Y-Pod

A life goals planner with AI for iOS

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Inspiration

Most people believe their big dreams are impossible to achieve, so they settle for less—not because they can’t, but because they feel overwhelmed and disconnected from that distant future.

I felt the same way. It was a struggle juggling multiple apps like notes, to-dos, and calendars to plan my goals. I realized a dedicated app to organize my life goals would not only help me but also allow me to showcase my technical and creative skills.

That’s how Y-Pod was born—to bridge the gap between big lifelong dreams and small daily actions, empowering users to turn their dreams into reality. My hope is that it will help others live their dream lives and, in doing so, make the world a better place.

What it does

Y-Pod is a life goals planner with AI. It currently has 4 major features to help you plan, track, and achieve your goals.

Life Goals

Set, track, and achieve your life goals. Plan across time scales, from decades to days, and break down goals into manageable steps.

  • Define goals: name, life area, time scale, date, and notes
  • View goals like a to-do list
  • Change goal status: to-do, doing, done, not-doing
  • Navigate between different dates and time scales
  • Filter goals by life areas

Life Areas

Organize goals into life areas like health, career, and family to maintain balance across all aspects of life. Each area can be manually scored, giving you a clear snapshot of your life’s overall state.

  • Define life areas: name, score, and color
  • View life areas in a flower chart
  • Reorder life areas

Life Calendar

Visualize your entire life in months with the Life Calendar, offering a big-picture view and fostering a deeper appreciation of every moment.

  • Set your birthday
  • Visualize life in months (circles)

Life Planner AI

Get personalized insights and guidance to enhance your goal planning with the AI-powered planner, G-Nee.

  • Choose your preferred AI provider (OpenAI or Anthropic) and set an API key
  • Write your goal and get an AI response from 3 options: Enhance, Suggest, and Breakdown

Challenges I ran into

Deadline

The iOS 18 release date was so close to the Ship-a-ton deadline. Thankfully, it all worked out in the end and I got to submit this.

Naming

I have an existing budget app named Y-Verse and was planning to use the same app name by just updating it with this new app. However, the rules of Ship-a-ton do not allow updates, so I have to come up with a new name and logo for this new app, which became Y-Pod. In the end, I learned to love this new name and branding.

Core Tech

I considered using Flutter or Skip to cover both iOS and Android, but additional learning and compatibility issues would have slowed me down, so I decided to go all-in on the Apple platform for now.

AI

I initially wanted to use Apple Intelligence's on-device generative AI for more privacy, but since it's not yet available for developers, I opted for existing AI models. I also decided against setting up a proxy server, and just allowing users to use their own API keys.

Privacy Requirements

I need to understand Privacy Manifests and Privacy Nutrition labels, as well as the effects of using client SDKs for OpenAI and Anthropic on these aspects. Fortunately, RevenueCat provides a helpful guide in their documentation.

How I built it

Core Tech

I used Apple's native technologies: Swift, SwiftUI, and SwiftData. I also leveraged SwiftData's built-in iCloud syncing, ensuring that all user data remains private while having a backup.

IDE

Xcode and Cursor (AI Code Editor) were used to optimize my coding workflow.

IAP

RevenueCat handled in-app purchases and subscriptions. I also utilized their Paywall Footer UI for displaying offers and restoring purchases.

AI

For AI integration, I utilized MacPaw's OpenAI and SwiftAnthropic Swift Packages, allowing users to provide their own API keys, which are stored only on-device.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

Every part of the app includes its own unique visual surprise:

Onboarding

Inspired by the latest Siri animation, I created playful and captivating visual effects to make the onboarding experience delightful.

Subscription

I designed a floating card that responds dynamically to the phone’s motion, adding a playful touch to the subscription screen.

Life Goals

A unique vertical sidebar navigation, combined with smooth, intuitive animations, makes goal navigation fun and easy.

Life Areas

The radar/spider chart, designed to resemble a blossoming flower, visually represents growth and balance across different areas of life.

Life Calendar

An elegant visualization that randomly colors the months starting from the birthday, helping users appreciate the life they've lived.

G-Nee

The AI-powered mascot not only provides insightful planning guidance but also dances while loading to entertain.

iOS 18

This is my first time releasing an app alongside the iOS release, making it a special milestone.

What I learned

  • Releasing an app in tandem with a new iOS version
  • Creating new SwiftUI animations
  • Implementing SwiftData with CloudKit
  • Navigating Privacy Requirements
  • Working with SDKs like RevenueCat, OpenAI, and Anthropic

What's next for Y-Pod

I plan to continue improving Y-Pod, with updates targeting the 2025 year planning season.

Platform Features

  • Calendar Integration
  • Widgets
  • Dynamic Island
  • Live Activities
  • App Intents and many more

Support for Other Platforms

  • iPadOS
  • macOS
  • watchOS
  • visionOS

Enhancing G-Nee AI

  • Enable conversations with G-Nee
  • Support Apple Intelligence's generative AI once it becomes available
  • Use user data for more personalized AI responses

More Modules

  • Metrics
  • Journal
  • Budget and many more

Built With

  • anthropic
  • claude
  • gpt4o
  • icloud
  • openai
  • revenuecat
  • swift
  • swiftdata
  • swiftui
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