[In his review of OmniFocus 2 for iPhone, Don Southard concludes][1]:
> I think the Omni Group did an excellent job improving on an already great product while keeping it relevant on an entirely new operating system. OmniFocus 2 is being released as new app for all customers but is still highly recommended.
While I fully realize I am now biased on the matter of todo list apps, I do want to weigh in on OmniFocus 2 because it is a tool I still use daily.
I don’t like OmniFocus 2 for iPhone very much right now, but I do like it better than the version it replaces. Don’t get me wrong, if you are Ben Brooks, I highly recommend OmniFocus to you.
Allow me to explain.
OmniFocus for iPhone has never been (well OmniFocus in general) a world class app when it comes to design. The functionality is amazing, but the aesthetics leave a lot to be desired. It looks as though this was the complaint the OmniGroup looked to address in this update (and I am very glad they did). So to judge OmniFocus 2 for iPhone we need to not look at the features, but we need to look at the design.
There are some really odd design choices in this app.
For one: why display the days of the week under the forecast heading on the main screen, if tapping those days doesn’t jump you into the forecast view for those days? This seems like a wasted power-user opportunity to me.
Also, why wouldn’t you show the individual perspectives as tappable items under the perspectives heading — instead leaving an awkward spacing before the bottom of the screen is reached? UPDATE: Turns out you can do this, apologies. Still, not very discoverable.
All this brings me to my last complaint. In the forecast view, the plus button at the top right-ish area of the screen: was this an afterthought? I hope so because it could not look more out of place. The alignment looks off, it cramps the top bar and it looks out of place. I get the function of the button, but I think this is an instance where removing that “feature” and saying you add all tasks with the inbox add button at the bottom, would be a better move.
I am glad I bought the update, and recommend you pick it up if you use OmniFocus, but the design feels a bit rushed and not fully fleshed out. That’s just not something I expected from an app of this caliber. Perhaps that expectation is too high, but as an everyday OmniFocus user I hoped for something that felt (for lack of a better term) more well thought out.
That said, this is certainly a step in the right direction, perhaps I was just hoping for a leap.
[1]: http://www.macstories.net/reviews/omnifocus-2-for-iphone-background-sync-and-a-bold-redesign/
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