Apps like Superhuman and Mimestream have tried to get people into inbox zero on the desktop. Now, a new app called Avec for mobile devices aims to get you through your inbox using Tinder-style swipe cards and voice-based responses.
The app, available initially on iOS, uses Tinder-style cards where, by default, swiping left adds an email to a pile you can edit later, and swiping right adds it to the done (or archived) pile.
The email “stack” of cards has a button on the bottom that allows you to hold it to reply to emails using your voice. If you release the button after speaking, the transcript will appear as a draft. You can review the transcript for errors, make any necessary edits, and send the email.
Avec said that while apps like Wispr Flow, Willow, and Monolouge exist, they are constrained by Apple’s APIs, and users need to install them as a separate keyboard app to work. Meanwhile, Avec has the full context of your email, so it can understand words and apply better editing based on the wording of the email. Thanks to this context, the email app can also understand your email style, the company says.
While managing your inbox, Aved allows you to mark unimportant emails by swiping down on a particular email. Email will learn from what is put in the junk pile and can show you them as a group instead of forcing you to check these emails one by one.
While the card-based interface is a unique feature of Avec, it also offers an old list-based view.
The app was developed by Jonathan Unikowksi, who previously worked at Replit in a product engineering role. Unikowksi said he is thinking about building tools that he will use every day. He explored ideas such as building a browser, but ultimately settled on email.
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“This is something that hasn’t changed for twenty-five years,” Unikowksi told TechCrunch over the phone. He said Gmail was the last big change in email, which had a long-term impact on how email is handled. “It’s a big part of everyone’s life, no matter how much you hate it. And it seemed very clear to me that by using a combination of really good design and, of course, smart use of these new AI tools, we can do a lot better,”
Avec is not alone with this thought process. Besides Superhuman, apps like Shortwave and Spike have tried different ways to deliver email. Over the last decade, Basecamp’s Hey has tried to “reinvent” email by becoming a new provider, but, as a paid service, it has not reached the same scale as Gmail.
When I asked Unikowksi about choosing mobile over desktop as the first place to launch an email client, he said that constraints on the platform can force creativity, and the phone is often where people check their email.
“I’m definitely a firm believer in this idea that constraints force innovation, so you get a lot less in an iOS app. On phones, you have a much smaller screen. [as compared to the desktop]. You don’t have a portable keyboard. So if you’re going to convince someone to install a new app, it needs to be really good. And for it to be really good, you need to be wildly creative,” he said.
The app is currently available in the US and is free to use for Gmail users. Outlook support is in the works. Unikowksi said the company plans to introduce paid tiers at some point, but is still considering what features should be included in that premium offering.
The company has raised $8.4 million in funding so far from investors, including Lightspeed and Haystack, with the participation of people like Replit CEO Amjad Massad, Replit’s head of AI Michele Catasta, Behance founder Scott Belsky, and Lenny Rachitsky.
