AI-Powered iOS Apps: Knowledge Work, Productivity & Dictation
My mobile toolkit for AI assistance, dictation, audio learning, processing insights, and idea capture
Hey everyone!
Over time, I’ve downloaded way too many apps with AI implementations on my phone. Most of them got deleted after a few days, but a handful have become part of my daily routine. I’m not chasing AI apps just because they use AI—I’m more interested in tools that solve problems or improve my workflow. Some of these are traditional apps with AI built in, others are AI-first but still focused on getting something done. I’m always testing new stuff and checking out alternatives when they pop up, but I thought it’d be useful to share what’s working for me right now. You can read the breakdown below for the quick takeaways, or watch the full video if you want something more in-depth.
ideaShell: Capture Context, Then Ask
I use ideaShell as my capture-and-ask hub. Actually, I use ideaShell for some of the stuff that I use Alter for on my Mac, but on mobile. I add a piece of context: audio recordings, YouTube links, articles, then ask for summaries, takeaways, or I use it to format/organize dictated thoughts in specific ways. The Apple Watch app has come to pretty much replace my AI Memos automation I used for months. On-device audio capture is surprisingly handy too—I can play a video, capture the audio, and process it. Long recordings get automatic speaker separation (which you can use for AI requests), and there’s a bunch of other note-taking features.
IdeaShell is not perfect. The models aren’t disclosed, there’s no custom vocabulary support, you don’t really have access to advanced parameters for the LLMs. But it’s super user friendly, well designed, intuitive, and super versatile. It does the job well enough so I keep using it.
Dictation: Spokenly and Superwhisper
For quick dictation anywhere on the phone, I’ve been using Spokenly. The keyboard with the ability to switch modes within it and with all its controls is super convenient. Local models like Parakeet make it feel instant, and I can bring my own AI providers with API keys. If used this way, you actually don’t even need to pay for it. I keep a couple of prompts for cleanup and one for a general helper. There’s a little friction when iOS forces an app switch to launch dictation via the keyboard, but this is a common issue on these apps because of iOS restrictions.
I also keep Superwhisper for specific jobs. It accepts shared audio files for transcription (Spokenly doesn’t), and I don’t have to think about token costs thanks to its lifetime plan on iPhone and Mac. For very long on-app dictations, it’s convenient. I’ve run into several issues and bugs on the iOS keyboard, though, so I don’t rely on that feature. On iPhone, specifically, I’m hoping for it to some day reach the level of Spokenly.
Snipd: Deeper Listening and Highlights
Snipd is where I go for knowledge from audio. The app uses AI to create chapters so I can quickly jump to different sections, I can see a quick summary before listening, check quotes, I can double-tap my airpods to highlight moments, it makes it easy to discover other content from the same guests or find the books mentioned. YouTube links or uploads get transcribed inside Snipd, which can be more accurate than YT auto captions (which I believe are what ideaShell uses). It has a handy “chat with the episode” feature where I can ask it to pull specific takeaways, find where someone mentioned a particular concept or tool, compare different points the guest made, or even ask follow-up questions about something I didn’t quite understand. I can also use it to find timestamps for specific topics if I want to relisten.
Reader + Readwise: Read, Remember, and Reuse
Reader (by Readwise) is my home base for articles, PDFs, newsletters, RSS, YT videos, ebooks, etc. I use it to organize, read, highlight, review conent. Ghostreader gives me one-off prompts on iOS—explain, define, generate questions, or recap, and more. I only use it for a few specific use cases. For example, if I’ve already highlighted something in an article, the AI assistant can see all my highlights and notes from that piece. I sometimes use this to help structure ideas that I later share here on Substack.
Readwise is where everything lands for long-term recall. I love listening to the AI TTS version of my Daily Review with its light commentary. I usually pause while listening if I need to process highlights or add notes. Readwise’s Ask AI feature lets me query across my entire highlight library to find lines I can half-remember and draft around related ideas.
Chat Tools I Keep Around
Apollo (by Liquid AI) is my bridge to the models provided by Alter/OpenRouter. I use it whenever I need shortcut support—like sharing text to be processed in a specific way, or running quick prompts without leaving my front app. It gives me as much integration with other apps as iOS allows. It’s a simple app and lacking features I wish it had, but it’s free and I can’t complain.
TypingMind is a web app, so it can’t integrate with other apps the way Apollo does through Shortcuts. But the sync with my Mac makes up for it. I use it when I’m working on something that’ll move between devices—like a script or longer text—and when I actually want to use the chat interface directly. It has agents and plugins that make certain tasks easier, plus image generation. Apollo stays on my phone for Shortcuts automation, but TypingMind is usually where I go when I need a full chat experience.
ChatGPT is just for voice chat when I’m driving or at the table with family. I don’t have a subscription, so my access is limited, but voice chat still feels very natural. I’m amazed at this feature, actually.
Craft
Craft is where I do project & task management. I also use it for habit tracking, organizing data on collections, and to share resources and docs as webpages (among many other things). It has a built-in AI assistant that runs one-pass prompts on the current page or selection—summaries, translations, expansion, similar to what Ghostreader does in Reader. I don’t use it much because I already got ideaShell (which is more flexible, since I can keep an ongoing conversation with the content). But Craft’s AI is still a solid option if you want something already baked in without jumping between apps. The design is beautiful and the experience is smooth.
Closing Thoughts
Some of these apps overlap, but each one earns a spot for a reason:
ideaShell when I need a place to add some context and ask right away. I also use it as the main quick capture app on my watch.
Spokenly when I want fast dictation anywhere with my own prompts and models.
Superwhisper when I’m transcribing shared audio files or very long dictations and don’t want to think about usage.
Snipd when I’m listening for insights and want highlights, summaries, and chat on podcasts, interviews, lectures or long-form audio content.
Reader to collect and read (or listen with its TTS)
Readwise for its spaced repetition + daily highlights. Its AI is amazing and finding stuff, making connections, or remixing ideas.
Apollo for Shortcuts-powered asks with my own providers
TypingMind for images and heavier chats
ChatGPT for quick voice chats.
I’m sure I missed some great options. If you have an app or workflow that beats anything here (and preferably is not a subscription), send it my way—I’d love to try it.
Thanks for reading! Back next week with the usual weekly recap.
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