After months of development, the new YouMind iOS version is live. First, an apology. This isn't the complete version yet. We decided to ship this early experience version after some bold exploration. There are still many details we need to polish. Why the rush to launch? Two reasons. We want to hear your feedback, and we want to use rapid iteration to push our team's pace.
In this post, I want to share three key decisions behind this update.
Why We Bet on iOS 26 and Liquid Glass
Those who've been with us know we're a SaaS team with years of experience in that domain. But native development is relatively new territory for us. Even with talented engineers joining the team, we're still learning from scratch.
Since we're starting from scratch anyway, we made a bold decision: adopt iOS 26's design language directly and fully embrace Liquid Glass
Why bet on new tech when we're still learning the ropes? Because we believe it's better to grow alongside Apple's latest design than chase mature solutions from the past. This decision means higher technical risk, but it also means we're keeping pace from day one.
But this journey has been complicated. We scrapped at least 10 versions, repeatedly figuring out how to keep YouMind's functionality intact while making the design truly fit iOS 26. Of course, we can't build a full Liquid Glass component library from scratch like Linear does. That kind of engineering capability makes us incredibly envious. But within our constraints, we'll make the overall experience as natural as possible.
Making Board the Primary Entry Point on Mobile
Once we had the design goal, we had to think deeper. We're not just swapping components for the sake of it. We need to rethink the entire product.
This was our first generation design. It looks great, but getting into a Board required a clunky flow. Users had to either rely on materials showing up in the "Recent" list or click into Board and then pick from the list. That's really inconvenient on mobile.
Here's what changed in the new version. We made Board the core entry point. Users can jump straight into their frequently used Boards and easily switch between multiple Boards. With this structure, you can smoothly use AI Chat plus material capture on mobile, letting you stream whatever materials you need from mobile scenarios right into your learning and creation space in real time.
Paired with Liquid Glass design, switching between functions becomes much smoother. You might say this kind of design is common on mobile. True. But here's the thing: how do you let iOS have its own unique interaction model within an already mature SaaS framework while still syncing with the SaaS side? That's where the design challenge really is.
We constantly have to balance the new design language, YouMind's product logic, and mobile usage patterns. This version still has some imperfect spots, both in design and engineering. Small regrets. But over time, we'll find better solutions.
Building Mobile as a Standalone Product
Conventional wisdom says that for SaaS first products, the mobile app is usually just a subset of features. It's practically an industry rule. Partly to manage resources, partly because mobile scenarios really do only cover some functions.
But we chose a different path.
When we decided to invest in iOS development, we made it clear: iOS isn't an accessory to SaaS. It's a primary entry point with its own positioning. In mobile contexts, it plays a core role: helping users collect, process, and read materials, letting learning and creation unfold naturally on mobile too.
With that framing, our iOS design doesn't just follow the traditional playbook. We're trying to find its own path.
For example, we'll significantly enhance voice recording on mobile. This will become a core capability of the iOS version. Imagine these scenarios: an idea pops up during a business trip, you record it instantly. After a meeting ends, you review key points while walking. Before bed, you use your voice to capture today's takeaways. Most importantly, when you open your laptop, those materials are already waiting in your Board. Whether for learning or creating, everything connects seamlessly.
Voice recording differs from SaaS, but it also feeds back into SaaS, making the whole information capture experience more complete. As we iterate, you'll discover more possibilities like this.
The iOS version will also follow YouMind's IPO model (Input, Process, Output), building on each stage: collecting, learning, thinking, creating. Sure, it looks a bit rough right now. But our design has already gone through several iterations, and we're confident we'll bring you a different experience.