The Science-Based Benefits of Writing & Dropbox acquires Reclaim

My name is Philipp and you are reading Creativerly, the internet corner where I unpack my musings, curate and write about noteworthy apps and software, and explore the latest trends in design and tech.

Hey and welcome to Creativerly 289 👋

Since I am currently writing and working on a bigger piece, there is no new long-form post in this week's issue of Creativerly. I did not want to scramble up my publishing pipeline, and work on a different post, just to have one for this newsletter. I rather keep focusing on the piece I am currently writing and making sure it is ready to publish in the upcoming newsletter.

Nevertheless, this week's newsletter is packed with some news, updates, and exciting articles. It feels great that although I do not have a new long-form post for this week, there is always something I can share with you. This is where the new Creativerly format really shines. Thanks to the updates and news section, as well as the fact that I can share posts from my own archive again with you, makes it streamlined to put together a new newsletter. Nevertheless, writing those long-form posts is still what I enjoy most. Therefore, I want to make sure that whenever I press publish on one of those, I am proud of it, instead of putting something together under time pressure.

So, enjoy this week's a bit shorter newsletter.

This is an affiliate link to support Creativerly. If you are interested in putting your tool, product, or resource in front of over 2000 creative minds, consider advertising in Creativerly and book a sponsor or classified ad spot. Find all the important information at creativerly.com/advertise.

Fresh Updates & News

Dropbox acquires Reclaim.ai →

Reclaim recently shared the news that the company got acquired by Dropbox, and that they team will be joining in to help drive the future of productivity. Reclaim is an AI-powered calendar, entitling itself as the smartest calendar app that optimizes everyone's schedules for better productivity, collaboration, and work-life balance. Its features ranges from habits, tasks, and scheduling links, to time tracking, smart meetings, calendar sync, and people analytics.

It almost feels unusual reading that Reclaim will continue operating after this acquisition, as the founders pointed out in the announcement blog post, that they are going to continue investing in the Reclaim you know and love and that you can expect to continue seeing new features and updates. According to the blog post, Reclaim is deployed across over 43,000 companies and used by more than 320,000 people worldwide.

This acquisition is another mark of productivity companies increasingly aiming to integrate calendar management and scheduling tools with their already existing solutions. Earlier this year, ClickUp acquired the calendar startup Hypercal, and in January, Notion introduced its new calendar product, based on Cron, which Notion acquired back in 2022.

Automattic launches AI writing tool →

Automattic launched its own AI writing tool with the goal to help bloggers write more clearly and succinctly. The tool is called Write Brief with AI, and it complements a generative AI writing assistant Automattic launched for WordPress last year. Write Brief with AI is currently in beta as part of Jetpack. During the initial beta phase, Write Brief with AI is only available for WordPress.com sites.

Flyleaf Update 2.0 →

Back in April, I published my deep dive into Flyleaf, a lovely read-it-later app that allows you to flip through your articles like you would read a book. Fast forward to today, and I am excited to write about Flyleaf's new major update, introducing version 2.0. In this major update you find new features like the Discover view, which resurfaces articles that are already in your list (I really like that), full screen reading mode on iOS, support for right-to-left-script articles, and some polished details like the "stretched linen" background for the slide-away details view.

Flyleaf provides a superb reading experience, it is a joy to use, and I highly recommend giving it a try. In case you would like to find out more about it, make sure to check out the linked deep dive I wrote a couple of months ago.

Vivaldi 6.9 introduces tab management improvements →

For the past couple of months, Vivaldi became my default browser, and I really enjoy the experience so far. Their newest update, version 6.9, introduces some lovely tab management features, a more efficient browsing experience, and loads of squashed bugs. With Vivaldi 6.9 you are now able to easily rename your tabs and Tab Stacks to something that makes sense to you. You decide whether it should be a project name, a reminder, or anything else that helps you staying organized while browsing and using Vivaldi. Additionally, you are now able to drag and drop files directly from the Downloads Panel to your desktop, a folder, or even into an email or document. There is no longer the need to dig through your download folder, as you can just grab the file you need it drop it wherever you want.

Besides that, in Vivaldi 6.9 you can now experience a new structured overview of all your open tabs directly in the Windows Panel. When you use Vivaldi across multiple desktop devices, keeping up with all the open tabs was a bit tedious. However, now you get to see them neatly organized in a tree structure.

Mental Wealth

❯ The Science-Based Benefits of Writing – “We don’t realize how much time we spend writing every day: we text our friends and families, we leave comments on social media, we send emails, we create documentation, presentations, and more. Well, good news: writing is actually good for you. Let’s explore the science-based benefits of writing and how you can make the most of this amazing tool only humans have been found to use.”

❯ When Design Is the Problem – “In 1842, more than 500 women died shortly after giving birth at the Vienna General Hospital in Austria. With over 3,000 births that year in the same hospital, this mortality rate was close to 16 percent. The cause of death had been known for many years, and it had killed thousands of women around the world.”

❯ How To Stay Motivated When You're Not in The Mood. – “How do you create and maintain your motivation once you have your new productivity system in place? That’s what I’m answering this week.”

❯ From Minimal to Meaningful – “Ten years ago, Material Design shook up the digital design world. Gray, boxy interfaces were replaced with bold colors, clear visual hierarchy, and new elements like the Floating Action Button. This brought harmony to web and mobile design, freeing designers to focus on what truly set their products apart.”

Do not miss out on this ...

❉ Experience the ultimate vector editor for macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. Get started with Amadine*.

❉ Think tasks, not apps. Setapp* is you one-stop subscription to solving every task on Mac and iPhone.

❉ Fathom is cookie-free, GDPR compliant, privacy-first website analytics software. Get $10 off your first invoice and a 7-day free trial when you use this link*.

These are paid promotions or affiliate links to support Creativerly. If you are interested in putting your tool, product, or resource in front of over 2000 creative minds, consider advertising in Creativerly and book a sponsor or classified ad spot. Find all the important information at creativerly.com/advertise.

Appendix

❯ ICYMI

Webflow and Framer quickly became the two most popular visual development tools, giving designers, developers, and pretty much anyone the possibility to design, create, and build modern websites. However, a new contender entered the space. Webstudio is open-source, privacy-focused, and quickly catching up when it comes to features. Read my deep dive into Webstudio to learn more about it.

❯ Quick Bits

• Apple officially announces iPhone 16 event for September 9: ‘It’s Glowtime’
• Apple announces CFO transition coming next year, names Luca Maestri successor
• Google avoids “link tax” bill with deal to fund California journalism and AI
• Ex-bank CEO gets 24 years after falling for crypto scam, causing bank collapse
• Telegram CEO Pavel Durov awaits charges in France as firm denies law-breaking
• Netherlands hits Uber with €290M fine for transfer of ‘sensitive’ driver data to US
• Dublin rejects Google’s new data centre plans over energy concerns
• 31.5M invoices, contracts, patient consent forms, and more exposed to the internet
• Indiegogo will refund backers when some campaigns don’t ship as promised
• Apple is cutting jobs across its Books and News apps
• Tumblr migrates more than 500 million blogs to WordPress
• ChatGPT hits 200 million active weekly users, but how many will admit using it?
• AnandTech, mainstay of computer hardware reviews, closes after 27 years
• X goes offline in Brazil after Elon Musk’s refusal to comply with local laws
• Fintech outfit Klarna swaps humans for AI by not replacing departing workers
• Yelp accuses Google of being a local search bully in antitrust lawsuit
• Spain is luring digital nomads into the countryside with €15,000 grants
• Samsung completes €86M takeover of French AI ultrasound startup Sonio

Till next time! 👋‌‌‌‌

Support: Do you have a friend who is looking for inspiration, news about design, and useful tools and apps? Forward this newsletter to a friend or simply share this issue and show some support. You can also show some love by simply clicking the button down below and keep this newsletter a sustainable side-project by buying me a coffee. ☕️ 🥰

Some of the links in my newsletter and my blog posts are affiliate links. Those links are marked by an asterisk. If you buy something through the link, the product will not cost you anything more, but I will receive a small commission which not only supports Creativerly and my work but also helps me to keep this publication a sustainable side-project.

Creativerly is proudly published with Ghost*.