Despite my appreciation for Apple’s updates to the Calendar app on iOS 9, I still find Flexibits’ Fantastical to be the more powerful, flexible Calendar and Reminders client we deserve. Fantastical is an app which I’ve loved covering over the years because of Flexibits’ unwavering commitment to quality. Today’s 2.5 update continues to confirm the indie studio’s penchant for new versions that truly take advantage of what iOS has to offer.
Posts tagged with "fantastical"
Fantastical 2.5 Brings watchOS 2 Complication, iPad Multitasking on iOS 9
Fantastical 2.1 for Mac and Plans for iOS 9 & watchOS 2→
Flexibits released version 2.1 of Fantastical for Mac earlier today, adding full support for El Capitan and addressing some of the most common feature requests. These include the ability to scroll to specific days with the trackpad in Week and Month views, copy and paste for events and reminders, and new text size options.
In the same blog post announcing the update, Flexibits has also shared some details on the upcoming updates to Fantastical for iOS 9 and watchOS 2:
Fantastical 2.5 for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch are receiving their final changes and bug fixes. We’re almost there and we hope to have everything sent to Apple within the next week. Of course we’re talking about software, so this could slip based on what we’re able to accomplish in the next few days. But rest assured that they’re coming very soon.
We’re most excited about our 2.5 update for iPad update which brings support for iOS 9’s iPad multitasking, including Slide Over and Split View. It was a lot of work to implement, but we’re excited about the future of iPad productivity and 2.5 will make it even easier for you to be productive.
…and last but not least, for those of you who have been asking: Yes! Fantastical 2.5 for iPhone will include Complications for Apple Watch!
Can’t wait.
Fantastical 2.4 Adds Drafts Support
Released today on the App Store, Fantastical 2.4 adds support for Japanese and a new drafts feature that, once again, shows how Flexibits is building a smarter calendar app with delightful little touches.
Fantastical Comes to Apple Watch
Fantastical, Flexibits’ excellent calendar client and one of my favorite iOS apps, is launching on Apple Watch today with version 2.3 of Fantastical for iPhone. Fantastical for Apple Watch has a few limitations due to the nature of WatchKit, but Flexibits put a lot of thought into several details of the app, using the device’s voice input and brief interactions to refine the experience.
Fantastical 2 for Mac Review: Reinvented
Fantastical for Mac, originally released in 2011, redefined calendar apps for OS X and my idea of a modern calendar client.
Developed by Michael Simmons and Kent Sutherland – together known as Flexibits – Fantastical pioneered features and design choices that, with time, have become a staple of other calendar apps and OS X utilities: natural language input is now expected in popular todo apps and services; the OS X menu bar has grown into a popular destination for desktop utilities; integration with multiple calendar services in a single app is now a de facto standard.
Fantastical was a powerful calendar assistant. Four years later, Flexibits wants Fantastical 2 for Mac – their latest creation years in the making – to be the only calendar app you’ll ever need. While the original Fantastical was a companion to the full Apple iCal experience, Fantastical 2 reinvents itself as a full-blown calendar client that retains the most important aspects of the app’s debut and adds a whole new calendar interface to the mix. And in the process, it exudes the finesse and attention to detail that Simmons and Sutherland are known for.
In 2011, Fantastical raised the bar for modern calendar interaction. Fantastical 2 builds on that solid foundation, bringing design changes and new functionalities that will define the evolution of the Fantastical family.
Fantastical 2.2: Interactive Notifications, Share Extension, and Today Widget
Fantastical, developed by Flexibits, has long been one of my favorite calendar apps for iOS. Since the app’s first release over three years ago, I’ve come to expect my calendar to support natural language input; after the launch of version 2.0 for iPhone, Fantastical showed me why I wanted my todo list to be integrated with the calendar with excellent and seamless support for iCloud calendars and reminders in a unified experience. Reminders, however, turned out to be a problem for me as I switched to Todoist earlier this year: I’ve started using Sunrise – which is a great app – to see my events and todos in a single list, but I’m constantly missing Fantastical’s natural language support, advanced features, and polished design.
Fantastical 2.2, available today on the App Store, brings iOS 8 features that allow the app to be more easily integrated with iOS workflows thanks to a share extension and that extend the app beyond its silo with actionable notifications and a widget.
Fantastical 2.1
Released last week, Fantastical 2.1 is a pretty big update to my favorite calendar app for iPhone and iPad that brought the usual variety of fixes and improvements, snooze options for notifications (which I don’t use, as I rely on native iCloud alerts), and other enhancements such as upcoming birthday and new event invitation notifications. Being on vacation prevented me from preparing a review in time for the update’s release (it turns out, this is not an ideal spot for good 3G coverage), but I still wanted to focus on three additions to Fantastical that I’m particularly fond of.
Saving Multiple Fantastical Events In A Row with Editorial 1.1
In my review of Editorial 1.1, I covered the app’s new support for x-callback-url and how it improves inter-app communication. In hindsight, I left out a fairly obvious demonstration of the feature: the possibility to create workflows that send multiple items in a row to other apps. For this post, I’m going to use Fantastical as an example.
Fantastical for iPad Tips→
In my review of Fantastical for iPad, I didn’t mention some of the gestures supported by the app. Gabe Weatherhead has collected all these handy gestures and shortcuts in a single post.
Gabe also created an Editorial workflow to use with Fantastical and TaskPaper, and Pedro Lobo offers a similar solution that works with entire TaskPaper documents.