Omni Newsletter Winter 2024
It’s winter here in Seattle. Our days are short, and so is the agenda for this newsletter – but don’t be fooled, as that agenda is mighty! Are you ready to focus on OmniFocus? Lets dive right in.
OmniFocus 4 is Now Universal
Big, big news that’s worth a whole newsletter! OmniFocus 4 is now shipping across the Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch; and the experience is now universal across (wait for it) the Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. It’s a huge accomplishment getting all four versions to land at the same time, but we didn’t stop there.
Not only is OmniFocus 4 available for all platforms, but we’ve fully reconsidered how it’s experienced across those platforms. It’s unified, familiar across devices, with a new design that we think is a huge leap forward.
The new design spotlights task content, with streamlined navigation in a modern experience that’s approachable, while providing all of the powerful features and a commanding level of customization that satisfies the most demanding power user. Wrap your head around that design challenge a minute. We’ve made it easier than ever for new users to get started, without losing any of the powerful features you know and love. We’re pretty excited.
From the Projects perspective to custom perspectives, just about everything got updated – Tags and Flagged, Forecast and Review, notes and Nearby. You’ll want to check out Quick Entry, or maybe Quick Open is your jam, and there’s plenty new in Omni Automation too.
While familiar across platforms, the new OmniFocus 4 app behavior is adapted to leverage the strengths of each platform. Each got new features from a cross-pollination of popular features between platform implementations. OmniFocus 4 builds this new design on top of the rock-solid cross-platform data and syncing model developed over the past decade.
As mentioned in the 2023 Roadmap, it typically takes us about five (5) years to develop a new major version of OmniFocus. In this case, we had a little help from our friends. Ten thousand people joined a TestFlight that was far from the typical corporate beta test cycle. Our TestFlight participants provided terrific feedback. It was awesome! We’re grateful, and you will be too.
Check out the blog post announcing OmniFocus 4 availability. You can install OmniFocus 4 on your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch from the App Store, and get started with a two-week free trial that unlocks OmniFocus 4 across all of your devices.
OmniFocus 4 Videos
If you want to learn more about what’s new in OmniFocus 4, watch a short three minute video to take a quick tour of the new features in OmniFocus 4 for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
If you are new to OmniFocus, you can watch a five minute video to learn how to create a powerful system you can trust with OmniFocus 4.
Have We Mentioned OmniFocus 4 Merch?
In case you missed the mention last newsletter, a few months before we shipped OmniFocus 4 we could not contain our excitement and opened our first-ever merch store. (Granted, we’d offered items before, but now we have our own store.)
The new Omni merch store features an array of wearable items including T-shirts in two new OmniFocus 4 designs and sweatshirts, plus artwork for your wall.
Quick shout out to our own Derek Motonaga, best known as the product manager for OmniGraffle (which is a lifesaver for those of us who don’t have any artistic chops, even though clearly he does). Derek created the “OmniFocus 4 Anywhere You Go” design. We think it’s terrific! Enjoy it as wall art or a wearable. Check it out at merch.omnigroup.com.
OmniFocus 4 – What People are Saying
Over the holidays, we got to see what other people thought about OmniFocus. Here is just a sampling of the 60+ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ App Store reviews OmniFocus 4 has already received!
The Best Gets Better OmniFocus 4 is a major redesign - particularly on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS (which gets a dramatic makeover here!). The flow and design on these platforms are great, and you can enter information about your tasks and any metadata with ease while on the go. The Mac, of course, got a big upgrade too. All platforms now look the same so you can create, edit, complete, and view your tasks no matter which device you’re on. The visual clarity and thoughtful features like Review, Deferral, Perspectives, and Nearby mean that your can Get Things Done no matter where you are. Check this out, because it’s the king of task managers, and can grow as your needs do. Congrats to the Omni Group on a thoughtful release!
The Trusted System OmniFocus 4 can be customized to adapt any productivity system I’ve thrown at it. I’ve never lost data. OmniFocus 4 is The Trusted System The data displayed in the outline is now customizable, so you can make it as minimal or as detailed as you want. Manually reorderable perspectives with subtask hierarchy are powerful. Back/forward buttons and a perspective bar on the iPhone make for quick navigation.
Can’t Stay Away I’ve left and come back a few times but I always come back to OmniFocus. I always get more done with it and now, with OF 4, it’s a snappier and better looking app with a much better pricing model.
Highlights from The Omni Show
In a special episode of The Omni Show, we celebrate the launch of OmniFocus 4 with Omni Group CEO, Ken Case, and Director of Product Management & Marketing, Ainsley Bourque Olson, who delve into the exciting new features and improvements of OmniFocus 4. The excitement is palpable.
Here are some other highlights from the amazing community surrounding the Omni Group’s award-winning products, as heard on The Omni Show:
How Kourosh Dini Uses OmniFocus: Part 2 — Recognizing we think in parallel and act in a sequential process, productivity expert, Kourosh provides advice optimizing for better workflow, especially for individuals dealing with wandering minds or transitioning to new responsibilities.
How Carson Whitsett Uses OmniGraffle — An extraordinary developer, Carson discusses how OmniGraffle has proved instrumental in his workflow, particularly in organizing app development processes, and shares his views on the changing landscape of software development in the age of AI.
GTD Focus President, Meg Edwards, Returns — Meg Edwards sheds light on optimizing your OmniFocus system setup, the art of tag management, and the critical steps after capturing your inbox items.
Starting Smart with Learn OmniFocus
For customers looking to take their OmniFocus systems to the next level, Tim Stringer’s website learnomnifocus.com has proven a trusted resource for almost 10 years. To correspond with the release of OmniFocus 4, Tim launched a brand new "Start Smart with OmniFocus 4" course, which includes a collection of freely available lessons.
The dulcimer tones of Tim Stringer’s voice can alleviate anxiety for any new user. In the case of a major upgrade like the one to OmniFocus 4, we’re all new, because it’s new!
Until Next Time
Clearly the new year started off with a bang, even (it feels) before the last year ended. Just a few days in and we know 2024 will be momentous. So without further ado, we’ll resist the temptation to joke about a-DO-ing, and just get back to work. Thank you very much for reading this latest issue of the Omni Newsletter.
Until next time, stay in touch with us on Mastodon, and of course on our blog.
Want to catch up on past newsletters? Check out the archive.