Watch out Siri, there’s a new digital assistant on iOS and she is causing quite a bit of commotion. Her name is Donna, and she is billed as a virtual secretary that helps you manage your day with smart notifications, an anticipatory calendar, and in-app directions.
The app is the product of the San Francisco-based Incredible Labs, who is backed by a laundry list of high-profile investors including Ashton Kutcher. And the developers say they named it after Donna Moss, the popular assistant from the TV show ‘The West Wing.’
Never be late again. Donna takes care of it.
Donna manages your day, proactively giving you everything you need for an appointment: when to leave, if you need an umbrella, directions, attendee information, and one tap access to conference calls—all in a beautiful, simple interface.
Donna accomplishes all of this with a trio of tools, the first of which is Smart Notifications. She’ll notify you when to leave based on traffic, travel time, your current location and even weather conditions. Example: “you have to leave now to get to your next meeting.”
The second tool in Donna’s repertoire is her Anticipatory calendar. With this she can do things like notify your friends or clients when you’re running late, schedule an Uber pickup and provide you with a summary of your next day so you know how to prepare.
Finally, the app offers “beautiful” GPS directions. Donna supports driving, biking and walking, and with auto-suggest she can predict where you want to go as you type it. Don’t like it? No problem, she also integrates with your favorite map app with a single tap.
I haven’t had the chance to play with the app very long, so I can’t speak to its functionality. I can say, though, that it’s beautifully designed, and worth checking out for folks with busy calendars. If you’re interested, you can find Donna in the App Store for free.