As Finalist plunges into the murky waters of iOS 26 beta, I figured it would be helpful to developers and users alike to share some of the journey. I don’t have a lot of time to write (and I’m a terrible writer that refuses AI’s help), so I’ll keep these brief.
I just finished implementing the first of Foundation Models in iOS 26 beta and was really impressed. I’ve been pining for what seems like years for Apple to open up some of these to third-party apps and they’re just as good as I thought they’d be.
After months of development behind closed doors, with just myself and a hundred or so keen Finalist fans 🙏 using it, version 2.0 is now available on the public TestFlight.
It refines and expands what version 1.0 was striving to do, and extends it with native iPadOS and macOS versions of the app. This includes new themes, much richer Calendar integration, notes for Tasks, emojis for Lists, Reminders Lists integration, new navigation bars for Daily and Planner, and lots of small improvements across the board.
Version 2.0 has been in private testing since April and I’m slowly opening up more seats. There’s lots to love in this new version, but I’ll keep the list of changes under wraps until the public beta starts.
If you’d like to try Finalist 2 early and help shape this release just join the list below, I’ll be sending new invites every few days:
Finalist now lets you pin any list from your Lists tab to Today. This is great for time-sensitive yet longer-running lists: whether you’re packing for a trip, visiting coffee shops in a new city or working through project tasks. Your pinned list will be there for you tomorrow, with completed items hidden to keep things tidy.
The lists can be unpinned at any time, and you can have multiple lists pinned.
Time is now intricately woven throughout Finalist for those who need it.
When Finalist detects time in text it can automatically create calendar entries and manage them. If you postpone those tasks the calendar will automatically be updated. Tasks will even show a countdown just before they’re about to start.
Reminders support in Finalist is more comprehensive as well: create them right inside Finalist, postpone and reschedule them like you do tasks and adding time to Reminders will set their due time so that you get a notification when the time is right.
Finalist now integrates with iOS Reminders - manage them just like your other tasks. Lots more in this update, including optional new flatter theme with even more colors, more iPad layouts, simpler Settings screen and tweaks and fixes to reported problems.
Finalist is the fastest way to stay on top your daily dos. Get the latest version from the App Store. At the moment it’s available for iOS/iPadOS only. While it runs on macOS, the native macOS version is in private beta testing right now.
To chat about features, beta testing and life in general follow Finalist on Threads.
Finalist 1.6 Beta begins: dated Reminders can now be seen and managed in Finalist!
See all your Reminders for a given day on the Daily tab, easily switch tasks into Reminders and vice versa, and edit Reminders without leaving Finalist. Beta is available at finalist.works/beta
Finalist 1.5 adds new features and quality-of-life improvements. Find it on the App Store today.
Firstly, Lists can now auto-sum! ⚡️ Try adding a leading or trailing price in your list items and you’ll see the total below. Currency symbol is optional, as you can also add generic quantities. The lists will keep leading and trailing amount tallies separate.
To help you keep track of important tasks (think trips) you can now bookmark tasks and they’ll show up in the new Bookmarked tasks list.
For a very limited time get a year of Finalist for zero dollars. I hope you get as much out of it as I do, and please tell your friends 🙏
To get the free year, make sure to download Finalist then use the coupon FRIDAY. It expires soon, so go ahead and give Finalist a whirl!
The most requested feature has now just gone live in Finalist 1.4: more colors! 🌈
Choose your own color for each tab in Finalist. Select from provided palettes or pick your own. All this can be found on the newly refreshed Settings tab. This new version also comes with lots of small improvements and fixes throughout. Let me know what you think!
Version 1.3 brings the new Weekly planner, in addition to the Monthly planner. Lists tab gets Outstanding Tasks list, showing you all the tasks that got missed. Widgets are all improved, with beautiful new StandBy widget. Finally, you’ll find lots of tweaks and improvements in this version - let me know how you find it!
Finalist 1.2 is here to make your iOS 17 update (also out today) way more interesting. The new Interactive Widgets will let you complete your tasks without opening the app. This works very nicely in the new StandBy mode. Finalist also got more widget support across the board: several lock screen variants for iPhone and new-to-iPad larger lock screen widgets.
You’ll also see hourly weather forecast inline on your Calendar Peek, very helpful when planning and reviewing your tasks.
Finalist 1.1 is now out, and 1.2 Beta is already underway. This time I’ll be focusing on iOS 17 features for Apple’s September release, with a few general improvements for everyone 😀
Lots of improvements in 1.1 beta 54: 24-hour clock, non all-day event can now be shown on Monthly tab, more start and end day options for Daily tab and lots of small fixes. This build is also not going to be free anymore for new installs.
Finalist is a new iPhone and iPad task manager that combines elements of note-taking apps, Kanban boards, and calendar apps in a unique and interesting way. The result is a lightweight app that’s simple and quick to use but unlikely to replace a fully-featured task manager for most users.