Yesterday's Top Launches: 5 Tools from January 15, 2026
A new AI companion called Quest launched yesterday to help users turn resolutions into concrete achievements through guided conversations.
Yesterday brought another wave of software launches, showing a clear trend: developers and power users are getting some serious love. While AI companions and privacy-focused social platforms grabbed attention, the standout theme was a suite of new developer tools aimed at streamlining workflows and improving collaboration. Let's break down the five products that made their debut on January 15.
Quest
Ever feel like your New Year's resolutions or personal goals fizzle out by mid-January? Quest aims to be the antidote. It’s an AI companion designed not just for chatting, but for driving meaningful transformation. The idea is to move from vague aspirations to concrete achievements through guided conversations. It learns your patterns, tracks your progress, and acts as an intelligent accountability partner.
What’s interesting is its underlying tech: Deep Inquiry, personalization, and memory. This suggests the AI is built to ask progressively deeper questions to help you clarify your goals, rather than just offering generic advice. It feels like a deliberate move beyond simple chatbots into the realm of personalized coaching. The freemium model makes it easy for anyone to try, and as a web app, it’s instantly accessible. If you’re someone who struggles with follow-through or just wants a more structured way to pursue personal projects, Quest might be worth a look.
Voquill
For anyone who dreads typing long documents or code comments, Voquill presents a compelling solution. It’s an open-source, voice-first keyboard that promises to let you type up to four times faster using your voice. The key selling point is that it works system-wide on macOS, Windows, and Linux. That means you can use it in your code editor, your email client, Slack, or anywhere else you’d normally type.
The open-source nature is a huge plus for transparency and community-driven improvement. Voice-to-text isn’t new, but a dedicated, lightweight keyboard that functions across the entire desktop OS could significantly reduce friction for developers dealing with repetitive strain injuries or those who simply think faster than they type. The freemium model suggests there might be advanced features or higher usage limits behind a paywall, but the core functionality being free lowers the barrier to entry.
SlopScore
Here’s a tool that tackles a very specific but widespread pain point in open-source development: pull request triage. SlopScore adds contributor reputation metrics directly to GitHub pull requests. For maintainers of busy repositories, the constant influx of PRs from contributors of varying experience levels can be overwhelming. SlopScore aims to provide instant context by showing a contributor’s cross-repo metrics, like their historical merge rate and other trust signals.
The goal is to help maintainers prioritize their review time. A PR from a contributor with a high merge rate across different projects might get a quicker glance, while one from a newcomer or someone with a pattern of problematic PRs might get a more thorough review. It’s a pragmatic approach to managing community contributions at scale. Being completely free is a smart move to encourage widespread adoption within the open-source ecosystem. This feels like one of those utilities that, if it gains traction, could become a standard part of the GitHub experience.
Beam Browser
The iPad has long been touted as a computer replacement, but many power users hit a wall with mobile-optimized browsers. Beam Browser is a direct response to that. It’s a desktop-class browser built specifically for iPad, with a focus on features power users crave: vertical tabs, workspaces (called "Spaces"), and command search functionality.
Vertical tabs are a godsend for managing many open pages on a vertical screen, and a command palette (like those found in VS Code or Slack) allows for lightning-fast navigation without touching the screen. This keyboard-first, distraction-free approach is clearly targeting developers, writers, and researchers who use their iPad with a keyboard but have been frustrated by Safari's or Chrome's mobile limitations. The fact that it’s a paid product from day one indicates confidence in delivering a premium experience that justifies the cost for its target audience.
anonity
In an era of algorithmic feeds and ephemeral stories, anonity is betting on permanence and privacy. It’s a private social media platform designed as a collaborative living archive. Instead of a feed designed to maximize engagement, it organizes content into "permanent memory trees" that you share only with a trusted circle of people.
The concept is intriguing—a digital scrapbook or journal that’s built for collaboration with family or close friends, with the explicit goal of preserving memories forever. This stands in stark contrast to the disposable nature of current social media. The freemium model suggests basic archiving is free, perhaps with paid tiers for more storage or advanced collaborative features. It’s a niche product, but for those feeling disillusioned with traditional social networks and wanting a more intentional, lasting way to document life’s moments, anonity offers a compelling alternative.
Quick Links
For more details on any of yesterday's launches, you can find them here: