Jack Wallen names his preferred contact apps, including an Airtable AI build

ZDNET writer Jack Wallen outlined his favorite contact apps for Android, macOS and Linux, and described a cross-platform contact app he built using Airtable's Omni AI. For Android Wallen recommends Contacts+, which he says provides the fields most users need (photo, multiple name fields, phone, email, IM, address, job, birthday, URL, relationship, tags and notes) and adds direct access to the Phone app, event reminders, contact updates, syncing with Google, iCloud and Outlook, sorting and business card creation.

The app offers free and premium tiers; the free version contains ads, the premium tier costs $120 per year, and Wallen says he will stick with the free version. He also warns that the default Android Contacts app is tightly integrated with Google Workspace and says that could raise privacy concerns, while Contacts+ can be used strictly for on-device contacts for greater privacy.

On Linux Wallen favors Kontact, KDE Plasma's unified interface that integrates mail, calendar and contacts, emphasizes privacy, supports open standards and vCard import/export, and allows customization of fields and categories. He notes a drawback: Kontact is a KDE Plasma application and installing it on other desktop environments brings additional dependencies and libraries.

Key Topics

Tech, Contacts+, Airtable, Omni Ai, Kontact, Macos Contacts