What a year it's been! In the 279 days since our beta launch in March, Cleft has grown from an ambitious idea to a fully-featured productivity companion. From those early beta days to our latest Notion integration, 2024 has been a journey of continuous innovation and community-driven development. Let's take a look back at how Cleft has evolved to become your trusted voice-first productivity companion.
The Beta Beginning
Our journey began in March with our first beta release, introducing the core voice-to-note functionality that would become the foundation of Cleft. We launched with support for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, focusing on creating a seamless experience across Apple's ecosystem. Those early days were filled with rapid iterations and invaluable user feedback that shaped our direction.
April brought significant improvements to the iOS experience, with custom instructions and enhanced iPad optimization taking center stage. We paid special attention to audio playback controls, ensuring that reviewing and editing voice notes felt natural and intuitive.
May marked our first major expansion of capabilities. We introduced our cards-based UI interface, which has since become a signature element of the Cleft experience. The integration with Obsidian for MacOS opened new possibilities for our users' workflows, while extended note duration and image insertion capabilities made Cleft more versatile than ever.
18 beta releases, each driven by your feedback March - August 2024.
Growing & Learning
The summer months brought rapid evolution to Cleft's capabilities. June marked a significant milestone with the introduction of offline recording, addressing one of our most requested features. We enhanced the user experience with a powerful multi-select mode and launched our Journal Prompts Library, providing inspiration for daily reflection. The addition of tag auto-complete streamlined organization, making it easier than ever to categorize and find your thoughts.
July was all about flexibility and refinement. We introduced Silent Mode, acknowledging that sometimes text-first note-taking better suits your needs. The new regenerate notes functionality gave users more control over their transcriptions, while our redesigned audio player for iPhone made playback a joy. These improvements, coupled with enhanced offline functionality, made Cleft more reliable and versatile than ever.
August marked our biggest milestone yet - our official App Store release for iOS and iPadOS. The launch wasn't just about distribution; it represented months of refinement and polish. We implemented a seamless migration path for our loyal beta testers and introduced password-protected shareable links for Plus Plan subscribers, adding an extra layer of security for collaborative work.
Community Impact
Your feedback shaped our journey from beta to launch, helping us create features that truly matter:
- Rolling notes with voice recording append
- Enhanced transcript quality
- Offline capabilities
- Multi-language support
Expanding Our Reach
September heralded a new era with the launch of our dedicated macOS application on the Mac App Store. This release completed our vision for seamless cross-platform functionality across the Apple ecosystem. We enhanced clipboard integration and introduced multiple copy options, making it easier to work with your notes across different applications. The implementation of in-app purchases across all platforms streamlined the upgrade experience for our users.
October focused on empowering our power users. We significantly enhanced our Zapier integration, introducing sophisticated tag-based automation triggers and expanding data export capabilities. The addition of smart audio handling for iOS/iPadOS improved recording quality, while our comprehensive keyboard shortcuts reference helped users work more efficiently than ever.
Finishing Strong
December marked the perfect conclusion to our transformative year. The launch of our highly anticipated Notion integration opened new possibilities for knowledge management and team collaboration. We refined our audio processing with improved silence detection, creating cleaner, more focused recordings. The introduction of new sharing options with an integrated UI made collaboration more intuitive, while enhanced editor readability ensured that working with longer notes remained comfortable and efficient.
25 major releases in just 2024 - we're taking a few days off to relax now that 1.7 is nearly good to go!
Community Highlights
Throughout 2024, our community has been the driving force behind Cleft's evolution. We delivered on our most requested features, starting with robust offline functionality and culminating in our Mac app and Notion integration. The introduction of enhanced sharing options and family sharing support demonstrated our commitment to making Cleft more accessible to teams and households alike.
Our focus on quality has been unwavering. We've made significant strides in transcript accuracy, continuously refined our user interface, and optimized performance across all platforms. These improvements weren't just technical achievements – they were direct responses to your feedback and needs.
Looking Ahead to 2025
The future of Cleft is bright, and we're thrilled to share a glimpse of what's coming. Early 2025 will see the launch of Cleft for Apple Watch, bringing voice-first productivity to your wrist. We're expanding our cookbook with more custom instructions and deepening our integration capabilities, particularly with Apple Shortcuts and third-party services.
Our commitment to documentation and user empowerment remains stronger than ever. We're developing comprehensive guides, automation templates, and API documentation to help you make the most of Cleft's growing feature set. The focus is on making advanced features accessible while maintaining the simplicity that our users love.
2024 Feature Timeline
Download our complete 2024 feature release timeline. Check out the changelog here.
Thank You to Our Community
The numbers tell you a little bit about our team temp: over 600 shipped issues, 90+ implemented feature requests, 200+ requests on the amazing feedback board and thousands of active users across platforms. But the real story lies in the countless conversations, feedback sessions, and collaborative moments that have shaped Cleft into what it is today.
Our documentation has grown into a comprehensive resource, with over 150 custom instructions in our cookbook and extensive integration guides. The launch of our new documentation website, combined with growing collections of automation templates and enhanced app intents, has made Cleft more accessible and powerful than ever.
Join Us for 2025
Ready to be part of our next chapter? Download Cleft and join our growing community of voice-first creators. With new features, integrations, and improvements planned, 2025 is going to be even more exciting!
From all of us at Cleft, thank you for an amazing 2024. Here's to creating more voice-powered magic together in 2025!
Justin, Jonny & Tyler