Iago
(That’s an i not an l.)
This app has a speaking centered approach and the demo is currently free. It covers all aspects of Japanese except for physically writing. Unlike practically all other apps, there’s conversation practice. The goal of Iago is to have learners practice speaking first.
Immediately it drew me in from the start because it’s possibly the most authentic contexts I’ve ever seen in a learning resource. If you plan to move or even go to Japan, I recommend Iago. Throughout the app, there are many tips about Japanese culture. I’ve learned a lot of these from my wonderful senpai or the hard way. It’s so refreshing to see these culture points brought up early in contexts where you’re likely to encounter them. I wish I could’ve used this app before/shortly after I moved to Japan. If you’re learning Japanese in order to read manga and watch anime, then ehhh, maybe not the app for you. If you’re learning Japanese to communicate and go to Japan, then this is probably the best free resource out there (although it won’t stay free forever).
Something that might dissuade people from Iago is the use of AI. It does use AI, but in a limited way. Although each unit has man-made dialogue practice, when the learner practices a conversation with only goal oriented prompts, the app’s replies are AI. Personally, I would say that this is a fairly reasonable usage. It’s the kind of 1 on 1 practice that you’d otherwise only get with a tutor, but it’s available on your time and is limited to this function. The rest of the app isn’t overrun with AI.
In fact, the thing that’s keeping me using it is Iago’s human touch. The art and descriptions are clearly made by real humans. As you play, you collect stamps, which have cute art that reflects some real place or cultural aspect of Japan. Each stamp comes with 2 pages of information- one from a stern, practical mascot and the other from your in-app whimsical humanoid companion. So one gives you more factual information on the topic and the other more nerdy, anime loving type information. Since the story of the app is based in Tokyo, it seems most of the references are to things in/near Tokyo, but I can imagine that it would be easy to add more.