can try running the LLMs offline as well.

Folks can check out Elephas from its home page, and note that Elephas requires minimum macOS version of 11.

<p>The post Elephas: A Digital Second Brain That Supercharges AI Productivity on Your Mac first appeared on TheSweetBits.</p>

Its lack of affordability, limited free trial options, inadequate subscription bundles, and sandboxing seem to cause more trouble than benefits. The problematic revenue-sharing policies of the Mac App Store have also been driving some great developers in the opposite direction.

Setapp, a subscription service from MacPaw, aims to solve this problem, offering an intuitive way to get good apps on your Mac without spending a fortune.

About Setapp

Setapp is a subscription service providing access to over 260 macOS, iOS, and web apps for a competitive monthly price. This curated collection is constantly updated, offering a diverse range of tools for productivity, creativity, and more.

By going for this subscription package, you can stop paying for individual apps or subscription plans. Setapp also offers many features to help users discover, use, and manage apps across their Apple devices.

“At our core, Setapp strives to simplify how Mac and iOS users discover and distribute apps. By prioritizing value for both users and developers, we’re constantly working to offer an experience that aligns with market demands and the needs of our customers.”

Discover more on how MacPaw reinvents app discovery and usage inside Setapp.

Features Highlight

• Setapp gives you access to a well-maintained library of apps for your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and web. It currently has over 260 apps in the library.
• Users can pay for a single monthly subscription instead of one-time purchases and subscriptions from multiple developers/vendors.
• The Setapp interface makes it easy to browse the collection of apps and find something that would increase productivity, boost Mac’s performance, or help with design/development.
• The apps included in the Setapp subscription are ad-free, providing you with the best possible User Experience across your Mac, iPad, and iPhone.
• Setapp also features an impressive selection of AI-powered apps for macOS and iOS, along with various plans that include built-in AI credits.

Key Information

• Free for 7 days, then $9.99/month for individual Mac access.
• Flexible plans available for Mac + iOS and families.
• System Requirements: High Sierra 10.13 (minimum), Big Sur 11.0 and later (recommended).
• All apps updated for free.
• Ad-free experience.
• Full access to the entire app collection, including new additions.
• Every app in Setapp is carefully chosen.

Our Hands-on Setapp Review

As a writer for TheSweetBits, finding great Mac apps has become second nature to me. For over 5 years, the Setapp subscription has made this easier. I have used Setapp on all the Macs I have owned since 2018. Even today, I spend more time on Setapp than the Mac App Store when I want to find a great app for a purpose.

In short, Setapp has become my go-to place for finding great apps that I can trust. For this review, I have been testing the latest version of Setapp on my M2 MacBook Air. I’ll talk about everything you should know about, starting from installation and setup to the current library of apps.

Installation and Setup

Installing Setapp on your Mac is like installing any other app. However, you may want to register on the site for an account for a seamless process. It may also be a good idea to start the Setapp free trial.

Setapp asks for standard macOS permissions during installation since it will be installing apps on your device. Apart from this point, the installation and setup are straightforward.

You can also choose to sign in to/sign up for the Setapp subscription after the installation. Once this part has been completed, you can start using all the features from Setapp.

The User Experience

When you get started with Setapp, you get to see the My Explorer tab of the applications. You can think of this pane as a space where you can find incredible recommendations and the newest additions to the app library that is Setapp.

As you can see, there might be a section called Hidden Gems or a couple of how-tos that can help you get something stuck. There are also personal recommendations and collections that you can explore to find out which apps can help you get the best out of your Mac, iPhone, or iPad.

The recommendations become really great and spot-on after you have installed a few apps from Setapp. It learns from how helpful the existing apps are.

Sorting & Filtering

You can also explore other categories, such as On This Mac, Collections, How-Tos, and App Guides, if you want. Setup also allows you to explore all the apps in its collection or go through separate sections, such as Optimize, Work, Create, Develop, or Solve with AI Plus.

All these options in the sidebar make it easy to navigate the rather large collection of apps that you get from Setup, and once you are in a particular category, you can filter the options further. For instance, if you go to the Optimize app, you can select between options such as Menu Bar and Dock, Battery, CPU and RAM, Temperature, Speed, Screen, etc.

These filters and sorting options make it easy to navigate the vast collection and find something that you would want to install on your Mac, and this system is far better than what I have seen on the Mac App Store.

Search & AI Assistant

You can also use the search bar to find a macOS or iOS app for specific purposes. The best part? You don’t have to search for the name of the app. Instead, you can search for a particular task, such as “develop apps”.

You can also ask the AI-powered Setapp Assistant if you want in-depth suggestions. You can get started with the Setapp assistant and ask for basic tasks like “How to convert PDF to Word?” or “How do you take a screenshot on a Mac?”

If you need an interactive way to find great apps for your Mac, these two functions add a lot of value.

The Setapp App Library: An Overview

Let’s first take a look at the top Setapp apps from its five categories. I have picked five apps from each section, but they don’t show the versatility of the Setapp library.

Optimize

• Bartender helps you organize your busy macOS menu bar by arranging menu bar items and managing its behavior.
• BetterTouchTool is a great way to customize almost everything on your Mac. It offers full support for gestures, custom triggers, actions, etc.
• CleanMyMac is an all-in-one optimization and cleaning utility for macOS. It lets you free up storage space, remove applications, and speed up your Mac.
• Get Backup Pro offers fully-fledged backup solutions for your Mac. You can back up data to multiple storage spaces and retain control while doing so.
• iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is a trusted way to access NTFS drives from your Mac. This reliable tool makes it easy to format and control hard drives and other storage devices.

Work

• CleanShot X and Xnapper are two great screenshot utilities from the Setapp collection. These utilities make it easy to take beautiful and accurate screenshots on your Mac.
• Timing is a complete time-tracking solution for macOS. You can use the tool to understand the time spent on each app.
• Folx is one of the most popular download managers for macOS. It not only boosts download speeds but also supports torrent downloads and scheduling options.
• GoodTask is an excellent task manager who supports to-dos and reminders. You can sync all your data with other devices as well.
• CleanPresenter makes it easy to optimize how you present content from your Mac. This app offers incredible customization options, for starters.

Create

• Ulysses is probably the best distraction-free writing solution out there. It comes with markup support and various editing options. You can also directly publish content from Ulysses if you’re interested.
• Craft is a collaboration-friendly writing app available for macOS. The Setapp subscription brings the fully-fledged version of Craft, which also now has AI-powered tools.
• Typeface becomes a blessing for developers and designers by keeping track of your fonts. The app is an easy way to test your fonts and organize them.
• Swift Publisher makes everyone a potential publisher of books and booklets. You can use the app to design other design products as well.
• CameraBag Pro is a full-featured photo editor that professionals and beginners can rely on. It comes with a great collection of photo filters and presets.

Develop

• CodeRunner is one of the best multi-language programming editors we’ve seen. Not only is it easy to use, it offers extensive support for code completion.
• Hype is a unique app for HTML5 content creators. You can use Hype to create interactive content based on the HTML5 platform.
• SwiftyLaunch transforms how you build apps by saving up to 50 hours. This app can provide essential modules and pre-built features to optimize your next big iOS app.
• DevUtils is a curated collection of developer tools. You can use the app to quickly access generators and debuggers.
• SSH Config Editor is an effective way to manage your SSH config files from the convenience of your Mac. It will help automate many processes, thus saving a lot of time on your end.

Solve with AI+

• MurmurType is probably the best AI-powered we have come across recently. Powered by OpenAI’s Whisper engine, MurmurType can transcribe audio in almost every language you speak.
• Elephas is an AI-powered content editor that works across macOS. You can use ChatGPT’s generative ability without worrying about API keys and other technicalities.
• PDF Pals makes it easy to chat with your PDF documents. It uses the power of ChatGPT and other AI platforms to make things easier.
• Superwhisper allows you to transcribe audio to text on your Mac. You can easily download models to your Mac and get the job done.
• Spellar AI is a real-time assistant that helps you improve your performance in meetings. It can assist with English pronunciation, vocabulary, body language, etc.

Something great here is that Setapp offers iOS apps for many of these solutions. So you can enjoy the same experience on desktop and mobile devices.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• A Setapp subscription offers an incredible value
• You always have access to a curated set of apps
• Setapp can manage how you install and update apps
• Personal recommendations and discovery options
• Most apps in the collection maintain quality standards

Cons

• Access to apps is dependent on the subscription
• Not all apps are available cross-platform, especially on Android

Verdict

It must be clear to you that Setapp offers incredible value to anyone.

Even if you decide to purchase five apps from the collection separately, you’d end up spending more than what you would pay for Setapp in a year. Similarly, the Setapp subscription offers more value than any other app bundles I have come across out there.

I should also remind you that the collection of 260+ apps keeps updating. For the price of $120 per year, you get a great value package from Setapp.

Pricing Plans

Quite surprisingly, the Setapp membership currently starts at $9.99 per month, and this gives you access to one Mac.

If you want to access iOS and macOS applications, you can go for the Mac plus iOS bundle, which will cost $12.49 per month, but this will give you access to 5 devices in total. There is also a power user bundle, which will set you back at $14.99 per month, but this will give you access to 8 devices in total.

By choosing to pay annually, you can save 10%, which brings the monthly price to $8.99.

In addition, MacPaw offers additional discounts for students and teachers. That is one more reason to check out the subscription service.

If you are still unsure, you may want to try the 7-day free trial, during which you have access to the entire app library.

Exclusive offer for TheSweetBits readers!

Guys, we have great news! Setapp reached out to us and provided a coupon exclusively for our readers. Use promo code THESWEETBITS or follow this link to enjoy a 30-day extended trial. This extended trial gives you even more time to discover the vast collection of high-quality apps Setapp has to offer and see how it can transform your workflow.

Setapp vs. Mac App Store

Here’s a quick comparison of Setapp and the Mac App Store.

As you can see, the only aspect where the Mac App Store offers better value than Setapp is ownership. When you get an app from the MAS, you get full ownership and offline access. You might also have concerns about Setapp removing apps from its library. So, if you really want to own the Mac apps, you should stick to the Mac App Store.

I also wanted to mention the case of sandboxing. Many apps on the Mac App Store are sandboxed, meaning that all their functionalities are not available. Setapp, on the other hand, offers many apps without sandbox. This makes a huge difference when it comes to customization apps like BetterTouchTool and CleanMyMac.

But you also get the typical benefits of a subscription model without subscribing to different apps/vendors. For instance, Setapp offers continuous upgrades, including major ones. With the Mac App Store, you need to pay for every major upgrade.

Setapp FAQs

Can Setapp be trusted, are Setapp apps safe?

Yes, Setapp emphasizes security and trustworthiness. They conduct rigorous audits and certifications, partner with reputable developers who create high-quality apps, and implement a thorough review process to ensure that all apps meet high standards for quality, functionality, safety, and privacy.

Is Setapp available on the App Store?

No, Setapp itself is an app platform, so it’s not available on the Mac App Store or the App Store for iOS. You can sign up and install the Setapp desktop app on your Mac to access the included apps.

Can I use Setapp apps on multiple Macs?

Yes, your subscription allows installation and use on up to two Macs simultaneously.

Can I use Setapp Mobile with my plan?

Setapp Mobile requires an iOS Advanced, Power User, or AI Expert plan. Other plans don’t include it. Additionally, you need to be in the EU to install apps on your iPhone from Setapp Mobile.

Is Setapp worth it?

Determining whether Setapp is worth it depends on your individual needs and app usage. Setapp offers a variety of high-quality apps for a monthly subscription fee. Consider the value you get from using multiple apps compared to purchasing them individually. They also offer a free trial, so you can try it out and see if it works for you.

Conclusion

Setapp is a no-brainer choice for those who want the best out of their Mac and iOS devices. For the same amount you would spend on coffee every day, you get a month’s access to some great apps.

We feel Setapp has all the apps you would need to turn your Mac into a productivity boost. Its subscription model not only saves money but also simplifies app management through regular updates and an intuitive interface. For those who prioritize value and variety over ownership, Setapp presents an attractive option.

Visit setapp.com and start your free trial now.

<p>The post Setapp: The App Store Your Mac Deserves. A Bold Alternative. first appeared on TheSweetBits.</p>

While Apple Calendar offers its share of benefits, such as better continuity within the Apple ecosystem, it is far from the best calendar app for Mac. However, BusyCal, a third-party calendar app for Mac, has enjoyed this position for years. So, we wanted to test it out.

Key Points

• BusyCal for macOS calls itself the most powerful, flexible, heavily customizable, and reliable calendar app for macOS. According to most reviews, including ours, say that BusyCal lives up to expectations.
• The calendar app ships with all the standard features you would expect in one, but there are more options to explore. It is impressive that BusyCal leaves ample room for customization.
• BusyCal is an easy recommendation for those who need better control and features to manage many calendars from the convenience of a single place.

The app comes from Busy Apps, which also develops BusyCal for iOS and BusyContacts for macOS. Because these two apps work great with BusyCal, we will mention them once or twice here. But the focus is on how BusyCal offers a better calendar experience than its competitors, including Apple’s Calendar app and competitors like Fantastical. In particular, we will see whether people should invest in BusyCal instead of using the built-in Calendar app on macOS.

User Interface and Design

Getting started with BusyCal is a breeze. After installing the app, a setup wizard guides you through customizing your calendar layout. You can easily integrate your existing Apple Calendar, but BusyCal also supports various calendar services, including Google Calendar.

However, syncing with Apple Calendar requires creating an app-specific password due to Apple’s security measures.

• Overview of the User Interface

The overall design of BusyCal is pretty minimal if you ask us. We might have liked it a bit more if there were a better colorful palette, but that is a personal choice. On the bright side, it leaves plenty of room for customization.

Therefore, if you want to make your calendar look a bit more interesting, you can do that with the help of stickers and sticky notes. In particular, we love how the month view works across macOS and iOS. You have an option to quickly keep an eye on how your month looks like.

Otherwise, the main elements of the UI can be tucked in through two sidebars. You can disable or enable these sidebars depending on the screen real estate you have. We believe that these different viewing options and the customizability of the user interface is very helpful when you want to use the calendar from different instances.

The right sidebar is known as the Information panel because it shows information about specific events. As you can guess, these panels are highly customizable. You can use the info panel to keep track of your tasks, reminders, and other lists.

• Customization Options

As we said earlier, almost every aspect of BusyCal is customizable. It means you don’t have to worry about how the user interface looks. There will be an option to minimize a particular element or increase the options as you wish.

We also noticed that BusyCal app for macOS is pretty intuitive in the sense that it can detect the types of events you have and add separate elements as you would need them. In most cases, you get to access the customization options from the control-click menu.

• Intuitiveness of Design

The intuitiveness of the BusyCal UI is demonstrated in various ways. For example, you don’t always have to open separate event icons to make changes. Instead, you can simply drag and drop the event item to adjust its duration. Similarly, you can easily move events between different dates or months. Additionally, the quick-access sidebar on the left side allows you to easily manage active and inactive calendars.

• Visual Appeal and Theme Options

Unlike other calendar apps, BusyCal keeps a minimal design philosophy across the User Interface. However, it remains visually appealing for the most part. But, if you need a calendar that always catches your eye, you will need to work on customization options. Fortunately, you can find an “Appearance” section in the Preferences menu.

This section allows you to customize almost every aspect of the calendar, such as the color of the elements, the behavior of banners, and the handling of different types of events. Additionally, you can modify the fonts and other settings for the mini calendar.

However, we couldn’t find support for themes, which may disappoint some users. Nevertheless, you can make up for this limitation with the available customization options.

Features and Functionality

Note: We’ve checked the latest version BusyCal 4.2 and its features using a MacBook Air M2 13-inch. The device is running the latest version of macOS Sequoia with the patches installed.

Calendar Management

• Event Creation and Editing

Regardless of the calendar you are dealing with, BusyCal makes it easy to create and edit events. For starters, you can double-click on any date to create an event, type the name, and change specifics later. But there is a smarter way to do things.

You can click the + button and describe the event. For instance, if you have a meeting with Lisa on the 16^th of the month, you can simply type the same. BusyCal will understand the key points and create the event. It is a great option when you want to schedule an entire month or so.

Similarly, you can edit an event by selecting the entry. But, if you simply would like to change the date, you can drag from either side of the entry.

• Integration with Other Apps and Services

We found that BusyCal works great with other apps and services. It is important to talk about compatibility in general here. For instance, you will not have trouble setting up different types of calendars, such as web calendars, to-do lists, and even meeting-based calendars.

The iOS version of BusyCal also works great, syncing everything you would want to. It is impressive that you do not have to set up things on multiple devices. Instead, managing calendars from your Mac and iPhone is an easy task.

• Task Management and To-Do Lists

We told you that BusyCal offers built-in support for task management and to-do lists. You can go about these features in two ways. One, you can use the built-in interface to take care of tasks, which also get powerful reminder options. Two, you can use a third-party to-do list app and keep everything in sync.

As someone who wants to keep multiple deadlines alive, the combined interface of BusyCal is impressive in many ways. For instance, we can easily start a timed or untimed task and cross them off as we go about the day. The Task Management module of BusyCal comes with well-designed sorting options as well.

Scheduling and Time Management

• Smart Filters and Search Options

As one would expect, BusyCal offers smart filters and search options. Both are great for organizing all your calendars from a single space. Since we use multiple types of calendars for professional and personal needs, it makes sense to arrange the content and filter them.

The best part is how BusyCal arranges these filters for later access. You can enable your favorite filters from the top part of the interface. So, if we instantly want to focus only on work-related events, a single click will be enough.

The search function is also quick and effective. Once again, you can use natural language to search for events across all those calendars you have enabled. When combined with smart filters, it felt easy to find whatever you are looking for within BusyCal.

• Recurring Events and Reminders

You also get plenty of control over recurring events and reminders. These were pretty handy while managing meeting entries from multiple platforms. As long as you have connected the respective calendar accounts, you will get on-time reminders on all connected devices.

We should also mention the built-in module for alarms. If you spend most of your time in front of your Mac, you may want to use this feature. Finally, recurring events are also easy to manage while using BusyCal. It is time-saving that you can manage all the recurring events from a single place.

• Time Zone Support

If you work with people in a different time zone, you will love the multiple time zone support feature from BusyCal. It lets you set up your preferences for different time zones and easily consider them while creating or modifying events.

For instance, let’s say that you are in Japan but want to plan an event according to someone from the US. It is easy with BusyCal to shift to the US time zone and schedule the event. In a click, you can turn back to your time zone and the calendar will do all the calculations.

We always keep the different time zones we work with in the Preferences pane. So, all it takes would be just one click.

Collaboration and Sharing

The collaboration experience with BusyCal is quite impressive in that you can seamlessly work with sharing-based calendars. So, whenever you make changes to a shared calendar, the syncing process is quick, and you don’t have to worry about what happens in the backend.

As a result, you can focus more on the content and scheduling than whether it works. It is important to mention the integration aspect a little because you can integrate BusyCal with some of the CRM solutions or the other contact management app that you may have.

Together, we love using BusyCal for collaborative scheduling and other instances where you would need to share information with other people.

Integration and Compatibility

One of the reasons why BusyCal is one of the most popular calendar apps for macOS is how well it works with different calendar platforms and applications. For starters, you can connect almost every kind of calendar app with the service. It means you don’t have to worry about the type of calendar.

You get support for calendars such as Reminders, iCloud, Google Calendar, Office 365, Exchange, and others. But if your company uses a CalDAV servers such as FastMail or Zimbra, you can easily set it up as well. And depending on the mail server, the reminder and task list facility would also be set up rapidly.

The unified syncing system makes sure that the changes you make are reflected as earlier as possible. Now, when it comes to integration, BusyCal is known for how well it works with busy contacts, an app from the same developer. So, if you use the calendar app for work-based needs, you can use BusyContacts for CRM, which is beneficial while setting up meetings and other engagements.

Performance and Responsiveness

When you are using a calendar app for multiple occasions and multiple requirements, you don’t want to compromise in terms of performance or responsiveness. In our experience, BusyCal has been quite fast and because it runs native on Apple Silicon, everything is as quick as things can be.

For instance, even when you put a lot of pressure on the system with tens of calendars, it can handle all the tasks very efficiently. At the end of the day, you just have to make sure that there is a stable internet connection that can keep everything synced.

Security and Privacy

BusyCal comes with many features that are designed to protect your privacy and security. In terms of data security, there is an option to create backups and store them in a place of your choice. Similarly, there are ways to make sure that your information is safe through authenticating the servers and making sure that the links are secure.

Overall, you don’t have to worry about your security or privacy while connecting different calendar accounts to BusyCal. The company is just about one of the most reputed options in the industry, and it has been known for its transparent privacy policy.

Support and Documentation

There are two things that make BusyCal a better option in terms of support and documentation.

One, the app has been active in the industry for quite some time, which means it has acquired quite a huge user base. You can rely on this community when you have to deal with common issues or your queries. You can also find many tutorials on YouTube and other platforms.

Two, BusyCal is also pretty great at updating and maintaining a set of documentation. This documentation is very helpful when you want to navigate through all the features and make sure that you are getting the best calendar management experience using this app.

We should also mention regular updates when listing the support system of BC-Cal. The developers are known for releasing frequent updates that address specific issues as well as feature improvements. For instance, the last update ensures that the notifications make use of the latest features on macOS Sequoia.

Pricing and Availability

BusyCal is available for macOS and iOS, and it has complete support for Apple Silicon. Rest assured, you should be able to run this application if you have a Mac with macOS 10.15 or later. Even if you have an older version of macOS, you may be able to find an older version of BusyCal that works with your Mac.

As far as the pricing goes, when compared to Fantastical subscription, you can get BusyCal for macOS by paying a one-time fee of $49.99. But like the many apps we recommend, BusyCal is also available through a Setapp subscription. It means you can enjoy all the benefits of this application and the future upgrades by paying only $12.99 a month.

For those who want to try all the features before committing, there is a 30-day free trial that you can use.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Highly customizable
• Excellent compatibility
• Syncs well with Mac and iPhone
• Regular updates and support
• Intuitive UI

Cons

• No support for themes
• Lacks AI enhancements
• Design may feel basic to some

BusyCal vs. Other Calendar Apps

There is no scarcity for calendar apps available for macOS, and it is important to see where BusyCal stands in terms of a fair comparison.

We should mention that BusyCal is not the most colorful calendar app out there, which means you may not have the best appearance while managing tasks. However, it has been designed to work like a charm in terms of functionality. On the other hand, it also means that you should look for something like Fantastical or Calendars if you are looking for a more colorful option to manage your schedule.

But, when we consider the usefulness of features, BusyCal doesn’t disappoint at all. Instead, you get better control over how you can control the different calendars. More so, features like multiple time zone support add more value to the overall experience. The multiple purchase options from BusyCal are also great when you need a budget-friendly option.

BusyCal for iOS

BusyCal for iOS is a great option for those who want the same amount of control on their calendars when using their iPhone. Of course, you cannot expect this to have all the features that you have seen on the desktop version, but it is not going to be an issue when comparing the same with Apple Calendar.

For instance, you can still benefit from different viewing options, travel time support, weather support, the ability to deal with tags and the option to use natural language for creating and managing events. So, if you want to add multiple events and seamlessly manage them, the iOS version of BusyCal will not disappoint. In case you have not guessed, BusyCal for iOS is also known for its compatibility.

It means you can connect an incredible variety of calendar accounts on both your Mac and iPhone. Because everything is in sync, you will have actionable information on everyone’s availability and status.

Final Notes

Compared to Apple Calendar, BusyCal is a genuine upgrade for most people.  And we recommend getting this app instead of compromising your productivity with subpar solutions. In our case, BusyCal has helped us in saving a lot of time, which would otherwise be spent on figuring things out.

Therefore, considering that you can get a free trial for 30 days, we highly recommend that you check out what BusyCal has to offer. And we are sure you will never would want to go back to Apple Calendar.

<p>The post BusyCal: Your Smart Calendar Solution first appeared on TheSweetBits.</p>

But now, when we sit to check the latest Grammarly after five years, it is not as simple as it used to be. On the one hand, Grammarly seems to have (almost) perfected its grammar-checking game. On the other hand, there are too many things to consider when you get the Grammarly package.

TheSweetBits’ key takeaways

• Grammarly excels as a versatile writing assistant with accurate grammar checks, intelligent style suggestions, and adaptable AI features.
• Its seamless integration across platforms and robust plagiarism checker make it a valuable tool for writers.
• However, Grammarly’s macOS app could benefit from additional features, and its suggestions could be more contextually aware for optimal performance.
• Despite these minor drawbacks, Grammarly remains a strong choice for writers seeking to improve their writing.

What is Grammarly?

Grammarly is now a fully-fledged writing assistant that packs multiple modules. Depending on your plan and requirements, you can use one or all of these features. However, overall, Grammarly is now an AI-powered writing tool that can not only detect grammatical errors but also improve/enhance your text for many contexts and purposes.

Core features of Grammarly

• 360-degree grammar, syntax, readability, and flow detection and suggestions
• AI-powered Tone Suggestions that optimize your word choice for contexts
• Full Sentence Rewrites to ensure clarity and brevity for all your writings
• Intelligent style suggestions based on popular guides (APA, MLA, Chicago) and custom styles
• AI-powered Writing Assistant that you can engage in conversations with

In short, Grammarly claims to offer everything you could ever ask from a writing assistant. It feels like having a highly skilled writing assistant by your side. But here are a few questions.

1. How do these features translate to real life?
2. Does Grammarly stay faithful to its promises?
3. How is the experience on a Mac?

Well, we’ve answered all these questions below so that you can make an informed decision.

Using Grammarly for Mac

Before we evaluate the core features of Grammarly, we want to give you a quick overview of how Grammarly works on a Mac. We have been using Grammarly for Mac for almost seven years, and it is the go-to writing assistant on our M2 MacBook Air running macOS Sonoma. Here’s what we feel about Grammarly on Mac.

You can install and use Grammarly on your Mac in three ways:

1. Grammarly Desktop for Mac
2. Grammarly add-on for Word/other apps
3. Grammarly extension for Chrome/Edge/Safari/other browsers

For some reason, we use all these modes. Wondering why?

Ironically enough, Grammarly expects you to write in the same language/dialect across all platforms. It is difficult for a writer who HAS to write in multiple dialects of English, for instance. It is a major hassle when we have to change the language/dialect whenever we change a document.

Unfortunately, this change does not happen instantly. In many cases, we have had to restart. However, we also noticed that the problem occurs mainly on Macs, not Windows devices.

Thus, we have multiple free and paid Grammarly accounts for various apps/add-ons. Fortunately for you, we can quickly tell you the difference between Grammarly Free and Paid.

Installation and Setup

The installation and setup for Grammarly on Mac are pretty straightforward. You can download Grammarly Desktop from the official website and set it up. After installation, Grammarly will ask for some accessibility permissions. These are required to show over apps and offer real-time suggestions.

Once you have provided these permissions, you can start using Grammarly.

User Interface and Usability

The UI and usability of Grammarly Desktop are top-notch. By default, Grammarly works on any app where you open a text field. So, right after you install this app, you can start writing something in Word, and you’ll get instant suggestions.

As for the UI design, you can see a pop-up interface on the bottom-right portion of the window. It will show the current number of suggestions, and you can expand on them as you wish. We often keep the interface closed until we’ve done the writing part.

Once the writing is done, we can entirely focus on the edits. This is where all those powerful AI-powered features come in.

Available Functions and Performance

Most of Grammarly’s advertised features work fine on macOS. However, the Grammarly Desktop app for Mac is not as function-rich as its Windows counterpart. You understand the difference when you use Word on a Windows PC with Grammarly installed.

Of course, essential functions like grammar check, style and tone suggestions, plagiarism check, and AI-powered writing suggestions work across most applications. However, we could not find an option for custom tone control or document-specific settings.

Ironically, these are available when we use a Grammarly browser add-on. Even better, you get better control when you set up Grammarly on a Windows PC.

AI-powered features

Grammarly claims that all of its features are AI-powered and AI-driven.

Grammar and Spelling Checks

Grammarly doesn’t let you down when it comes to basic grammar and spelling checks. As long as you choose the appropriate language and variety (US, UK, Australian, Indian, etc.), you get almost instant suggestions on grammar, syntax, and spelling. You also have the option to correct spelling errors, saving a lot of time automatically.

But, when you write as much as we have, you find a way to navigate grammar rules. In that sense, Grammarly may seem a bit puritan in that it enforces some grammar conventions that don’t make sense anymore. Rest assured, you can really improve your writing clarity and accuracy with Grammarly (Premium or Not).

Style and Tone Suggestions

We could say the same about style and tone suggestions from Grammarly. Then, again, the problem is when Grammarly does not understand the context. In these cases, many suggestions from Grammarly become a little too redundant. We end up dismissing tens of these suggestions in a single document.

But, if you are asking whether Grammarly makes your writing better, the answer is YES. It offers a huge room for improvement. For example, Grammarly suggested changing ‘analyze’ to ‘examine’ in our academic paper, which significantly improved clarity. However, as you continue using Grammarly, you should also develop a sense of discretion. This discretion will help you dismiss the suggestions that need to go.

We have noticed a genre-specific problem when we write for academic purposes. Grammarly tends to suggest words that are meant to make the writing more engaging but end up changing the deeper meanings or arguments.

For beginners, however, the AI-powered tone and style suggestions from Grammarly are great to start with.

Plagiarism Detection

The plagiarism checker utility from Grammarly is minimalistic, but it is quite accurate. We’ve compared the results with those from Quillbot and Turnitin, and they are competitive enough. This feature seems to work fine with most devices and platforms as well.

You can scan the entire document for plagiarism, and Grammarly will highlight the problematic areas in a few seconds. Considering its accuracy, we would say that Grammarly is pretty fast when it comes to plagiarism detection.

AI-Powered Rewriting

We cannot list all the AI-powered rewriting and editing features you can find in Grammarly. Doing so would be impractical. However, here are a few insights on how these features work.

• Complete Rewrites

Complete rewrites with Grammarly are similar to what you would get from ChatGPT or any other AI-based editor. However, you get some great prompt suggestions. For instance, when writing an academic paper, you can ask Grammarly to suggest counterarguments. This feature helps you improve your arguments and the manuscript by accommodating versatile ideas.

• My Voice

When you use Grammarly for some time, it learns about your writing style and creates something it calls as “Your Voice.” These are some characteristics of your writing, and you can ask Grammarly to rewrite anything in your voice. When you select a sentence and launch the Grammarly AI assistant, you can choose between many options.

If you do not find a preset, you can tell Grammarly what to do. Thanks to the powerful LLMs under its hood, Grammarly can make appropriate changes. But this is very unlikely, as you would find quite a lot of prompts within the interface.

In short, the AI-powered features of the Grammarly package are impressive, indeed. Even if you don’t know any better, you can’t go wrong with them.

Performance and accuracy

Here’s a quick look at the performance and accuracy of Grammarly. Since we use Grammarly on a Mac, we could be a little biased. Instead, we have tried to provide an overview of these aspects.

Real-time editing and suggestions

The real-time correction and improvement suggestions from Grammarly are on-point and accurate most of the time. However, we have felt the editors from AI assistants like ChatGPT are more context-aware in many instances. It would be nice to see a more context-aware version of Grammarly. However, this does not ruin the experience by any means.

On the other hand, Grammarly performs well and delivers these suggestions instantly. If you use the built-in editor interface, you can shave a few seconds for every sentence you write. But, in the grand scheme of things, these delays don’t matter much. Instead, you get to enjoy seamless corrections and editing for the various texts/manuscripts.

Comparison with other grammar checkers

Numbers aside, Grammarly has some strong competition in the market. Since we have had some difficulties using Grammarly on Mac, we have tried most other options below.

• LanguageTool is a viable alternative to Grammarly, and it provides fundamental features for not only editing but also improving what you write. However, I have found that LanguageTool is not as accurate as Grammarly in many instances. Using LanguageTool instead of Grammarly cost me a few projects, as a matter of fact.
• Quillbot also has a functional grammar checker and plagiarism checker you can use. However, in addition to being toned-down versions, Quillbot focuses on more academic-centric purposes. It may be overkill for people with diverse needs in content creation and optimization.

We have also tried some apps like Ginger, but they lag behind Grammarly in terms of features and functionality. So, if you need all the premium features (more about that in a bit), Grammarly is a great option out there.

Grammarly on iPad, Android, and iPhone

Here’s a quick look at how Grammarly works on mobile devices, especially iPads, Android, and iPhones.

Grammarly on iPad

You can get Grammarly AI Writing Keyboard for iPad, and it brings some core features like tone detection, spelling corrections, and instant recommendations to polish your writing. It is essentially a third-party keyboard app that you can launch anywhere on your iPad.

In our test, however, Grammarly for iPad needs a lot of work. It functions just right as a keyboard app, but you need more to integrate the app with your iPad experience. We hope Grammarly launches a dedicated writing assistant for iPadOS soon.

Grammarly on iPhone

On iPhone, Grammarly is available as a keyboard app. So, while you get a basic grammar checker and AI rewriting keyboard, it does not materialize as a fully-fledged writing assistant. However, you probably do not need a full assistant on your iPhone.

Instead, we like to use the Grammarly keyboard as a way to ensure that emails don’t have typos or serious grammar errors. For this purpose, Grammarly for iPhone does the job quite well.

Grammarly on Android

Thanks to the customizability of Android, Grammarly functions as a fully-fledged editor, though. Grammarly can work over other apps and can suggest changes based on what you write. These suggestions are great as well as accurate.

It gives you an almost complete Grammarly experience if you have a Premium subscription as well. Overall, the Android version of Grammarly easily outperforms its iPhone/iPad versions any day.

Integration with other apps

Microsoft Word and Google Docs

Grammarly offers integration with Microsoft Word and most other word processors. It just works and gets things right most of the time.

When it comes to Word, you have the added bonus of being able to install the Grammarly add-on, which, in our experience, tends to outperform the general system-wide assistant in various scenarios.

As for Google Docs, you get the best experience when you install the browser extension. You can get it for most web browsers, including Brave, Arc, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera.

Email Clients and Web Browsers

The compatibility of Grammarly with email clients and web browsers is also impressive. On Windows and Mac, you get full coverage as long as you enable the Desktop Assistant. For web browsers, you can find the official extension from respective marketplaces.

Pricing and subscription plans

So, Grammarly is great, we can tell you that. But do you HAVE to pay for Grammarly? Is its free version enough? Well, here are our thoughts.

Free vs. Premium

Grammarly Free is the basic grammar-checking tool from the company. You can easily detect and remove grammar, syntax, and spelling errors with the free version. But that’s where it stops. Of course, you get three or four premium suggestions every day, and those will keep you wanting more. If you ask us, Grammarly Free will correct your writing, but it won’t help you polish it.

You also miss out on AI-powered features, such as rewriting, plagiarism checker, and style guide support.

Grammarly Premium, on the other hand, is the truly complete package. You get all the features Grammarly advertises, including the AI-powered writing assistant. Unlike its competitors, Grammarly does not limit the amount of text you can check for plagiarism. You get unlimited AI credits as well. Overall, for what you pay, the premium package from Grammarly seems powerful and rich enough. So, if you were thinking of getting an AI writing assistant, Grammarly Premium is an easy choice.

Grammarly Premium costs $12 per month when purchased annually. You get student/other discounts while upgrading. So, even though the yearly amount comes down to $144, you can get a full year of Grammarly Premium for less than $100.

Is it worth the cost?

As we use Grammarly Free and Premium simultaneously, we can tell you that Grammarly Premium is definitely worth the extra cost. We find it convenient that we can worry less about errors and wrong punctuation, even if we spend close to $100 a year.

If you are a student or an employee, you might want to check whether your school/company has subscribed to Grammarly School or Enterprise.

Privacy and data security

In case you are wondering, Grammarly is proactive in terms of privacy-centric practices. The company ensures that your data is safe from prying eyes, including theirs. We have also found some concrete regulations on how Grammarly uses AI within its service offerings. So, this is something you can stay worry-free about.

Final words

Grammarly has become a go-to tool for anyone looking to polish their writing, whether you’re a student, professional writer, or just someone wanting to improve everyday communication. Powered by advanced AI, it not only checks grammar and spelling but also suggests ways to enhance clarity, conciseness, and overall tone.

More details, visit Grammarly official website.

<p>The post Grammarly: Enhance Your Writing with AI first appeared on TheSweetBits.</p>

What can Otter AI do?

Otter AI simplifies the process of capturing, organizing, and sharing meeting information. Here’s how it works:

1. Real-Time Transcription: Otter AI generates live transcriptions of your meetings, helping you focus on the conversation while the tool captures every word.
2. Collaboration-Friendly: Teams can highlight important parts, leave comments, or tag colleagues for follow-up, making it a great tool for collaborative environments.
3. Searchable Notes: Otter saves your transcriptions in an organized format, allowing you to search keywords, phrases, and speaker tags effortlessly.
4. Audio and Text Sync: You can replay audio and see the text highlighted in real-time, making it easier to catch up on discussions or verify details.
5. OtterPilot AI Assistant: With the OtterPilot feature, Otter now goes beyond transcription by providing automated summaries, follow-up emails, and actionable insights in real time.

Pros and cons of Otter AI

Pros:

• Accurate Transcription: Thanks to advanced AI, Otter delivers accurate transcriptions, even in group settings.
• Speaker Identification: It can distinguish between different speakers and label them accordingly, making it easier to follow multi-person conversations.
• Integrations: Works with Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams for seamless workflow integration.

Cons:

• Requires Editing for Accuracy: While fairly accurate, some transcriptions might need manual correction, especially in noisy environments.
• Limited Features on Free Plan: Free users get only 300 monthly transcription minutes, which might not be enough for heavy users.

How does Otter AI work in practice?

Otter AI simplifies meeting management by integrating with platforms like Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. Once connected, OtterPilot can automatically join your meetings, transcribe conversations in real-time, and generate live summaries. You can even paste a meeting link to begin recording manually.

With Otter’s mobile and web apps, you can capture and transcribe meetings from anywhere. The tool achieves impressive transcription accuracy—about 90-97% depending on noise levels—and allows you to customize vocabularies for team-specific jargon. After meetings, Otter automatically organizes notes, highlights action items, and offers smart summaries, so you can focus on the most important takeaways.

For sales teams, OtterPilot for Sales provides deeper insights by analyzing sales meetings and delivering actionable follow-up tasks and summaries. This feature helps sales professionals concentrate on closing deals instead of sifting through raw transcripts.

Otter AI pricing

Otter.ai offers different pricing options:

• Basic (Free): Limited set of features, 300 minutes of transcription per month, and 30 minutes per conversation.
• Pro ($8.33/month): Expanded features, 1,200 minutes of transcription per month, and 90 minutes per conversation.
• Business ($20/month): Team and admin features, 6,000 total minutes per month, and 4 hours per conversation.
• Enterprise (Custom Quote): Tailored to specific business requirements.

Otter.ai verdict

There is no underestimating Otter.ai when it comes to its meeting assistant capabilities. We also loved what the company has done in integrating AI-powered generative features. With reliable live meeting and media transcription, including the user-friendly Otter AI Chat, and flexible pricing plans, it stands out as a versatile service for streamlined collaboration and meeting management.

It is also clear that Otter.ai will help you save a lot of time, which you would otherwise spend on monotonous note-taking, meeting, and summarizing.

FAQs

What is Otter.ai used for?

Otter proves versatile across various scenarios, from recording notes during online lectures and business meetings to capturing brainstorming sessions and transcribing pre-recorded audio/video content. Whether you’re jotting down notes in real time, multitasking during meetings and interviews, or transcribing existing recordings and podcasts, Otter shines as a convenient and efficient tool for pristine text notes.

Is Otter completely free?

Yes and no! Otter offers a robust free plan with many key features. But if you need unlimited transcripts, longer recordings, or speaker identification, paid plans offer even more value.

Can Otter be trusted?

Otter.ai takes security seriously and uses your data to improve its product only if you opt in. We found it reliable and trustworthy in our tests.

Can Otter.ai record Google and Zoom meetings?

Yes! Simply paste the meeting URL or import previously recorded meetings, and Otter.ai seamlessly captures and transcribes the content.

Is Otter.ai worth it?

Absolutely! If you spend time taking meeting notes, recording lectures, or transcribing audio, Otter.ai is a game-changer. Its AI smart captures every word from your meetings, saving you time and effort. It’s a worthy investment for individuals and teams seeking productivity boosts and more in-depth insights.

Which is the best alternative to Otter.ai?

There are different types of meeting note-taking apps that you can consider as Otter.ai alternatives. If you want the best transcription options, Fireflies.ai is a great option. Other options include Fathom and Krisp, which also offer free and paid options.

<p>The post Otter AI: Elevate Your Meetings with Automated Transcriptions first appeared on TheSweetBits.</p>

What can Notion AI do?

Notion AI supercharges your workflow by simplifying tasks like content creation, note summarization, and task automation. Built into the Notion platform, it’s a tool that feels intuitive for regular users while adding powerful capabilities like:

• Ask AI for Answers: Want insights from a long report? Use the Q&A feature to interact with your workspace. Ask for a summary, clarification, or even key updates from a project timeline, and get instant results.
• Generate & Optimize Content: Whether you’re drafting a blog post or brainstorming, Notion AI can assist by generating content based on your needs. It understands the context of your documents, making it easier to tweak the tone or style of your writing, repurpose material, and create fresh content from scratch.
• Summarize & Analyze: Have pages of meeting notes or research? Notion AI can summarize them in seconds, pulling key points and turning data into actionable insights. Perfect for staying on top of projects without the busywork.

Pros and cons of Notion AI

Pros:

• Contextually aware: It knows what you’re working on and tailors responses and content generation accordingly.
• Easy integration: If you’re already using Notion, adding AI feels like a natural extension of the platform.
• Affordable: It’s priced lower than many standalone AI tools.

Cons:

• Limited to text-based content: While great for writing, it doesn’t handle visual content or more complex media types.
• Q&A is still improving: The conversational AI feature, while helpful, sometimes requires refinement.

How does Notion AI work in practice?

We believe every Notion AI review should acknowledge something. That you can judge Notion AI only if you find Notion useful. While we believe Notion is an impressive productivity booster, it is not for everyone.

So, if you have a less-than-ideal situation with Notion, you may not even understand the point of this AI add-on.

But if you are like us and love Notion to its core, you can read along to find out how Notion AI works in real life. At its core, Notion AI aims to fulfill three types of tasks: Easy interaction, content generation, and room for automation. We will talk about each of these sections.

Conversational interaction with your data

Like other conversational AI models, Notion AI makes it easy to interact with your data. Though the AI tool comes with conversational capabilities everywhere, you get the best experience while dealing with projects, wikis, and documents.

The Q&A features of Notion AI make a huge difference when searching for actionable information from a pile of updates. For instance, if you have a team space for an ongoing project, containing multiple subpages. With Notion AI, you can ask the AI to let you catch up on the recent updates instead of manually doing it.

We also found that Notion AI brings the Search function in an improved manner. Notion Search was already great, but you can get more refined results this time. Overall, the addition of AI makes Notion a more easy-to-interact-with space.

Content generation across Notion

The content generation capabilities of Notion AI are equally impressive. Once again, unlike a general-purpose AI suite, Notion AI is aware of the context. That is, when you bring in the AI capabilities into a document, the AI tool knows what you have already written. Likewise, the metadata of each Notion document will help.

So, in our experience, the generative content capabilities of Notion AI are useful. In particular, we use these tools to optimize our writing or change the tone. It is great when repurposing content, you have created for some place. Notion AI will assist you in simplifying the language or modifying the tone.

You can also use this feature to brainstorm ideas or suggest the next actions. Over the past few months of active use, Notion AI has improved its content management skills, especially coming up with more contextual recommendations.

For instance, the meeting summarizer options in the package are pretty impressive. If you have the meeting transcripts on a document, Notion AI can easily convert the ideas into actionable information. It also does an impressive job with organizing data through tables.

Automation and suggestions

Notion AI also helps you discover and execute automations within the data system. For instance, when you create a document to demarcate different responsibilities, Notion AI will help you find the suitable sub-tasks and assigning preferences for you.

This aspect of Notion AI is designed to analyze whatever you throw at it. In the end, you can get a summary, actionable insights, or a better view of things. Either way, Notion AI seems to have minutes, if not hours, of our time in this category.

Notion AI pricing

Notion AI is available as an add-on for $8 per member/month (billed annually) or $10 per member/month (billed monthly). Given the range of functionality it offers, it’s one of the most affordable AI integrations on the market—especially for teams already using Notion.

Our verdict on Notion AI

If you’re already using Notion regularly, Notion AI is a powerful tool that enhances the platform’s strengths. The contextual understanding and integration make it a unique offering compared to standalone AI tools. However, if you’re not already committed to the Notion ecosystem, you might find its AI capabilities more niche compared to general-purpose AI like ChatGPT.

For more details, visit the official Notion webiste.

FAQs

Who uses Notion AI?

Notion customers who need the power of AI within their digital workspace use Notion AI. This AI suite has contextual power to help you save time and effort. The various templates on Notion make Notion AI easy to master within the shortest time.

Is Notion AI effective?

Notion AI is effective in that it delivers the promises of a contextually focused AI assistant for your Notion workspace. It can be more efficient if you have already invested in the Notion ecosystem, especially with a number of teams and projects.

Which is the best alternative to Notion AI?

Finding alternatives to Notion AI can be tricky because it’s built exclusively for the platform. If you’re not convinced by Notion AI but still value AI-powered workflow management, explore options like ClickUp AI. A comprehensive comparison of Notion AI vs. ClickUp AI helps you understand their strengths and choose the best fit for your needs. Don’t limit yourself to just one platform – other exciting AI tools are out there waiting to be discovered!

<p>The post Notion AI: A Smarter Way to Work first appeared on TheSweetBits.</p>

AI-powered features

AI Workflow Generator: Craft custom templates for everything from SOPs to project sprints tailored to your team’s data and personas. This feature streamlines project creation and content generation, allowing you to unlock the power of artificial intelligence instantly.

AI Tasks: Taskade’s AI helps break down your projects and prioritize tasks based on deadlines. It’s like your personal project manager. Honestly, this feature makes managing tasks super smooth when it works right. Just input what you need to get done, and boom—auto-generated tasks ready for action.

AI Chat: This is basically an AI assistant that works alongside your team chats. Need an idea or quick info? You can ask the AI mid-conversation, and it tries to chime in with relevant suggestions. The results can be hit or miss, but it’s a cool feature when it’s accurate.

AI Writer: Now, this is where Taskade starts to flex. The AI writer helps you brainstorm, outline, and even write reports or meeting notes. For someone like me who gets stuck staring at a blank page, it’s pretty useful. That said, don’t expect it to nail everything on the first go—you’ll likely have to fine-tune the output.

AI Notes: Take smart notes during meetings or brainstorming sessions, with AI-powered suggestions that summarize key points and action items.

AI Mind Map & Outline: Planning out projects visually is something we appreciate, and Taskade delivers with AI-generated mind maps and outlines. It’s like having your brainstorming session automatically organized.

AI Designer: Need visuals? The AI Designer helps generate wireframes, drafts, or design ideas that can enhance presentations or team planning sessions.

AI Agents: Create and train custom AI agents tailored for specific tasks or roles within your projects. These agents can manage workflows, provide insights, and help automate repetitive tasks.

Pros & cons of Taskade

Pros

• AI-enhanced task management for efficiency.
• Versatile platform offering mind maps, notes, and project outlines.
• Real-time collaboration across devices.
• Suitable for personal use, freelancers, and large teams.
• Customizable workflows with flexible integrations.

Cons

• The desktop version is great, but the mobile app can feel a bit clunky at times.
• The free plan is feature-rich but can feel limiting for larger teams.

Pricing

Taskade offers a free plan with basic features, 1 AI agent, and 5 daily requests. Their paid plans start at $8 per user per month and include unlimited AI usage, custom AI agents, and more.

• Free: Basic features, 1 AI agent, 5 daily requests
• Starter: $8/user/month – Unlimited AI usage, custom AI agents, and more
• Team: $10/user/month – Includes all features from the Starter plan, plus advanced team collaboration tools.

You can give Taskade a shot here.

FAQs

Who uses Taskade AI?

Taskade AI is utilized by a diverse user base, with a primary focus on small teams. It caters to professionals, note-takers, and individuals seeking an integrated solution for task management and calendar organization. The platform’s video chat, flexible views, and templates make it an excellent choice for collaborative project management.

Is Taskade AI effective?

Certainly, Taskade offers a uniquely flexible and efficient experience, especially well-suited for small teams. Its innovative approach to project management, coupled with a commitment to embracing AI, positions Taskade as a valuable tool for those seeking a fresh perspective on task organization and collaboration.

Which is the best alternative to Taskade?

One of the top alternatives to Taskade is ClickUp AI. While Taskade is excellent for its flexibility, ClickUp stands out with more scalable and powerful features. ClickUp, however, comes at a higher price point.

<p>The post Taskade: AI-Powered Productivity and Collaboration first appeared on TheSweetBits.</p>