Conversation Templates & Live Activity
Start chats faster with built-in AI personas, and track generation progress on the Dynamic Island.
Conversation Templates
Templates are built-in AI personas that configure LucidPal for a specific task. They appear as horizontally-scrollable pill buttons in the empty state — when a session has no messages yet.
| Template | Icon | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Writing Coach | pencil.and.outline | Drafting, editing, and improving text |
| Decision Helper | scale.3d | Weighing options and making choices |
| Meeting Prep | calendar.badge.checkmark | Briefing before a call or event |
| Brainstorm | lightbulb | Generating ideas without constraints |
Tap a pill to activate that persona. LucidPal appends a focused instruction to its system prompt for the session — adjusting tone and approach for the selected mode. You can still send any message — the template just sets the initial context.
Start a Meeting Prep session before an important call. LucidPal can reference your calendar to pull in the event details automatically.
Chat Banners
LucidPal shows contextual banners at the top of the chat area to communicate status. All banners use a slide-in/fade animation.
| Banner | When shown | Color | Dismissible? |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI loading | Model is warming up after launch | Accent (purple) | No — disappears automatically |
| AI not set up | No model downloaded yet | Accent (purple) | No — resolves when a model is downloaded |
| Error | A generation or tool error occurred | Red | Yes — tap the ✕ button |
| AirPods connected | AirPods are paired and auto-listening is active | Green | No — disappears when AirPods disconnect |
AI Loading Banner
Shows a shimmer sparkles icon and the message "Just a moment — your AI is getting ready…" with a spinner. Displayed while the model file is being loaded into memory after the app starts.
AI Not Set Up Banner
Shows a download icon with "Your AI isn't set up yet. Go to the Settings tab to download a model — it only takes a minute." Shown when no model has been downloaded.
Error Banner
Shows a red triangle with the error message (up to 3 lines). Tap the ✕ button to dismiss.
AirPods Banner
Shows a green pulsing dot and "AirPods connected — auto-listening active" when AirPods Pro are connected and the auto-listening feature is enabled.
Live Activity / Dynamic Island
While LucidPal is generating a response, a Live Activity tracks progress in real time on supported iPhones. An elapsed-seconds counter updates every second so you always know how long the model has been thinking.
- Starts the moment generation begins.
- Disappears automatically 2 seconds after the response is complete.
- You can navigate away from LucidPal — the indicator stays visible so you know when to return.
Lock Screen / StandBy
On the Lock Screen (and in StandBy mode) the banner shows:
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| ✦ Sparkles icon | Purple, left-aligned |
| Heading | "LucidPal is thinking…" |
| Prompt preview | First line of your message (truncated to 80 characters) |
| Elapsed timer | Seconds counter, right-aligned |
Dynamic Island — Compact (iPhone 14 Pro and later)
When the Dynamic Island is collapsed, LucidPal occupies both sides:
| Side | Content |
|---|---|
| Leading (left) | Purple sparkles icon |
| Trailing (right) | Elapsed seconds counter |
Dynamic Island — Expanded
Tap the Dynamic Island to expand it:
| Region | Content |
|---|---|
| Leading | Purple sparkles icon + "LucidPal" label |
| Trailing | Elapsed seconds counter |
| Bottom | Spinner + "Thinking…" label |
Dynamic Island — Minimal
On iPhones displaying two simultaneous Live Activities, LucidPal shows only the purple sparkles icon.
Devices without a Dynamic Island
On older iPhones the activity appears as a Lock Screen banner with the same layout described in the Lock Screen section above.
Live Activity updates happen on-device. No data is sent externally during generation.