Shifu review

One of the big upsides of using an Android phone is the sheer scope of customisation that is available to users. Rooting your phone and choosing a completely different version of the operating system isn't hard, but otherwise there is a whole laundry list of apps that can change everything from the way your phone looks to the way it works.
Shifu, by Delhi-based The Signals, is one such app, which lets you outsource the job of remembering what's important and when to do it. The app keeps running in the background and tracks how you're using your phone. It also requires access to your phone's calendar. So it knows, for example, that at 9AM every day, you're traveling from home to office, and it knows that you're going to take half an hour to get there.

The developer claims that it can even analyse your commute patterns (detect if you've taken the metro and therefore have time to read, for example) and make suggestions from your to-do list based on all these facts. What makes it powerful is that it's simple and easy to set up, and as you keep using the app, it starts to build patterns based on your usage, and make suggestions accordingly. If there's any actions that you make regularly, then Shifu will start to suggest them to you based on a predictive algorithm, when it thinks you're likely to want to repeat that task - something like calling your driver every evening when it's time to leave office, for example.
Read More