Excellent Idea, But Missing Essential Cooking Features
James, I really like the idea behind prepSync, and I want to start by saying that the concept is excellent.
The idea of coordinating multiple foods so they all finish at the same time is genuinely useful, especially for people like me who are cooking several items at once and do not want to keep standing over the stove or oven.
However, after using the app on my iPhone, including after installing the latest iOS update, I feel that some important practical features are missing.
For example, many foods require reminders such as:
• Turn halfway through cooking.
• Reduce the heat after a certain number of minutes.
• Stir occasionally.
• Check for browning.
These are very common steps in real cooking.
At the moment, the app allows notes to be entered, but it does not appear to generate timed alerts for those steps. In my opinion, this is one of the most important features a cooking timer app should have.
For example, when I boil eggs, I bring the water to the boil, reduce the heat after several minutes, then let the eggs continue cooking gently and finish in the residual heat while I prepare the rest of breakfast. This is a practical method that works well, but the app cannot currently guide that process.
The same applies to oven foods such as fish fingers, sausages, and croquettes, where the food often needs to be turned halfway through cooking.
I also noticed that even when the meal is called "Cooked breakfast," the app still asks, "When should dinner be ready?" Your own App Store screenshots show this, which suggests this wording issue was missed during testing.
Another frustration is that folders are locked behind the Pro subscription. For a feature that is essentially basic organisation, that feels restrictive.
Please do not take this review as criticism of the idea itself, because I genuinely believe you have created something with a lot of potential.
The app has a clean design and an excellent concept, but it needs more practical cooking functionality and more thorough testing.
Suggested improvements:
• Replace "When should dinner be ready?" with "When should this meal be ready?"
• Add timed alerts such as "Turn halfway."
• Allow multiple cooking steps for each item.
• Support heat changes during cooking.
• Consider making folders available in the free version.
Based on my experience, I am considering requesting a refund, as the app does not currently provide the level of functionality I expected from the Pro version.
I hope you continue developing prepSync, because with these improvements it could become an outstanding app.
My rating: 2 out of 5 stars.
The idea of coordinating multiple foods so they all finish at the same time is genuinely useful, especially for people like me who are cooking several items at once and do not want to keep standing over the stove or oven.
However, after using the app on my iPhone, including after installing the latest iOS update, I feel that some important practical features are missing.
For example, many foods require reminders such as:
• Turn halfway through cooking.
• Reduce the heat after a certain number of minutes.
• Stir occasionally.
• Check for browning.
These are very common steps in real cooking.
At the moment, the app allows notes to be entered, but it does not appear to generate timed alerts for those steps. In my opinion, this is one of the most important features a cooking timer app should have.
For example, when I boil eggs, I bring the water to the boil, reduce the heat after several minutes, then let the eggs continue cooking gently and finish in the residual heat while I prepare the rest of breakfast. This is a practical method that works well, but the app cannot currently guide that process.
The same applies to oven foods such as fish fingers, sausages, and croquettes, where the food often needs to be turned halfway through cooking.
I also noticed that even when the meal is called "Cooked breakfast," the app still asks, "When should dinner be ready?" Your own App Store screenshots show this, which suggests this wording issue was missed during testing.
Another frustration is that folders are locked behind the Pro subscription. For a feature that is essentially basic organisation, that feels restrictive.
Please do not take this review as criticism of the idea itself, because I genuinely believe you have created something with a lot of potential.
The app has a clean design and an excellent concept, but it needs more practical cooking functionality and more thorough testing.
Suggested improvements:
• Replace "When should dinner be ready?" with "When should this meal be ready?"
• Add timed alerts such as "Turn halfway."
• Allow multiple cooking steps for each item.
• Support heat changes during cooking.
• Consider making folders available in the free version.
Based on my experience, I am considering requesting a refund, as the app does not currently provide the level of functionality I expected from the Pro version.
I hope you continue developing prepSync, because with these improvements it could become an outstanding app.
My rating: 2 out of 5 stars.
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Response from developer
Hi BM Convertible M6 Man, apologies for not getting back sooner. Thank you so much for downloading and using prepSync, even going on to purchase prepSync pro; it means a lot. Your detailed feedback is so so valuable, especially at the starting stages of this app, and I will try to implement these changes as much as possible soon. If you would like to refund your prepSync pro subscription you can request a refund at: https://reportaproblem.apple.com/ and follow the steps there. Many thanks, James
