Yesterday the OmniGroup announced the open beta of OmniFocus 4.0 for iPhone and iPad. This new version will represent the most significant change in the OmniFocus user interface ever. I've been on the private beta, and I dig it. This new version will give you much more control over the way the application looks and quality-of-life improvements across the board. There are new inspectors, easier navigation, and a much-improved outline view. All of this while maintaining the full set of OmniFocus tools.

This new version is written entirely in Swift UI, which will give OmniFocus some real flexibility going forward. Also, this is the most complex app I'm aware of being developed in Swift UI. The Omni Group is very much at the pointy end of the spear with this project.

The beta is still early, and there are still features and even UI elements missing. Nevertheless, I'm excited to see the OmniFocus team willing to take risks to keep their software on the cutting edge. At this point, the beta is only for iPad and iPhone, but I expect the Mac will be getting similar treatment in the future.

The usual warnings go here about running beta software. Be careful. Back up. Don't use it if you're worried about data loss. I've been running the version 3 public release alongside the version 4 beta with no troubles thus far.

These changes to OmniFocus mean I'll be making a new OmniFocus Field Guide. It will be a new version and built from scratch with the new version 4. Expect it once the OmniGroup releases version 4 for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.