No Need for New Apps. Claude Can Do It.
I downloaded a calorie-tracking app last month.
Opened it. Started setting up my profile. Height, weight, goals, and activity level. The usual setup takes ten minutes and feels like work before you even log your first meal.
And then I stopped.
Wait a second. Can Claude do this?
So I deleted the app and opened Claude instead.
I took a picture of my breakfast. Told Claude my calorie goals and my protein goals for the day. Asked it to track my meals and remind me at the end of the day if I had not hit my protein target.
And it worked.
Better than the app, actually.
Because Claude does not just track data. It coaches.
At 8 PM, Claude sent me a reminder: "You are 40 grams short on protein today. Want to grab some almonds or chicken?"
That is not something a calorie app does. That is something a personal nutritionist does.
And that is when I realized something.
I probably do not need most of the apps on my phone anymore.
The Apps I Have Already Replaced
I started going through my phone to see what else Claude could do.
Habit tracker? Gone. I do my Level 10 from Traction as a personal check-in with Claude. It tracks my habits, reminds me of what I committed to, and gives me weekly summaries.
Surfline? Canceled my subscription. Now every Monday, Claude sends me a report on the best days that week to go surfing and automatically adds low tide for each day to my calendar so I know when it’s best to walk my dog. It pulls weather data, tide charts, and swell forecasts. I plan my month around it.
Meal planning app? Deleted. I tell Claude what is in my fridge and what I feel like eating. It suggests recipes and builds a plan. I can take a photo of my fridge and spice rack and have recipes in seconds.
The pattern became clear.
If an app is just collecting data and giving me summaries or reminders, Claude can do it better.
Because Claude understands context. It remembers my preferences. It adapts to how I actually live instead of forcing me into rigid tracking systems.
What Else Can Claude Replace?
I asked Claude what other apps I should try replacing. Here is what it told me.
Apps Claude can definitely replace:
Reading list apps (Pocket, Instapaper) - Send links to Claude, it summarizes articles and reminds you to read them
Language learning flashcards (Anki, Quizlet) - Claude quizzes you and adapts difficulty based on performance
Trip planning apps (TripIt, Wanderlog) - Tell Claude where you are going, it builds itineraries and adjusts as plans change
Recipe box apps (Paprika, Copy Me That) - Claude saves recipes, scales ingredients, suggests substitutions
Journal apps (Day One, Journey) - Daily check-ins with Claude work better than typing into a blank page
Meditation/mindfulness trackers - Claude can guide sessions and track your practice
Apps Claude probably cannot replace yet:
Navigation (Google Maps, Waze) - Still need real-time GPS and traffic
Banking apps (Chase, etc) - Security and account access require dedicated apps
Ride-sharing (Uber, Lyft) - Need direct integration, but this is coming
Streaming (Spotify, Netflix) - Playback needs dedicated apps
Social media (Instagram, LinkedIn) - For now, but maybe just for posting
The Framework: Can Claude Do It?
Here is the question I now ask before downloading any new app.
Is this app just collecting data and giving me summaries or reminders, or does it need to control hardware or access secure systems?
If it is the first one, Claude can probably do it better.
If it is the second one, I still need the app. For now.
But even for those apps, I think the future looks different.
What I Actually Want (And What I Think Is Coming)
I do not want to open Uber to book a ride.
I want Claude to see my calendar, know I need to be at the airport at 6 AM, and automatically schedule the Uber because it already has access to my calendar and knows I am traveling for work.
I do not want to open Surfline to check the surf forecast.
I want Claude to know I surf and proactively tell me when conditions are good.
I do not want to open ten different apps to manage ten different parts of my life.
I want one interface that talks to everything else on my behalf.
That is the vision.
One AI on my screen. Everything else becomes backend plugins that the AI talks to without me ever opening those apps.
The Battle for Your Screen
I think we are about to see a massive battle for who is on your screen the most.
Right now, Apple and Google make money because we download hundreds of apps from their app stores. Every app is a potential revenue stream. Subscriptions. In-app purchases. Ad impressions.
But what happens when we no longer need those apps?
What happens when the only app on our phone is Claude or ChatGPT or whatever AI assistant we choose, and everything else is just a plugin running in the background?
That is a huge problem for Apple and Google.
But I think they will figure it out.
Maybe the App Store becomes a Plugin Store. Maybe they charge for the integrations instead of the apps. Maybe the business model shifts entirely.
I do not know who wins this battle.
But I do think it is coming.
Because once you experience how much easier it is to have one intelligent assistant that knows everything about you and talks to all your tools on your behalf, going back to opening twenty different apps feels archaic.
What I Am Doing Now
Before I download any new app, I ask myself: Can Claude do it?
And I am going through the apps I already have and asking: Do I still need this, or can Claude handle it?
So far, I have deleted about fifteen apps.
My phone feels cleaner. My cognitive load feels lighter. And I am getting better results because Claude actually understands what I am trying to accomplish, rather than just collecting data points.
This is not about being anti-app or anti-technology.
This is about being intentional about what tools I use and how I use them.
And right now, for a busy person who is often distracted and frequently forgets to eat lunch, having an AI that can track my nutrition, remind me to eat protein, and coach me through my goals is significantly better than downloading another tracking app that requires manual data entry and gives me charts I will never look at.
The Bigger Shift
I think this is part of a bigger shift happening right now.
We have been over-apping ourselves for years.
Every problem has its own app. Every feature has its own subscription. Every workflow has its own tool.
And now we are drowning in apps that do not talk to each other, require constant context switching, and need manual data entry to work.
AI changes that equation entirely.
One intelligent assistant that knows you, understands context, and can interact with other systems on your behalf is fundamentally more powerful than a hundred single-purpose apps.
The future is not more apps.
The future is fewer, smarter tools.
And for many use cases, that tool is just going to be your AI assistant.
What About You?
Here is what I want to know.
What apps have you replaced since getting access to Claude or ChatGPT or another AI assistant?
What apps have you decided not to download because you realized your AI could do it?
And what apps are you keeping because there is no way AI can replace them yet?
I am genuinely curious what other people are figuring out.
Because I think we are in the early days of this shift, and the companies that understand where this is going will build very differently from those still thinking in terms of single-purpose apps.
The battle for your screen is just beginning.
And I think a lot of apps are about to lose.
About Molly Means
Molly Means is a business operator who writes about Traction, operations, leadership, and organizational clarity. Her work is informed by experience building and operating companies and helping teams create structure that actually works.
Connect: LinkedIn
