AnyType.io is an object based productivity solution who calls itself “the everything app” on it’s web site. It can be closely compared with Capacities, so that’s what I’ll be doing.
AnyType has a desktop application for Windows and Mac and even supports IOS and Android. You can run AnyType on a tablet device but it doesn’t take advantage of the larger screen and only displays a blown up phone app that not inviting at all. And on some devices it forces you into portrait mode which is ridiculous on a Samsung Galaxy Tab Ultra tablet.
As you can see below, I’m working with version 0.42.46-beta. There are regular updates so keep that in mind. All my statements are based on this version.
Things to Know
Here are a few things you need to know when working with AnyType.
Everything you create in AnyType is an Object or more specifically a Type of object. I’m sure this plays into the name choice 😉.
A Set is basically a grouping of a specific type of object.
A Collection is basically a folder that can contain multiple types of objects.
A Relation is simply a property that you can attach to an Object.
A Relation can be a simply property value or a link to another Object.
All of this stuff lives within a Space that lives within a Vault.
Now I won’t go into much more detail but this should be enough to lessen the learning curve. The main source of real confusion for me came from UI/UX and terminology. If you keep a mental note that a “Relation” is just a “Property” you should be fine with terminology. But you’ll have to hop into AnyType and get your hands dirty to learn the UI/UX quirks.
The Pros
No need to worry about traditional folders. Everything is an Object type that you can organize in Sets and Collections.
It’s open source
Really good desktop and mobile phone application
End to end encryption (you own the keys) – NOT supported in Capacities and might never be after reading their “What’s not next” page.
Multi-device sync
Offline first – partially supported in Capacities at the moment
Version History – not supported in Capacities at the moment
Templates
Collections
Bulk Import – not supported in Capacities at the moment
Native export (markdown & any-block) – not supported in Capacities at the moment. Current relies on an email and download link.
Fast
The Cons
A slight learning curve
Tablet support is not great, 👎🏾
Still a beta
No AI features
No integrations
Doesn’t look like there’s tag management
Final Thoughts
E2E, offline first, bulk import and version history is what really sets AnyType apart from Capacities. Capacities is working on all of those features except E2E.
I’m concerned that AnyType is still not a 1.0+ release so anything could happen for better or worse. But you can easily export backups of your data in markdown and AnyTypes Any-Block format.
