It hurts me very much to give Fantastical a bad review. In the past I loved Fantastical 2 (until it developed some problems with the synchronization recently). When I watched Fantastical 3, I was highly shocked: A calendar app with subscription? No, thanks. I understand that a subscription has many advantages for developers, but years ago I left 1Password for the reason, now I will leave Fantastical 3. A price of almost 60 dollars per year is just too much - thanks, but no thanks.
I loved Fantastical, but found the subscription rate to be a bit too expensive. Also, I wan't happy using the companion on my iPhone, as it doesn't have the same features Reminders has (allowing converting an email to a reminder that you can click on and see the original email). So even though I could keep on using the v2 features, they weren't enough. The v3 features would make this a more useful app than Apple's apps, but given the new pricing model, I'll have to pass.
If you definitely need the v3 features and can afford the subscription, I'm sure this app will deliver what you're expecting. But with nearly everything wanting a subscription. the cost of paying for all of them would be many $hundreds / year, and that's just too much.
I will Never Never Never pay for a subscription! Just as I had to give up 1Password after being a long time user and fan, I will toss Fantastical and never give it a second thought as I switch to a more deserving (meaning less greedy) app developer and their product. If other people would simply say NO, the subscription model would go the way of the dinosaur. Sad to say, but most consumers are weak-minded and passive.
I see a lot of people are upset about the new subscription model. I do agree it's *way* overpriced (do the math: after 5 years you'll have paid $200!), but as a purchaser several years ago, the now-paid features I use (like multiple calendar sets and duplicate combining) haven't been taken away. Having said that, I don't use most of the premium features anyway (tasks, invites & scheduling, Hangouts/Zoom, templates), so do with that what you will.
Having said all that, Fantastical is still the best calendar app for Mac by leaps and bounds, with a much better UI and features nobody else has. The calendar sets are a huge improvement over every other app (with a keystroke, I can quickly switch between work calendars, private calendars, and calendars I share with family), the Menu Bar UI is great, v3 finally makes the full-screen view an actual app that you can reach via CMD+TAB.
Shortcomings: User cannot choose to show empty days in the scrolling view (I want to see my empty days!), all-day events with short names appear side-by-side instead of in a list (which makes events just look like a jumble), I'd prefer timed events to be in a colored bar just like all-day events instead of just having a colored dot (should be an option), and v3 changed the Menu Bar dropdown to be white on top, so the fields for entering new events and searching now blend in with the calendar instead of standing out like they should.
So, in short, leaps and bounds better than any competitor, but room for improvement, and yes, the new subscription pricing is way too much. Fantastical has always been pricy, but changing from $50 once to $40 *per year* is ridiculous, and this bad choice is going to hurt the app's market share and discourage new user uptake, which is a shame because Fantastical is fantastic.
Great app, nice graphics, functional! I wouldn’t swap it for another calendar.
Luckily I bought it before it became accessible only through subscription! I just need the basic functions!
I have been a longtime user of Fantastical, although on and off, I have been using it since their first version. I loved the app which I used instead of the Apple calendar apps on all my devices. Now, to push Fantastical 3's subscription plans they stripped Fantastical of basic features such as fullscreen view on iPhone. This is a perfect example of a developer being GREEDY beyond the minimum respect for his longtime customers. I feel cheated out of the basic benefits I had in exchange for a load of crap useless features for me. They know that many of the features they put on their subscription plan are useless for most people, so they ripped some basic features off from the exiting package and shoved them in the paid subscription version. Shameful, really! Not even Apple would do it that away. I will hold on to the app, hoping that Flexibits makes a u-turn. It is perhaps not surprising that I could not find the option to contact them on their webpage. They do not want to talk to us... which says it all.
Fantastical 2 was the best Smart phone calendar ever made. THEN THEY GOT GREEDY AND RUINED IT WITH FANTACTICAL 3. Prior to the update, Fantactica 2 was almost perfect and all features worked well and would work on your Apple Watch. I love this app so much that I bough a copy for my iPhone, my iPad and 4 more copies, one for each of my adult children. Then FLEXBIT GOT GREEDY and turned it into a monthly subscription that brought nothing new I wanted to use. It will no longer work with my Apple Watch and does not even give me the option for a complication on the watch to use. I have written to Flexbit and they only sent me link to suggestions that do not work. They will not work with me on this issue and have ignored my emails for help. I WANT MY FANTASTICAL 2 BACK. ibornery@aol.com
Does not warn of paid upgrade. New subscription option does not fill my needs and is overpriced in my opinion. Managed to downgrade to V2 for now but will switch to a different app. I don't wish to have anything to do with flexibits anymore.
It seems like very time they get the watch version working, they break it in the next version. Now, the watch version no longer gets updated. Totally useless and now Fantastical goes into the trash once and for all. And BTW, the new layout is terrible.
Fantastical is "history" for me. For this price and as a subscription, no thanks.Their discussion to switch to subscription, my discussion to use a different calendar software.
One star for ... hmmm ... not sure.
Fantastical is "history" for me. For this price and as a subscription, no thanks.Their discussion to switch to subscription, my discussion to use a different calendar software.
MacUpdate - how is it that Cookie08's 4-star, 1 week old review that has 1 Like (as of now) appears front and center at the top of the comments list with a big green "Most Helpful" checkbox?? There are literally tons of reviews for the same version with plenty more Likes all panning this software with MUCH lower ratings. This just isn't right. BTW - I'm certainly not arguing with Cookie08 here - he's entitled to his opinion. My beef here is entirely with MacUpdate.
Fantastical 3 Upgrade Violates App Store developer guidelines - is it legit, legal ?
Paid for a great app - Now a Smooth rip off - Just one example that we paid for separately for both iPhone and iPad - Day/week/month/year full screen view now has to be paid for again - taking away functionality! Plus giving us nasty pop ups free! More examples below
Apple App Store Developer Guidelines - iOS iPadOS Mac
3.1.2(a) Permissible uses - “If you are changing your existing app to a subscription-based business model, you should not take away the primary functionality existing users have already paid for.” ?
3.1.2 (b) Upgrades and Downgrades - “Users should have a seamless upgrade/downgrade experience...” ?
2.3.1 - “to make the App Store a trustworthy ecosystem...” ?
Existing Fantastical 2 users who had already paid per device now have to pay (again) subs to access features we previously had paid for
The following features have been removed for fantastical 2 users: (Gone :-(
Day/week/month/year full screen view
Time to leave notifications
Apple watch viewing - you now need to make an account to do this?!
Shared calendar change notifications
Full fledged Push updates
Full fledged Calendar sync
Family sync - previously, one account was needed, however now, each user needs to purchase a subscription. so if you have a family, each one must sub.
Now we constant reminders to upgrade and reduced functionality.
No saying what nasty surprise the developer/company Flexibits Inc will throw at us in future
Really wonder what the Apple iOS ipados App Review Team gets paid for!
I've enjoyed using Fantastical for several years, now. It has a couple of features that make it a little more attractive than Apple's Calendar. But, it's not $40 a year better! I'll try this new update (v. 3) for a while. If I like it, fine. If the expected ads, and other rumored changes, aren't to my liking, I will switch back to Apple's Calendar. I will not pay an annual premium.
Flexibits are on another planet with the new v3.0 update.
Firstly, they think they are being "beyond generous" (their words on Twitter), by allowing paid customers to continue using the features they already paid after auto-updating to the new version!! Wow! Well, thanks very much, I guess...
Secondly, the v3 user experience is hugely reduced for v2 users. Many people have had to jump through numerous hoops just to use the app and sign up for a never-needed-before Flexibits account. Parts of it still aren't working for many even after a couple of bug-fix releases. The nice clean interface of v2 is gone and it's now a minefield of asterisks and popups advertising the premium features. Using the app has gone from being a pleasure to a chore trying to avoid mis-clicks triggering yet another advert, and there's no option to turn these ads off.
Thirdly, the pricing ($40 a year) is ridiculous, especially if you only use it on one platform. They say it's to fund future development and they have a full roadmap of enhancements and new features to implement. However, they haven't published this roadmap, so potential customers have no idea what they're actually paying for going forward. Fantastical already does pretty much everything a calendar app needs to so its difficult to see what 'must-have' features there are left to add. Developers either add very little to subscription apps because they know they've got your money anyway, or start adding more bloat and features nobody wanted to try to justify the cost. Considering Fantastical v2 (for iOS) came out over 6 years ago, the pace of development hasn't exactly been fast.
I don't understand how Flexibits thinks it's reasonable to expect anyone with common sense to pay $40/year minimum for a "calendar on steroid." It's a solution in need of problems to solve. Most people don't need or want a fancy calendar loaded with bells and whistles. The only type of people who would pay for Fantastical 3 is Flexibits fanboys and productivity porn addicts who would rather spend more time optimizing and tweaking their workflows than doing the actual work.
I'm Not continuing with you Flexibit. I have used Fantastical and then Fantastical 2 on all my devices: Mac, iPhone, and iPad, for ages. If I'm being treated in such disrespect by asking me to pay another 40$ a 'full features" annual subscription, then, I'm jumping off the boat and returning to Apple Calendar. Stopping using Fantastical on all my devices at once!
I am abandoning the sinking ship. If after paying full price for Fantastical, and then for Fantastical 2 on all platforms, and still. got to pay 40$ a. year, I'm returning to Apple calendar on all my Mac, iPhone, and iPad. I'm very disappointed.
These guys just peed and pooped in their own pool with all of their customers still in it. I'm abandoning Fantastical and just going back to simpler times with Apple's products.
I've been a long term user and paid full price ($70) for the app on all platforms. The fact that we aren't being grandfathered in (beyond the continued use of the Version 2 features we've already paid for), is incredibly frustrating. Now please note, I have nothing against subscription models in principle, and I love supporting devs that make the apps I love, but when the loyal customer base isn't treated with respect that is horrific business planning.
DayOne did this right. Existing paid users got to keep a lifetime discount when they switched to the subscription model, and I love paying it! They respected their customers, and we existing Fantastical 2 users have been disrespected.
I wouldn't mind paying $20/yr. for Fantastical. I really wouldn't. But $40 a year, when I've already spent $70, is absurd. Flexbit has unreal expectations, and until they fix this their reputation will suffer.
Before downloading the 3.0, keep a backup of the old one
Just if you don't want to be pestered by UPGRADE now and loosing features.
I'm really upset that it essentially broke the Mac app: it removed Day, Week, Month, and Year views (all views!) with a message "Day view is only available with Fantastical Premium".
Where is the promise about keeping all the features you had in Fantastical 2?!
If they wanted to go to a subscription method, fine, but do not delete the apps I paid for in full. Other developers have just created a new version of their app and left their old paid apps as "Classic" and left them unsupported.
I'm done with Fantastical as well. I paid for Desktop and iPhone. Today I looked down at my watch and I had a message it lost touch with fantastical. I found out that they updated to this new subscription model and they say you can keep the same features without the subscription. Then why is it gone on my watch? I am not doing another subscription. Everything is a subscription. I paid for the app and now what I paid for no longer works. I don't find it to be all that much better than the apple products that come free with my computer. Good by Fantastical. No longer fantastic.
Went to a subscription model with mandatory account creation - pricing model (for a calendar app, this is a joke) is ridiculous. I deleted the App across all my devices... it was good while it lasted. (before V3)
Did ANYONE commenting on the subscription model even bother to read the blog post on their website? It specifically says, “ All of the features from your prior purchase of Fantastical 2 will continue to work with the new Fantastical.”
My definite "NO" to this subscription model. I feel cheated as I have purchased it at the full price. They are surely going to neglect those ones who are not paying them regularly. I've deleted the app.
This is continues to be my main daily business calendar. When Apple split Calendar to have Reminders as a separate app, it made no sense to me. Events and tasks should be in the same program. Well Fantastical is a better calendar and reminder app than either of Apple's apps are individually. My only complaint is there's not enough contrast in the light theme mode, so I have to use the dark theme mode. Other than that, it's the best calendar/reminder app I've used on the Mac.
Love it. It's been my default calendar and reminder app on my Mac and iOS devices for years. I do wish completed reminders would sync more quickly (i.e; marking a reminder completed on one device may mark the reminder completed on another device, but you're still presented with an alert for that same reminder on other devices, especially if that reminder is for a recurring event).
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