Recently we had an opportunity to speak with Akhil Patel, the Lead Designer at Hero (MagicX Inc.) about Hero - Daily Assistant

Please share with us the backstory of what motivated you to create this app.

We had this realization a couple years ago that -despite technology getting better every year- our lives were only getting crazier as time went on. We’ve always dreamt of having a personal assistant that could run our lives, but we looked around and the exact opposite seemed to be happening: the number of apps people have to use on a daily basis just continues to increase. So we decided to flip this around and ask: how can we simplify people’s lives, by creating a single app to run your life?

How is your app different than the rest of the market? Which unique need does it fill?

- Hero is unique in that it combines 7 different apps into one: This makes it so you never forget things, because it’s all in one place.

- In addition, Hero allows you to connect with your partner, family, and friends. So instead of texting and forgetting, now you can share and comment on availability, reminders, and notes, to instantly plan what to do.

What is the coolest or most innovative feature of your app?

Hero has the only voice input that updates the screen as you’re speaking. If you say “schedule an event to…” you’ll see the event pop up and fill out as you speak!

What has been the most rewarding aspect of the creation of this app?

Given we are bringing multiple things into one place, the hardest and most rewarding part is: How do you distill down, but still provide the majority of value for every use case?

What surprised you most in your journey to create this app?

That the future is going to be 2-3 superapps, not 100 individual apps. People don’t realize it yet, but when they use Hero, they realize it’s inevitable.

How did you decide which platforms to release your app on and do you plan on releasing your app to other platforms?

Eventually, we will expand to all platforms. But being a superapp, it’s important we nail one version to the full extent, before expanding to others.

Which other mobile apps or technology have inspired you?

Natural language input, and AI more broadly have greatly decreased the UI required per use case, which is the enabling shift to designing Hero.

What features do you hope to roll out to your app in the future?

Every daily use case you can imagine — ordering food, buying goods, personal finances, and more.

Do you have any recommendations or advice for others wanting to create a mobile app?

There are so many basics: settings, profile, push notifications, onboarding, etc. These alone take a long time, so mentally prepare for multiple years of building and focus. You’ll get there though!