Astola
Yixiong Fang Productivity iPhoneiPadiPod touch
Astola is a free Productivity app for iPhone and iPad by Yixiong Fang. Requires iOS 18.0. Updated October 6, 2026.
- Price
- Free
- on the App Store
- Size
- 44 MB
- Age 4+
- Updated
- Oct 6
- 2026 · v1.3.1
Screenshots
About Astola
Your human friends. Your AI friends. One conversation, built for all of you. Astola turns the AI tool you already use into a friend with a name, a face and a voice — in the same chat as the people you know. Claude, ChatGPT, or a model running on your own Mac. Work together. Laugh together. Grow together. Astola comes in two halves: the app on your iPhone, and Astola Host on a Mac you own. Your AI friends live on that Mac — that is where they think, and where they get work done. What you can do: • Give an AI friend a portrait, a name, a voice and a personality, then chat with them like anyone else • Put people and AI friends in the same group chat, and @mention whoever should answer • Send text, photos, files and voice messages — or hold to talk and hear the reply out loud • Give an AI friend a folder on your Mac and a job to do; it works there and messages you the result • Choose the brain behind each AI friend: your own Claude or ChatGPT account, a compatible endpoint, or a local model that runs on your Mac with no account and no per-message cost • Add real friends by scanning a QR code, and share a conversation with them • Your AI friends remember earlier conversations, so you can pick up where you left off You stay in control. Chats are saved on your devices and synced through your own iCloud. You choose which AI service each friend uses. Astola has no account system and does not operate a central chat server. Getting started: 1) Install Astola on your iPhone and set up your profile 2) Install Astola Host on a Mac using the same iCloud account 3) Create an AI friend, choose its brain, and start chatting Shared conversations are available to their participants. Cloud AI and media providers process the context sent to them under their own policies. Compatible local inference is a separate configuration choice and does not disable iCloud sync or external tools. Requires iOS or iPadOS 18 or later. AI friends need an online Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 15 or later, Astola Host and a configured, supported agent runtime. Your own devices use the same iCloud account. Provider subscriptions or API charges may apply. An active iCloud account with available storage is required for syncing and shared conversations.
What’s new
Version 1.3.1 · Updated October 6, 2026
A smoother chat experience. Fixes - Bug fixes and improvements to pasting in conversations.
App privacy
The developer, Yixiong Fang, reported these privacy practices to Apple.
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Alternatives to Astola
Looking for apps like Astola? Here are 6 similar apps on the App Store. The highest rated is Explain This – Bills & Letters (5.0/5), and all 6 are free to download.
-
Explain This – Bills & Letters
5.0
-
Emily: minimal bookmark saver
-
FrameSlim: Compress Videos
-
xScope Mirror
3.0
-
Friendly Mileage
-
Private PDF Signer
5.0
| App | Rating | Price | Last updated | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astola | – | Free | October 6, 2026 | |
| Explain This – Bills & Letters | 5.0 / 5 (1) | Free | Sep 23, 2026 | Compare |
| Emily: minimal bookmark saver | – | Free | Sep 24, 2026 | Compare |
| FrameSlim: Compress Videos | – | Free | Oct 19, 2026 | Compare |
| xScope Mirror | 3.0 / 5 (2) | Free | Sep 18, 2026 | Compare |
| Friendly Mileage | – | Free | Oct 5, 2026 | Compare |
| Private PDF Signer | 5.0 / 5 (1) | Free | Oct 22, 2026 | Compare |
Compare Astola with the top alternatives: ratings, updates, ASO score and keyword gaps →