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Years ago, I decided to ditch my paper Filofax journal for my iPhone, only to quickly realize that Apple’s built-in Calendar app wasn’t entirely meeting my needs. Luckily, it didn’t take long to find the perfect third-party calendar app for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.
It’s called Fantastical – let me tell you about it.
Apple’s Calendar app might be relatively well-formed and functional – most of the time – but for anyone looking to take their personal organization to the next level, Fantastical, developer Flexibits’ long-time favorite, is a great option. The app’s wide array of features makes it easy to add tasks, manage calendars, and streamline your productivity. Let’s start with the basics, before looking at some of Fantastical’s power features.
Fantastic: the best calendar app
Screenshot: Joe White/Cult of Mac
What’s really good about Fantastical is the two-pane view of the app. On iOS this means you can see a monthly calendar on the top half of your iPhone (with colored dots indicating the number of events scheduled for each day), as well as a daily breakdown of events along the bottom half . .
Additionally, you can drag a divider icon to see more or less of either of these interfaces – shrinking the monthly view to a weekly view or expanding it to a year-round view.
Fantastical was one of the first calendar apps to add natural language scheduling support. This means that you can add a new event, such as “phone call Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. with Tim”, and Fantastical will analyze the relevant information in order to add a specific new event.
If you prefer manual entry, there’s also an additional keypad row providing easy-to-access numbers and certain symbols, making event scheduling both quick and convenient, whichever method you choose.
Powerful Features You Didn’t Know You Need
Screenshot: Joe White/Cult of Mac
Another great feature is Fantastical’s callback support. The app integrates with Apple’s own Reminders app and third-party apps, like Todoist (a personal favorite of mine), situating urgent tasks alongside events in its list interface. In this respect, Fantastical basically combines the functionality of two apps into one, saving valuable home screen space!
I also love that Fantastical offers upcoming weather forecasts (powered by AccuWeather), with weather icons located next to individual days. This helps users see if the event they are planning will be blocked by wind or rain. It’s a great bonus.
Fantastical also supports different time zones, which is great for users working in an international team. There’s also a neat watchOS app, allowing users to see upcoming events on their wrist.
On top of all that, you can set a custom home screen icon, create home screen widgets, and choose custom event colors and unique alert sounds in the app. These are all practical additions.
Download the fantastic calendar app
There’s so much to love about Fantastical – it really is the king of calendar apps.
Fantastical is free to download on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. However, to access some of the app’s powerful features, including Zoom and Teams support, event patterns, and preferred time zones, you’ll need to pay a monthly fee of $5 (or $40 per year).
Price: Free, with in-app purchases for premium features
Download from: iOS and iPadOS App Store and macOS App Store
