Cleft

• 1. overview (694 chars)

  Cleft is an AI voice note application specially built for "verbal thinkers" (people who think by talking). The core idea is to capture the thoughts that flash through the mind before they disappear. When the user speaks, it will be transcribed locally on the device, and then AI will be used to organize the messy dictation into structured notes with titles, key points, and to-do lists. Finally, it can be directly sent to existing knowledge workflows such as Notion, Obsidian, and Apple Notes. It does not become another "second brain", but positions itself at the "capture layer" before sorting. This product, created by a neurodivergent founder and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, has become one of the few AI note-taking tools praised by both the media and users due to its extremely fast speed and real privacy commitment.

• 2. Product background (1124 chars)

  Cleft is developed by Cleft AI Limited. The company's registered address is in Dublin, Ireland (3 Ard na Gréine, Eaton Brae, Dublin). The about page of the official website clearly states "Built in Ireland". The two co-founders, Justin Mitchell and Jonathan (Jonny) Cosgrove, are both neurodiverse people. Their motivation for making this product is very personal: traditional note-taking software is always designed for "normal people", and the good ideas they come up with while walking or chatting often slip away before opening the app; at the same time, almost all voice applications on the market upload recordings to the cloud, exposing their most private thoughts to others.   The company follows a bootstrapped (self-raised) and customer-funded (customer payment-driven) route. It does not engage in financing, does not pursue hypergrowth, and is not in a hurry to exit. The two founders operate Cleft in parallel with another product, Amber, aiming to be a sustainable small business rather than a large-scale giant. The App Store shows that its DUNS number is 984885643. The application was first launched in early 2024. David Pierce's review on The Verge was published on March 31, 2024. In the same year, it was selected as Fast Company's "25 Best New Apps of 2024". As of 2025, officials say more than 10,000 users have joined.

• 3. Product functions and usage experience (1820 chars)

  Cleft’s workflow is incredibly simple: three steps, zero typing. Click on the recording and speak out what's on your mind. The app first converts the voice into text locally on the device, then uses AI to organize this "gibberish" into usable notes, and finally presents it as a three-piece set of summary, action items, and transcripts. This "speech → structured note" pipeline is the biggest difference between it and pure transcription tools (such as Otter.ai) - it truly understands the context, rather than just dictating.   The application provides three output styles, which can be switched like a camera dial: "Structured" gives clear paragraphs and key points; "Structured Prose" writes the content into smooth prose paragraphs; "Clean Transcript" retains clean transcription close to the original words. Users can also save custom note styles for recurring formats. All notes can be modified twice in the Markdown editor, and additional files and images are supported.   At the technical level, Cleft emphasizes on-device transcription (device local transcription), relies on Apple's Speech framework, and will replace the underlying Whisper model with CoreML implementation in version 1.10 in August 2025, doubling the transcription speed and providing a better offline experience. This means that the recording has been turned into text before leaving the phone, in line with its proposition that "privacy is the structure, not the switch." The app supports offline recording, iPhone/iPad/Mac/Apple Watch/CarPlay/Apple Vision full Apple ecosystem synchronization, and supports transliteration in about 60 languages ​​(some data says it’s close to 99, but the best experience is in English).   In terms of ecological integration, Cleft deliberately does not create a new note-taking space, but serves as a "front door" for existing tools: it can push notes to Notion, Apple Notes, Apple Reminders, Apple Journal, Obsidian, Bear, Craft, Capacities, NotePlan, Drafts, Ulysses, Logseq, iA Writer, Things 3, and Todoist. It can also automatically route organized text to other workflows through Zapier and generate shareable public links.

• 4. Pricing and business model (751 chars)

  Cleft adopts freemium mode. The free tier allows you to create unlimited notes, but there is a limit to the length of a single recording (5 minutes in the early stage, and 30 minutes in the later Plus stage). The paid version, Cleft Plus, is $6.99/month or $39.99/year in the US App Store, and is 7.99 euros/month or 44.99 euros/year in the EU. It supports Family Sharing. Plus unlocks longer recording duration (30 minutes), custom AI processing instructions, third-party app integration, file attachments, and more granular output style control.   The business model is very restrained: it relies on subscription income to support the team, with no advertising and no data monetization. The founder publicly stated that "your inner monologue should not become training data for others." This positioning of "artisan software" allows it to prioritize the latter between growth and experience.

• 5. User reviews (1020 chars)

  Cleft's most popular groups are ADHD and neurodiverse users. The App Store and the official website are full of reviews such as "This is one of the best apps for people with ADHD" and "fits my brain like a glove." Many people mentioned that it helped them "untangle" their chaotic thoughts, and some said that it accompanied them through periods of anxiety and depression. Professional users also buy into it: writers use it to advance oral ideas from "10% draft" to "50% finished draft", counselors use it to dictate minutes after client calls, and doctors use it to send messages to family members after medical visits to explain the situation.   Speed ​​is the most frequently praised point. A large number of users call it "the fastest voice-to-draft solution from zero to one." A user on Reddit said bluntly that "this may be the first artificial intelligence application that really works and doesn't look like a scam." Negative feedback is relatively scattered: the 5-minute upper limit of the free tier is too tight for long brainstorming; the quality of organizing will decline in non-English or highly professional terms; there was no Android and web version in the early days, which blocked a large number of users.

• 6. Industry evaluation (967 chars)

  Media attitudes toward Cleft were generally positive and restrained. David Pierce's title in The Verge is "An AI voice note app that really works"; Fast Company listed it among the best new apps of 2024; Lifehacker, The Sweet Setup, Snazzy Labs, GeekWire, TechCrunch, etc. have all reported on it. Evaluations generally focus on two points: first, the precise positioning of "capture first" - the world does not need another knowledge graph, what it needs is less loss of inspiration; second, the privacy architecture is indeed more reassuring than competing products that transmit audio to the cloud.   In the competitive landscape, Cleft contrasts with Otter.ai, Rev, and Apple’s own Notes recording transcriber. Otter is strong in real-time transcription of meetings, and Rev is strong in the accuracy of manual transcription. Apple Notes also added English recording transcription in iOS 18, but the difference between Cleft lies in the organization ability and multi-language support of "speech to structured notes", and it covers iOS 17 devices. Its shortcoming is that it is a purely personal tool without collaboration and team functions.

• 7. Controversies and Risks (1085 chars)

  The most commonly mentioned experience controversy comes from AI’s “self-assertion”. Reviewers on Lifehacker found that when he dictated an idea about "slow life", Cleft not only transcribed it perfectly, but also added two subtitles of "ideas to slow down" and "benefits of slow life" and several key points - which he did not say at all. He had to specifically ask "Don't add AI-generated content to the notes" before recording each time to make the app obedient. This exposes a product philosophy problem: when organization becomes "creation", users lose complete control over their notes.   There is also a subtle tension in the privacy narrative. While the transcription happens locally on the device, the AI ​​curation process still needs to process the text content, and the App Store's privacy label shows that it collects user content, contact information, identifiers, and diagnostic data (some tied to identities). For extremely sensitive users, there is still some room for clarification between the promise of "privacy first" and the actual scope of cloud processing. In addition, Apple's ecological exclusivity means that Android and Windows users are excluded; the quality of sorting in non-English scenarios such as Chinese is also significantly weaker than in English.

• 8. Applicable groups and usage suggestions (888 chars)

  Cleft is most suitable for several types of people: people who think by talking and cannot keep up with their brain speed when typing; users with ADHD or other neurodiversity traits; writers, students, consultants, etc. who need to quickly turn dictation into drafts; and people who have already used tools such as Notion/Obsidian deeply and just lack a "capture front door". It's especially handy when driving, walking, or right after a meeting.   The people who are not suitable are also clear: teams that require team collaboration or real-time co-editing; professional transcribed needs for transcribing long interviews and speeches (should see Otter/Rev); non-Apple device users; and people who have high requirements for finishing quality in non-English scenarios such as Chinese. In terms of alternatives, you can choose Otter.ai for pure English meeting records, or Rev if you are pursuing transcription accuracy. People who are already in the Apple ecosystem and only use English can also try the Notes recording transcription of iOS 18 first.

• 9. Summarize (606 chars)

  Cleft is one of the few note-taking tools that makes "AI marketing" a real thing: it uses device-local transcription to maintain the bottom line of privacy, and uses an extremely restrained "capture first" philosophy to solve the real problem of loss of inspiration. Therefore, it is regarded as a necessity by the neurodiversity community. Its shortcomings are that it is exclusive to Apple, the free period is too short, and the AI ​​occasionally "overreaches" in creating for users. If you live in the Apple ecosystem and work by talking, it is worth a try; as for whether you can get out of the small circle of English and Apple, it depends on whether the team is willing to give up a little "craftsman" persistence for growth.

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  MetaverseMikeAlvarez_dev

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  写东西卡壳的时候对着它念一通，从模糊概念到一半成稿几分钟就出来，对我这种靠说话想事的人简直外挂。

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  CBennett_7

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  小技巧：开了Plus之后把Cleft接上Obsidian和Zapier，口述的笔记自动落进我的第二大脑，等于捕获和整理一步到位。

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  Jean.MoralesJr

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  我是有ADHD的教练，特别爱用它梳理和理顺想法，也推荐给我所有客户，反馈都说意外地好用。

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  Philip_MooreJr

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  速度确实没得说，一键就开录，但有个地方我不太舒服：有次我随口说慢生活，它不光转写，还自作主张加了「慢下来的点子」「慢生活的好处」两个小标题和一堆要点，根本不是我说的。后来我每次录音前都得特意嘱咐「别往笔记里加AI生成的内容」它才听话，建议官方把自动发挥收敛一点。

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  Emily.RobinsonSr

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  它把语音笔记的意思重新提炼、揉成更短更整齐的版本那种能力，对我来说是质变级别的工具。

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  GCox_Pro

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  给ADHD人群做的数一数二好的App了。

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  ASanchezZ

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  今天陪妈妈在医院，我正准备录一段把医生早上说的话总结给家里人。能直接生成链接发给亲戚，对他们太有用了，很感恩有这种针对性的支持。

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  DragonDrop262

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  我拿Cleft口述五分钟，就能从一个只有10%雏形的草稿推进到50%成稿的文章，全程靠说不用写，对我这种Obsidian用户太香了。

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  EdwardJones

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  我有帕金森，这App真的改变了我的生活，也改变了我用手机的方式。手抖打字越来越难，现在直接说话它就帮我校正整理，日常记录这件事终于不那么折磨人了。

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  JoseRiveraSr6

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  我对自己念待办清单的时候，它特别会把我的胡言乱语整理成勾选清单和要点列表。

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  KellyColeman_88

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  这几年买过最值的一个科技小工具，一天用好几次，闭眼推荐。

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  Cynthia.Moore_X

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  付费用户忍不住吐槽一句：最近几个版本在iOS 18上 bug 变多了，会自己尝试开始录音然后提示至少要三个词，退出来整个界面变白只能强退，音频同步也不太稳。希望尽快修。

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  Peyton237

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  可能是第一个真的管用、不像是骗局的「人工智能」应用了。

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  AkashAdminOlsen007

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  上课和做研究的时候用来抓灵感和整理文献思路特别顺，比对着键盘干瞪眼强太多。

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  BeverlyPeterson

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  只有苹果设备能用吗？安卓版到底什么时候出，等得花儿都谢了。

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  SvetlanaBajević

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  像手套一样贴合我的大脑，录完就能拿走想法还不打断心流。

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  Pamela.CollinsSr

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  回不去了，现在开会全靠它口述纪要，省下的打字时间能干好多事。

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  TIand

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  太喜欢加长录音时长这个功能了。我可以一边想一边跑题，Cleft全给理顺排得清清楚楚，真的惊艳。

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  SharonCarter_66

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  对把零碎念头变成能用的笔记这件事，Cleft是我用过最顺手的工具。唯一的小愿望是以后能接Capacities.io，现在先用分享表把Markdown扔过去凑合着用。

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  Tyler.Jimenez_2021

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  对我来说就是缺的那块拼图。张嘴把想法说出来，它就能按我心里想的样子排版整理好。我一向讨厌做笔记，因为太容易想太多卡住，这下彻底解决了。用顺了之后我掏手机录想法的次数明显变多，顺带创造力也上来了，连这条评价都是用Cleft写的。

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  BWhite_2021

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  我平时灵感来了就按锁屏小组件录一段碎碎念，等有空看的时候，它已经用本地AI把每段整理成圆润通顺的笔记了，哪怕我刚才说得颠三倒四也没关系。它像个朋友在转述它听懂了我的意思，不满意还能让它重做。也能回看它听到的原话、听录音核对有没有听错，搜关键词找旧笔记也很方便，该有的都齐了。

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  SLewis_X

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  必须安利。作为一个全职学生、五个孩子的家长、还在准备职业下一阶段的人，这App简直是救星。功能又稳又顺手，跨设备同步特别丝滑，客服也超出预期，我账号出问题他们又快又耐心地帮我搞定了。现在每天的任务都靠它理顺，甚至有点期待开学了。

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  SusanMiller_Max

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  我试过一堆AI听写类的App，大多都让我失望，Cleft是第一个每次都稳稳做好的。它的摘要质量特别高，而且总能把内容整理成真正有用的格式。开发团队也超靠谱、回消息很快。这种小团队做出来的东西才值得支持。

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  Christina_Turner007

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  这App真的改变了我和想法、笔记相处的方式。我天天开着它，一边开车听播客一边把冒出来的点子录下来；准备项目的时候对着白板把目标和步骤念出来；它最厉害的地方是把我脑子里那股乱流理清楚，自动分成待办、清单和摘要，格式还能直接分享或再编辑。我从测试版就在用，也买了年费，可能算它最铁杆的粉丝了。

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