These App Store hidden gems prove there’s still room for great software in the AI era
These App Store hidden gems prove there’s still room for great software in the AI era
这些 App Store 中的宝藏应用证明：在 AI 时代，优秀的软件依然大有可为
Apps are back, or maybe they never left in the first place. While some people debate whether people will shift away from apps as AI agents make accessing online services more efficient, we’ve found the App Store to be alive and well, with a recent explosion of fun, creative, and innovative tools, experiences, and other indie efforts. 应用又回来了，或者说它们从未真正离开过。尽管有人争论随着 AI 智能体让在线服务访问变得更加高效，人们是否会逐渐远离应用程序，但我们发现 App Store 依然充满活力。近期，各种有趣、富有创意和创新性的工具、体验以及独立开发者的作品呈现出爆发式增长。
Some of the more recent launches may be attributed to the rise of AI coding, which has enabled people to ship software more quickly, and allowed novices to participate in the app ecosystem. According to one report, new app launches have soared in 2026, with worldwide new app releases up 60% year-over-year as of the first quarter across both the Apple App Store and Google Play. On Apple’s iOS store alone, that figure was an even higher 80%. 近期部分新应用的发布可能归功于 AI 编程的兴起，它使人们能够更快速地交付软件，并让新手也能参与到应用生态系统中。据一份报告显示，2026 年新应用发布量激增，截至第一季度，Apple App Store 和 Google Play 全球新应用发布量同比增长了 60%。仅在苹果 iOS 商店，这一数字甚至高达 80%。
While there’s valid concern that vibe-coded apps in particular could be cluttering the App Store with lower-quality content, there are plenty of interesting apps worth exploring, and those that resonate with consumers will rise to the top. Many also use AI under the hood to perform their magic — they’re just not promoted as being “AI-powered.” Below is our latest collection of App Store hidden gems, which we’ve added to our Home Screen. 虽然人们有充分的理由担心，特别是那些“氛围编程”（vibe-coded）应用可能会用低质量内容充斥 App Store，但仍有许多值得探索的有趣应用，而那些能与消费者产生共鸣的应用终将脱颖而出。许多应用在后台利用 AI 来实现其神奇功能，只是它们并未刻意宣传自己是“AI 驱动”的。以下是我们最新收集的 App Store 宝藏应用，我们已经将它们添加到了主屏幕中。
Albo
Albo (previously Sortd, but not that Sortd) is an excellent tool for anyone who regularly bookmarks content from social media, then promptly forgets about it. With Albo, the idea is that you’ll instead share the link to the TikTok, Instagram Reel, YouTube video, or other website to the app. Albo will then automatically pull the details from the post and categorize and save the idea for you. Albo（前身为 Sortd，但不是那个 Sortd）对于那些经常收藏社交媒体内容却转头就忘的人来说，是一款出色的工具。使用 Albo，你可以将 TikTok、Instagram Reel、YouTube 视频或其他网站的链接分享到该应用中。Albo 会自动提取帖子的详细信息，并为你进行分类和保存。
That post and its notes will remain available in Albo, even if the original content creator deletes their post or video at some point in the future. The app works with a variety of social apps, including Pinterest, X, LinkedIn, Threads, Reddit, and Facebook, plus browsers like Chrome and Safari. You can also add screenshots to Albo. This makes it easy to save any sort of online inspiration for easy access, whether that’s travel ideas, local spots to try, movie or shows to watch, books to read, recipes to cook, or workouts to do. Your collections can also be shared with friends. 即使原始创作者在未来删除了帖子或视频，该内容及其笔记仍会保留在 Albo 中。该应用支持多种社交平台，包括 Pinterest、X、LinkedIn、Threads、Reddit 和 Facebook，以及 Chrome 和 Safari 等浏览器。你还可以将截图添加到 Albo。这使得保存各种在线灵感变得非常简单，无论是旅行点子、值得尝试的本地场所、想看的电影或节目、想读的书、想做的食谱还是健身计划，都能轻松访问。你的收藏还可以与朋友分享。
Albo hails from the London-based app studio The Feel Good Project, which focuses on tech that makes users feel inspired and satisfied instead of drained by doomscrolling. The app is free to use with advanced features available via subscription. We didn’t love how heavy-handed it was in pushing the trial subscription during onboarding, however. Available on iOS and Google Play. Albo 来自伦敦的应用工作室 The Feel Good Project，该工作室专注于开发能让用户感到灵感和满足，而不是被“末日刷屏”（doomscrolling）耗尽精力的技术。该应用可免费使用，高级功能需订阅。不过，我们不太喜欢它在引导过程中过于强硬地推销试用订阅。适用于 iOS 和 Google Play。
Coop
The recent parasite outbreak in the U.S. has people thinking more carefully about where their food comes from. Buying from local growers and bakers may be the safer option — and better for the community — but not everyone has time to make it to the farmer’s market over the weekend. Coop‘s app offers an alternative through its neighborhood marketplace, where you can buy real handmade and homegrown items from the people near you, even from the farmhouse down the road that offers fresh eggs, or a neighbor willing to barter their items for yours. 近期美国爆发的寄生虫疫情让人们更加谨慎地思考食物的来源。从当地种植者和烘焙师那里购买或许是更安全的选择，也对社区更有利，但并非每个人都有时间在周末去农贸市场。Coop 应用通过其邻里市场提供了一种替代方案，你可以在这里购买附近居民手工制作或自家种植的商品，甚至是路边农场提供的新鲜鸡蛋，或者与愿意以物易物的邻居进行交换。
The idea is to allow commerce to stay local, while helping people turn their own garden, field, or craft into an additional income stream. On Coop, you can browse and discover nearby sellers, follow your favorites, see how far they are from you, and purchase from them via the app’s Stripe integration. The seller then receives the order and prepares it for pickup. Available on iOS and Google Play. 其理念是让商业回归本地，同时帮助人们将自己的花园、田地或手工艺转化为额外的收入来源。在 Coop 上，你可以浏览并发现附近的卖家，关注你喜欢的店铺，查看距离，并通过应用集成的 Stripe 进行购买。卖家收到订单后会准备好商品供你自提。适用于 iOS 和 Google Play。
PI.FYI by Perfectly Imperfect
A colorful and somewhat chaotic app, PI.FYI, promises to bring back the “old internet,” where you found recommendations through a network of friends, not algorithms. Having emerged from a cult newsletter, the app has been around for a couple of years, but still feels fresh and modern and very much like the alternative to social media it aims become. PI.FYI 是一款色彩斑斓且略显混乱的应用，它承诺带回“旧互联网”时代——在那里，你通过朋友网络而不是算法来获取推荐。该应用源自一份颇受欢迎的通讯（newsletter），虽然已经存在了几年，但依然感觉新鲜、现代，非常符合它作为社交媒体替代品的定位。
In PI.FYI, you can track what you’re into, share your taste, and browse by category or “scenes,” like music, whimsy, retro, and literature, to find your community, read interesting articles, make lists, gather local recommendations, and play games with friends. The app exudes a retro vibe itself, as if it were built when the internet was a little less polished, too. Available on iOS and Google Play. 在 PI.FYI 中，你可以追踪自己的兴趣，分享品味，并按类别或“场景”（如音乐、奇思妙想、复古、文学）进行浏览，从而找到你的社区、阅读有趣的文章、制作清单、收集本地推荐并与朋友一起玩游戏。该应用本身散发着一种复古气息，仿佛它诞生于互联网还没那么精致的年代。适用于 iOS 和 Google Play。
Lettre
OK, it might not be as fun as sharing a letter via pigeon post, but the app for pen pals, Lettre, also embraces the fun of snail mail in a digital format. This letter-writing app lets you start new friendships with pen pals around the world, discovered through the app, or with anyone whose email address you already know. Unfortunately, letters are sent digitally through the app or email for now, but the company’s FAQ suggests it is considering a postal mail option for the future, which would be so much fun. Available on iOS only. 好吧，它可能不如信鸽传书那么有趣，但笔友应用 Lettre 以数字形式拥抱了传统书信的乐趣。这款写信应用让你能够与通过应用发现的全球笔友建立新的友谊，或者与任何你知道电子邮件地址的人通信。遗憾的是，目前信件是通过应用或电子邮件以数字方式发送的，但该公司的常见问题解答显示，他们正在考虑未来增加邮寄选项，那一定会非常有趣。仅适用于 iOS。
Sofa Time
While not a brand-new app, Sofa Time is one of several that is picking up where the recently shuttered TV Time app left off. The app has an easy-to-use, uncluttered interface for tracking the movies and TV shows you’re watching, organizing your watchlist, discovering what to stream next, and getting reminders about new releases. 虽然不是一款全新的应用，但 Sofa Time 是接替近期关闭的 TV Time 应用的几款产品之一。该应用拥有简洁易用的界面，用于追踪你正在观看的电影和电视节目、整理观看列表、发现下一部要看的流媒体内容，并获取新片发布提醒。
While Sofa Time’s commenting section doesn’t yet rival TV Time’s forums, the app’s social elements leave room for the community to grow, as it supports the ability to react with a GIF or image alongside your text, and includes built-in translation features to support a global audience. Available on iOS and Google Play. 虽然 Sofa Time 的评论区目前还无法与 TV Time 的论坛相媲美，但该应用的社交元素为社区成长留下了空间，它支持在文本旁使用 GIF 或图片进行互动，并内置了翻译功能以支持全球用户。适用于 iOS 和 Google Play。
ThingsBook
ThingsBook, a new writing-focused app from South Korean internet giant Naver’s U.S. subsidiary, is hard… ThingsBook 是韩国互联网巨头 Naver 美国子公司推出的一款专注于写作的新应用，它很难……