I also bough version 2 on all platforms (iOS, iPadOS, macOS) and I have seen a pop-up on the first start-up, but never again since then, so maybe you’re experiencing a bug?
Thanks Rob,
I deleted the apps from my iPad and iPhone due to the Pop ups, but they were regular enough to bother me and after a while I noticed I was getting pop ups from the same actions on my part repeatedly, so I deleted.
It’s not a big loss for me, I’m not a heavy Calendar user. I like supporting indie devs which for £5 here and there is OK. Without the pop ups I’d probably still be using Fantastical (which I’ve had my money’s worth from) but not for the regular interruptions or the Sub.
It’s OK I’ve moved on.
Ditto. On macOS, the no-cost upgrade from v2 to v3 was good. Fixed a few buggy things from v2. I don’t use calendars for collaboration on Macs (just on Windows), so the subscription isn’t enticing.
On iPad/iPhone I’ve used Readdle Calendar 5 for a few years and do not plan to switch. On iPhone, I also enjoy the Eventail widget, which I use more frequently than Readdle 5.
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That one is new to me…looks cool
I’ve been a Fastmail user for years. Initially to get away from gmail. I’ve started using the calendar feature for certain recurring items. Been toying with the idea of going all in with it. I’m surprised that I don’t hear more about Fastmail in the MPU community. I guess the cost keeps folks away.
I use Fastmail, but don’t use their app for anything. I went back to stock from Fantastical, but before the new pricing. I like the leave now notifications, and it does enough for me.
On the Mac I use BusyCal. There was a time with Macsparky and Katie were into it, and I stuck with it. Calendars5 on iOS. I think the next time there’s a paid upgrade, I’m just going to go with the stock apps. As I really don’t require the power user features. Simple and minimal is starting to appeal. Funny to think I might end up on paper again . . .
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I too am on the minimalist path. I just did a nuke and pave and in the process eliminated a lot of applications. I even dumped DevonThink and moved all of my archived documents and research to the iCloud and will use Finder,. The exception is that I moved my quotes library to Notes.
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I actually switched to Fantastical (V3) when the new one came out, previously used (rather hardly used) stock apple app but the vitriol on twitter about subscriptions made me want to try it, I am perverse that way. I had bought V2 for iPad but deleted it a while ago.
Result, I gave them my money, which I do not consider expensive for a premium app and I am using it extensively for time blocking and organisation as much as hard appointments.
The decision to subscribe was partly to flip a finger to the twitter haters and to support flexibits but also I think a sound business decision. I also bought Cardhop Mac version from them and have used it much more on iOS as well since spending some time setting it up how I wanted.
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I really like the Google Calendar app.
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I’ve always used the stock Apple calendar app. I don’t need anything fancy in a calendar app and I think Apple has always done a good job of keeping this app up to date and evolving throughout the years. I also like that it is well integrated with Siri, so I can easily add appointments via voice. At work we have our own calendar software, so I only use the Apple calendar for personal appointments.
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On my ipad and iphone I switched to Calendars 5. I use the stock calendar on my mac.
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Fantastical. I found it really annoying
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Due to the lack of calendar sets and a proper portrait mode week view on iOS of Fantastical v2 (and now v3, if you do not subscribe), I’ve been a user of Calendar 366 II for a long time.
On iOS I use a few Shortcurts that open various calendar sets in different views in Calendar 366 II. I’ve place those Shortcuts as icons on my Home Screen and put them in a folder together with the Calendar 366 II app icon, which shows the badge of todays appointments. The badge is conveniently carried over to the folder.
To enter new appointments quickly I rely on a series of Shortcuts with preset appointment details. For example I have one for gym and other sport planning, which I usually run on Sunday once. It presents me with a Shortcuts menu, with calculated dates for the next week. Due to the “allow select multiple entires” option for the menu action I can select all the days on which I plan to exercise. It will put the appointments either at the appropriate times, where my training locations are open or at 8am. Usually I run this task, when I’m at my Mac and where I can easily drag the appointment blocks around. It’s heavily tailored to my needs and will even include the estimated length of my various training blocks.
All those “add appointment” Shortcuts are placed together with a quick add Shortcuts that makes use of Fantastical’s natural language input in another Home Screen folder along with the Fantastical app icon showing the current calendar week as a badge count.
I practically don’t open the Fantastical app on iOS, because the DayTicker view is of no use to me and physically rotating the phone to get a week view is too cumbersome. Calendar 366 II offers me the views I need with ease.
If Fantastical would offer me an option to unlock the features “calendar sets” and the “portrait mode day/week/month views” with a one time in-app purchase, I would consider using Fantastical only, because it is well programmed. The issues I have is solely business model based. The subscription price is too high for those two features.
On macOS I use Calendar 366 II as a menubar app to have a way to quickly peek at my schedule, along with the Fantastical menubar icon (showing the calendar week number). Hyperkey + C will expand Calendar 366 II, Hyperkey + F will open the add appointment dialog of Fantastical’s menubar utility.
If I need to do serious calendar planning I’ll open Fantastical on the Mac, where I can easily toggle calendar sets.
I also use the Fantastical Alfred workflow sometimes to quickly add an appointment, but I prefer the visual reprsentation of Fantastical’s menubar app, because it allows me to tweak notifications and duration with ease in the GUI.
On the Watch I use Fantastical’s complication for the Infograph Modular large middle complication, because I like the very visual time block representation of my schedule, and Calendar 366 II for the Infograph’s top sub-dial circular complication so that the next appointment’s title is shown across the dial.
Why both? Tapping the Calendar 366 II complication will present you with a month view just a swipe to the left. Fantastical offers the v2 legacy natural language input on the Watch.
Since you’re a long time Calendar 366 user, may I ask you how do you find it’s natural language input mechanism?
It has been added after I started using the app, along Fantastical 2. I never really looked into it, because my Fantastical Shortcuts worked.
However, I just tried it and it gets the job done perfectly. The only major difference is that you have to stick to a small syntax:
What when where /calendar
example: “lunch friday 10-11:30am restaurant xyz … /b”
/b will automatically select the “business” calendar in this example. The restaurant xyz will be searched nearby, if no city is specified, and the location appended will be appended the rest will be parsed properly.
On the one hand side the Calendar 366 II approach is a little bit more efficient, as you can skip the location indicating phrase (in, at etc.), due to them using the strict syntax. But, personally I prefer the Fantastical interface to add an appointment on macOS, because entering “/” will show a drop down list of your calendars to quickly select. There is also a drop down of the search results for the roughly specified location.
In regards to providing various views in portrait mode, calendar sets and url-scheme support Calendar 366 II does everything right. However the UI breaks some iOS conventions in regards to the size and spacing of touch targets. Overall the UI does feel a bit fragile, more laggy. Fantastical surely is coded in a more reliable way.
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I was going to drop Fantastical despite owning all the previous versions, because I thought they had disabled several views in the new Mac version, even for existing users. But that was a bug in the very early releases; it’s just fine now. And I’m not seeing lots of popups.
I do, however, think they’ve set the subscription a bit too high, but I realise that it’s probably a much more complex app than, say, Bear and Ulysses – which are the only other things I am (grudgingly) paying a subscription for. And I did find I missed that little pull-down on the taskbar, when I temporarily deleted it. So perhaps I’m too cheap.
I also own a copy of BusyCal, and I’ll be going back and looking at that again more closely now, but when I do eventually have to upgrade I might just possibly pay the Fantastical subscription.
(I’m also a big fan and long-time customer of Fastmail, BTW, but I’ve never looked at their Calendar options… must explore that too)
Thanks for your feedback, it’s really helpful!
That simple syntax you mention is just what I need (although it would be useful to add an alert through natural language).
I do enjoy what you mention about the drop down list for calendars.
Although I’m currently happy with my current setup (Fantastical 2 for iPhone and Ipad; stock calendar for MacOS), I’d like to have a consistent interface throughout my devices. From what I’ve understood, Calendar 366 seems to be the best app for this without subscribing to Fantastical 3.
Thanks for helping out!
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I’ve been using Gcal in browser and Apple Calendar on ios… but started a trial with Fantastical about a week ago. So far so good, I think I’ll become a subscriber!
I wonder how many new trials & subscribers they get from MacSparky’s influence!??