Not so Clear

By now, you've certainly heard of Clear, the new and supposedly revolutionary list-making iPhone app. And you've probably ready a half-dozen reviews already. It's been out for less than a day, but Clear already has 689 ratings on the App store, with an average of 4.5 stars. All indicators seem to say that Clear is a killer app.

I'm not of the same mind.

What is Clear?

Clear is a very simple app that lets you make lists. It uses gestures instead of buttons for navigation.

What is Clear not?

Clear is not a task management app. Yes, it makes lists. Yes, you can cross things off your lists. But each list item is just a blurb of text. You can't add notes. You can't attach files. You can't schedule tasks. You can't make repeating tasks.

There's not enough power or flexibility to really handle all of your tasks and projects. Also, it's iPhone only today. It doesn't sync with your Mac, because there's no Mac app. It doesn't sync with your iPad, because there's no iPad app. It doesn't sync with iCloud or Dropbox. In fact, it doesn't sync with anything.

I need the ability to add, delete, complete, and adjust tasks from any of my devices. I need my tasks lists to stay in sync across these devices. Locking my task management system into one solitary device will not work for me.

Back to the lists

So Clear isn't good for tasks. Fine. It is good, however, for lists. You could make lists for books you want to read, movies you'd like to see, or even present ideas for your spouse. Lists of things that are not time specific in any way. Clear is good at this, though I still don't think it's the best.

If you're willing to add just a bit of complexity, Things is a much better choice. It's barely more complicated, and several orders of magnitude more powerful. Granted, the iPhone app is $9.99 instead of the $.99 for Clear, but the flexibility makes it easily worth the added cost.

A simpler alternative to Things, and arguably even simpler than Clear itself, is the built in Reminders app.¹ Using Siri to add things to a list is the simplest way that exists today. You don't get the fancy Clear interface, but you do get the benefit of iCloud sync and, well, reminders. That's an easy choice if you use more than one device.

The Interface

Simplicity with purpose is a beautiful thing. It gets rid of the fluff so that the essential is all that remains. It refines to perfection. It eliminates friction.

Simplicity for the sake of simplicity is another matter entirely. Removing essential functions from something just to make it simpler does not make that thing better. While it may be pretty to look at, it is less useful.

When it comes to Clear, the developers chose a novel new interface and simplicity for simplicity's sake. I applaud them for going bold with the navigation, but he app doesn't offer enough in the way of features for me to recommend it. Also, am I the only person on the planet who thinks it's downright ugly?

OmniFocus still lives in the dock of my iPhone, and there's nothing Clear can do to change that.