Pixel Fun #6: Becoming Unforgetful

Yes, you did subscribe to Pixel Fun, and yes, you’re still subscribed. I know, it’s as big of a surprise to me as it is to you. Almost as surprising as there being an issue number six a whole eight months after issue five.

In truth, I’ve been pondering a return for Pixel Fun for some time now, only to never quite get around to it for various real-life reasons. But things are settling down (again) so I’m keen to get back to it.

Part of my decision to bring Pixel Fun back right now is the excellent Springboard newsletter. Written by my former iMore, TechRadar, and GamesRadar colleague Daryl Baxter, Springboard has gone from strength to strength since its debut in 2024. It’s also covered much of the kind of content that I’d intended to bring to Pixel Fun, and I can’t be having Daryl show me up now, can I?

So, here we are. Pixel Fun is back. And it returns with an app that I dare say will be of use to many readers.

With that said, here’s Pixel Fun #6.

The rundown:

• 📰 The Story: Unforgetful, an app for people like …

• 🎮️ Playing: Slay the Spire 2 on the Steam Deck

• 🗞️ Reading: The Transformers comics

• ✍️ Writing: Pixel Fun #6 and a headset review

• 🖥️ Using: Aqara Smart Lock U200

• 💸 Deals you shouldn’t miss

• 🏁 The wrap-up

📰 The Story: Unforgetful, an app for people like me

Unforgetful is a new Mac and iOS app from developer Marco Arment, of Overcast fame. It’s aimed squarely at a specific kind of ADHD brain: the kind where, if something isn't written down and nagging at you via notifications, it doesn't exist. Marco’s blog post announcing the app explains that he built it after years of relying on Apple's Reminders app via Siri, only to keep losing tasks to three specific failures — reminders set without a time that never fire, accidentally dismissed notifications that never fire again, and snooze options that don't actually work with how ADHD brains work. Unforgetful runs on top of your existing Reminders data (so there’s no import, no export, no new system to learn) and fixes those key Reminders failures.

It's worth being clear right out of the gate as to what Unforgetful isn't. Unforgetful isn't a task or project management system, and it isn't trying to be a replacement for big, feature-laden apps like the ever-popular Things or OmniFocus —the latter of which has historically been my go-to app. There are no sub-tasks, no folders, no tags, no shared lists, and it doesn't work if you're the type who wants to dump every single task into a full-on management system. Unforgetful is built for any task that needs a notification, full stop — if you don't want (or need) to be nagged about it, this app just isn’t for you.

What it is built for is the stuff that needs to happen regularly or imminently and that you will absolutely forget five minutes after someone tells you about it. Move the laundry to the dryer, feed the cat, pay a bill, that sort of thing. Notifications repeat until a task is completed or deleted, so nothing quietly disappears behind an ignored badge count. Snooze intervals scale the more you snooze a task, multiple alerts set for the same time get spaced out instead of dumping them on you all at once, and there's a location-based option that can delay a reminder until a few minutes after you've actually walked in the door — because firing a notification the second you pull into the driveway is useless — you'll only forget it by the time you're inside anyway.

I read Marco’s announcement post, and it hit a nerve. I was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD in my 40s. I, too, need to be reminded about the most mundane of things. Otherwise, they simply won’t happen. Those things never really felt like they fit in a big task management system, so I tried to remember them. And then I forgot all about them.

I’ve been testing out Unforgetful for a few days at this point, and I’m still figuring out how it fits into my life. The key, I gather, is getting better at quickly getting tasks into the app when they come up. Voice input seems a solid approach, but I struggle to get beyond the fact that I always sound like an idiot while I do it. Thankfully, a quick entry button can be added to the iPhone’s Lock Screen to enable speedy input via text. The testing continues, but if you’re at all like me, Unforgetful is definitely worth checking out.

Unforgetful costs £19.99/$19.99 a year with a one-month free trial, and it's definitely not for everyone. But if "remember to put the laundry in the dryer in ten minutes" is something you know you probably won’t do without being actively hounded about it, this could be the app you didn’t know that you were waiting for.

🎮️ Playing: Slay the Spire 2 on the Steam Deck

It’s been available in early access for a while now, but I’ve spent the last week or so playing Slay the Spire 2 on the Steam Deck. I’m terrible at it, and I really need to learn more about which cards do what, but it does tickle my brain in all the right ways when I watch someone else play it — now I just need to learn how to play it myself!

For the uninitiated, Slay the Spire 2 is Mega Crit's sequel to their incredibly popular roguelike deckbuilder Slay the Spire, and it launched into Steam Early Access in March. But while it’s a sequel, no prior experience with the first game is needed to pick it up.

Mechanically, it's still the same core loop: climb procedurally generated floors, build a deck using card and relic rewards, and fight turn-based battles against enemies. The sequel adds new keywords and character-specific mechanics on top of that foundation rather than trying to change everything to create something new — Mega Crit has said more content, including cards, events, environments, and enemies, will keep being added and balanced throughout the early access period, too.

If you’ve yet to try Slay the Spire 2, I can heartily recommend it. It’s available via Steam. The original game is still available and can normally be found for relatively little if you want to dip your toes in on a budget.

🗞️ Reading: The Transformers comics

OK, I’m old. And that means that I remember The Transformers: The Movie and its 1986 debut. I was an instant fan, and I have been ever since. 2026 is the movie’s 40th anniversary, and there are some celebrations to go along with it. It also got me back into reading the IDW comics based on the original Transformers characters on my Kindle Colorsoft.

The world of the Transformers comics is a complicated one.

IDW Publishing held the Transformers comic license from 2005 to 2022, running two major continuities plus a considerable number of spinoffs. The initial line, The Transformers, ran from October 2005 to November 2018 across 427 issues. That run began with Simon Furman's Infiltration miniseries and closed out with the Unicron event — Unicron of the 1986 movie fame, no less.

The line was then rebooted the following year: Transformers (2019) ran from March 13, 2019 to June 29, 2022, totaling 43 issues plus another two specials, one annual, and one tie-in. Alongside these two main continuities, IDW published dozens of spinoffs and miniseries — All Hail Megatron, Robots in Disguise, Windblade, Optimus Prime, Beast Wars, Shattered Glass, and more — before eventually losing the license at the end of 2022. That license then passed to Skybound/Image for the Energon Universe line.

Anyway, I’m only interested in the IDW comics for now. That’s complicated by the fact that a lot of them seem to be out of print, including in digital form. Let’s just say I’ve learned a lot about sideloading content onto Kindles of late.

✍️ Writing: Pixel Fun #6 and a headset review

My current writing focus is on Pixel Fun and this issue in particular. I really wanted to get this relaunch off the ground after too many plans had to give way to other (paid!) work.

Some of that work was a review for the excellent Asus ROG Kithara gaming headset. It’s more a pair of headphones than a headset, in truth, but regardless, it’s built with gaming in mind.

If the Kithara looks familiar, it’s because it was designed and built in partnership with Hifiman. The Hifiman brand has been making premium and audiophile headphones for a long time, and the Kithara has many of the company’s hallmarks. The huge headband is one, but so are the tremendous planar magnetic drivers that make the Kithara one of the best headsets — and the best headphones — I’ve ever used.

I reviewed the Asus ROG Kithara for AppleInsider, giving it 4.5/5 stars.

🖥️ Using: Aqara Smart Lock U200

If you follow me on Bluesky (and you should), you’ll have seen me post a photo of a new Aqara Smart Lock U200. It was on a table at the time and, a couple of hours and some swearing later, it was attached to the front door of our home. We’ve been using it for a week or so.

It’s early days, and I’m not ready to write any kind of review just yet, but it’s been well received by my family. That’s perhaps the most important thing whenever new smart home tech comes into the home, so I’m taking that as a win. It works with Apple Home and supports Home Key, which was a must for our home. Home Key support was added to iOS 15 in 2021, but it’s been a slow rollout.

The kids like being able to unlock the door using a fingerprint or their iPhone/Apple Watch, and I like that I can give our dog sitter a unique passcode that can be easily revoked or disabled on the fly.

Another handy feature is the way we have it set up to automatically lock the door when we’ve used it. We live in a nice area, but old habits die hard, and we tend to keep the door locked. Not having to think about locking it ourselves is surprisingly nice. As is being able to check if the door is locked remotely — no more getting a mile down the street only to wonder “did I lock the door?”

More on the Aqara U200 to come.

💸 Deals you shouldn’t miss

• Apple AirTags 2nd-gen (four-pack): $79.99 | Original price: $99 — The latest model for $20 apiece is a solid price if you need four of them.

• Apple 11-inch A16 iPad (128GB, Wi-Fi): $399.99 | Original price: $449 — After Apple’s recent price hikes, this deal means the iPad is now $50 more than before instead of $100.

• Ring Video Doorbell 4K Pro: $179.99 | Original price: $250 — I’m not a huge fan of the Ring app, but the hardware is solid and it can usually be hooked into Home Assistant and, via a workaround or four, Apple Home if that’s more your speed.

• Apple AirPods Pro 3: $199.99 | Original price: $249 — Still among my favourite wireless earbuds a year later, this is a solid deal for AirPods Pro 3.

🏁 The wrap-up

And with that, we come to the end of Pixel Fun #6. I promise that #7 won’t take so long to land in your inbox, and I’m looking into ways to revamp the format and/or a system to streamline my side of things to avoid such a monumental gap between issues.

Until next time!

👋🏻