Wrike's refreshed mobile app lets teams collaborate remotely without skipping a beat

For project management teams working on a tight deadline, even breaking for lunch or walking across the street for coffee can disrupt the workflow.

That is one of the main focuses of project collaboration startup Wrike’s refreshed iOS and Android apps, which launched today. Wrike’s platform allows teams to collaborate on a project using a centralized platform to communicate, divvy up tasks, assign deadlines, and work together on those tasks when necessary. It also integrates with plenty of cloud-based services (like Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.) so you only have to open up Wrike to gain access to everything you need, which saves time — especially from a mobile device.

“What we’ve found is that many people actually prefer to do some of their work from a mobile device, but can’t because current tools are either too slow or not optimized to let you perform certain tasks unless you’re sitting in front of a laptop screen.” said Wrike CEO and founder Andrew Filev in an exclusive interview with VentureBeat.

The new mobile apps, which Filev told me are nearly three times faster than the previous versions, include a new design that makes use of touch gestures to quickly and easily sort and update work. That means you’ll actually be able to take action on a particularly urgent task from your mobile device rather than just getting notified about it and feeling antsy until you can get back to your desk at the office.

And speaking of notifications, Wrike’s new app also include a smart notification feature that lets you specify who and what you need to stay aware of as it’s happening. That’s a huge advantage over many other collaboration/communication platforms (Yammer, Convo), which usually are restricted to notifying you of every update in a thread you’re mentioned in.

The improved notification feature is also increasing the time Wrike’s clients spend working from a mobile device as well. The company said engagement for clients testing the new app went from 19 seconds to 2.5 minutes.

Other enhancements to the iOS app include a “quick task” creation tool, a one-swipe frequent tasks feature, and the ability to take, upload, and attach photos to projects directly from a phone or tablet.

Wrike said its planning to release a refreshed version of its Android app in the near future, but you can check out the iOS version now in Apple’s App Store. Wrike’s service is free to use for small teams, while charging a monthly fee for larger teams based on the number of employees with an account.

Founded in 2007, the Mountain View, Calif.-based startup has raised $10 million in funding to date. For a closer look at Wrike’s new app experience, check out the demo video below.