Grocery List with Sync

I have been using the Pro version for Apple devices of this app for 8+ years. It allows me to make lists for all the different places I shop, customize items and place them in color-coded categories and easily cross them off the list while still keeping them visible. You can also add the qty of each item, or in my case, use that feature to add the current sale $ or some other factor like a coupon or rebate. Another great feature is that it syncs across multiple devices. So, I can create a list in the app on my iPad and then launch it on my phone when I am ready to shop. Sharing the list with other family members either by then having the app or exporting it to them via text message in a bonus option. I don’t imaging ever going back to a paper list that I could misplace or lose while shopping. My one complaint that I have mentioned to the developer in the past is that when you create a brand new list and go to enter a title (replacing the default Shopping List title), if you are not fast enough or the title you enter is long and takes more than 10 seconds, what you entered disappears and is replaced again with Shopping List. It only does this on the first attempt of the new list, but it is annoying. I would like to see this glitch fixed as it has been ongoing for years.

My wife and I used the old version (BuyMeAPie) for maybe 8 years or so and have always loved it. It does just what it needs to do and has intuitive features that aren’t gimmicks and just work right and effortlessly. Like the way you can type a qty or other note on the same line without tabbing or touching a new text field. Every feature requires no fuss or extra navigating through menus. This new version salvaged what was great about that app but it suffers from some of the updates to the graphic interface design. They would be simple to fix so I hope the developers read my review. 1. The colored lines which indicate categories (which I’ve built up over years) are much harder to see now that they occupy the pixels at the very edge of the screen. The old version put a few pixels of white to the left of that line which improves contrast. Now i have to squint at it which I never had to do with the old version which is annoying. 2. When you were in data entry mode in the old version, the rest of the screen would darken but you could still read the other item in your list (and associated quantities/notes). The new version whitewashes instead of darkens, and it does so to such a degree that your other list items are lower contrast and their notes are so low contrast they are genuinely hard to read and probably illegible in some lighting conditions. I’m 35 and have excellent vision so I imagine these issues are much worse for older users or users with poor vision. Everyday utility apps like this should really be striving universal accessibility and have no business testing the limits of contrast and legibility for design reasons.

Among a huge number of apps for organizing tasks and lists, this app truly stands above. I had tried several others, but this one is so simple and so efficient for our family. The teenager’s cell phone, the family iPad at home, and of course mom and dad‘s iPhone all have this app installed. Whenever someone opens the last can/box/container of whatever food or household item, they quickly open this app and start typing the item. After a few letters it quickly keys in from previous items that we had bought to add to the shopping list. Over a very short time we have color-coded to our preference, categories of items that we typically shop for, so that someone who is not the “typical shopper“ has an easier time grabbing things aisle-by-aisle as they are then grouped together by this app (Green is the vegetable aisle, etc...). When you don’t live very close to the grocery store and have a family with multiple shopping needs, this app has saved us time, money, and frustration running back to the store over and over again. Really awesome and highly recommended! We are grateful!