Cultured Code Announces 'Things 3' Task Manager for Mac, iOS, and Apple Watch

[Doug0915]

So...

I was a longtime user of Things 2. I got freaking tired of waiting. Looked hi and low and ended up migrating to 2do.

I wish culture code the best of luck with Things 3. It's pretty but the whole development cycle and cone of silence they put over it on what they were doing really turned me off.

The space is MUCH more competitive nowadays in the task management area. Their product looks (and I'm sure works) great but what is this giving me that I can't do on 2do? Nothing that I can tell.
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I liked Things when it first came out.

But man, how slow they are to include new features.

In their website they say they have around 8 employees. I guess they must be doing something else, because this product is just not worth it.

The author of 2do is ONE guy (which makes me fearful if anything ever happens to him) and look at what he's done in the SAME AMOUNT OF TIME.

 

[ScottNWDW]

Bruno, very well said.

 

[robbyx]

So...

I was a longtime user of Things 2. I got freaking tired of waiting. Looked hi and low and ended up migrating to 2do.

I wish culture code the best of luck with Things 3. It's pretty but the whole development cycle and cone of silence they put over it on what they were doing really turned me off.

The space is MUCH more competitive nowadays in the task management area. Their product looks (and I'm sure works) great but what is this giving me that I can't do on 2do? Nothing that I can tell.

I agree. Cultured Code took way too long to update Things. I started seeing features in other apps that I really wanted and Things grew more stale every day. The new version does look nice. The CC team does great UI work. But it seems like all of the new features have more or less been available in 2Do for some time. For those of us who made the switch to another app, I don't think CC has offered any compelling reason to return.

 

[Bruno Jenso]

I agree. Cultured Code took way too long to update Things. I started seeing features in other apps that I really wanted and Things grew more stale every day. The new version does look nice. The CC team does great UI work. But it seems like all of the new features have more or less been available in 2Do for some time. For those of us who made the switch to another app, I don't think CC has offered any compelling reason to return.

Cool, sounds like the 2Do team do a great job. I tried it once and found it good - I think I wasn't too fond of the UI at the time but I'm sure it's changed a lot.

 

[GerritV]

Long time Things user, although I temporarily worked with GoodTask.

Today I purchased Things 3 for iPad (my always-in-reach notebook) and iPhone (to do task reviews whenever I'm in a waiting room situation).
I decided to at least temporarily hold back on the Mac version because 1) I don't have my Mac with me all the time and 2) I can use Reminders on my Mac for brain dump and import/process them later on one of my iOS devices.

For those who complain about the price, the above might be worth considering.

With what I see now, Things 3 should have taken 1 year development, tops. CC took much more - well, it's at their expense. But yet again, in the end, they delivered top notch quality. Things can't be beaten IMHO.

 

[aristobrat]

Looking through my email receipts, I bought Things 2 in early 2011. It cost $49.

Got free updates to the app during 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

To me, that's not bad for $49.

Six years later, they haven't upped their price, and they haven't switched to the monthly subscription model that everyone seems to lose their head over...

 

[Krevnik]

Cool, sounds like the 2Do team do a great job. I tried it once and found it good - I think I wasn't too fond of the UI at the time but I'm sure it's changed a lot.

That's the general problem I've had with both 2Do and OmniFocus.

2Do has a good blend of structure and simplicity, but it tends to get bogged down in making sure you use start/due dates the way it wants you to. That and a few other UI annoyances mean that I find myself bailing on it. The UI is prettier, but it is still rather time consuming to use on mobile devices.

OmniFocus has great organization and useable filtering, but for me, I live and die by the focus list. And that's where OmniFocus really starts to fall apart for me. Custom Perspectives are great, until you cannot make them do what you want to do. You can get close, but I again tended to grind against the workflow often enough that I just wasn't happy with it.

But for me, there are small touches that Things has had in v2 that other apps don't quite get right, like the sync story (OmniFocus is getting better, but there's still too many pull to refresh moments), and Siri -> Inbox integration. Since some of those impact me every time I use the app, and make it easier to collect tasks in weird situations like driving, it's hard to let those go.

That said, I did manage to switch over to Trello for the last few months. Things 2 just wasn't structured enough to keep track of the more complicated things I deal with in a clean way. Trello also is more of a canvas where you can create your own workflow. So it does a pretty good job on that front if you don't like the enforced structure of OmniFocus or 2Do, but maybe like something more visual, or Kanban-esque.

Things 3 does make that much better so far. For even more complicated things, it won't be enough, but if you are in that realm, you are probably already using OmniFocus, and you should be if you aren't.

 

[CarlJ]

Fifty bucks for a task list app!!
is this made by the same company which made the $400 bag squeezing juicer?!
That's insane, and another twenty bucks for the iPhone app, which doesn't even include the watch app..
Is this just me, or is that crazy pricing?

Did you bother to read the article, or just jump straight to complaining? It's ten dollars for the iPhone app, which does include the watch app. Per the last paragraph of the article.

If it actually helps you organize your life, a $50 one-time purchase is quite cheap. If you don't need it, don't buy it. The juicer was made by idiots chasing after money. Cultured Code are not idiots. It appears they're just people who like writing great software.

 

[Bruno Jenso]

Looking through my email receipts, I bought Things 2 in early 2011. It cost $49.

Got free updates to the app during 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

To me, that's not bad for $49.

Six years later, they haven't upped their price, and they haven't switched to the monthly subscription model that everyone seems to lose their head over...

That's awesome to know - even better value than I remember. A while back there was another tread on Things with people hating on CC for the pricing. I just don't get it.
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That's the general problem I've had with both 2Do and OmniFocus.

2Do has a good blend of structure and simplicity, but it tends to get bogged down in making sure you use start/due dates the way it wants you to. That and a few other UI annoyances mean that I find myself bailing on it. The UI is prettier, but it is still rather time consuming to use on mobile devices.

OmniFocus has great organization and useable filtering, but for me, I live and die by the focus list. And that's where OmniFocus really starts to fall apart for me. Custom Perspectives are great, until you cannot make them do what you want to do. You can get close, but I again tended to grind against the workflow often enough that I just wasn't happy with it.

But for me, there are small touches that Things has had in v2 that other apps don't quite get right, like the sync story (OmniFocus is getting better, but there's still too many pull to refresh moments), and Siri -> Inbox integration. Since some of those impact me every time I use the app, and make it easier to collect tasks in weird situations like driving, it's hard to let those go.

That said, I did manage to switch over to Trello for the last few months. Things 2 just wasn't structured enough to keep track of the more complicated things I deal with in a clean way. Trello also is more of a canvas where you can create your own workflow. So it does a pretty good job on that front if you don't like the enforced structure of OmniFocus or 2Do, but maybe like something more visual, or Kanban-esque.

Things 3 does make that much better so far. For even more complicated things, it won't be enough, but if you are in that realm, you are probably already using OmniFocus, and you should be if you aren't.

Trello is all shades of awesome in it's own special way. Love that companies style.

 

[iDento]

1. The price is ok, not cheap but look at the prices of other productivity apps such as OmniFocus, Fantastical. If you want free apps, use free apps, you're not the target audience anyway. Also, Im happy they didn't go the subscription way.
2. Feature-wise, it's brilliant. Too many features works against you in these kind of apps and the features they chose to include are just the ones 95% of people need. The others will use OmniFocus which is also a great app for sure.
3. The design is...the best...I wish all developers have such high standards, including Apple itself these days.

 

[nevheatley3]

I am a big OmniFocus fan, but have downloaded the Things 3 iOS app to get some idea of whether I would fully switch. First impression is that it is very clean. I am having difficulties with "extra" steps to do recurring reminders, but overall it appears to be very robust, especially with checklists adding a tertiary drill down (areas - projects - tasks - checklists).

For busy people, $50 is worth the ability to competently stay on top of your life. I also agree with what has been said about the updates. Calling Things a "task list" app is comedic at the least.

I think the difference between Things and Omnifocus is mainly on how you process things at this point, although there are some differing features.

The main thing I am enjoying in Things 3 at the moment is the Today/Evening screen.

It is worth the 14 day trial for the Mac version at least, to try it out.

 

[Bruno Jenso]

Another point. Whilst Things sync was an extremely long and painful wait - they totally nailed it when they finally got there. Most syncing software is still not as robust as the modern world would have us believe (iCloud cough!). Things sync is hands down the most impressive sync I've ever used - and boy is it fast.

 

[k2director]

Almost $50 for a pretty version of reminders or Wunderlist?! Come on!!!!!

I actually bought Things v1 back in the day when it was novel and this sort of tool never existed. Then they told me I would have to pay for their poorly implemented "cloud" feature and not they want $50 for this?

How does this company still exist?????

Cultured Code definitely took its time in making Things 3....but along the way, they also added lots of functionality to the older versions and personally, I thought their Cloud implementation was ROCK SOLID and an impressive demonstration of putting performance first, instead of developer convenience (look at Real Mac Software's crappy Cloud services to see what happens when a developer just decides to rely on iCloud or DropBox for synching...).

Anyway, Things 3 looks very very polished. We'll see, but for someone who uses a task manager every day, $50 for custom apps on three different devices is not a lot to ask.

 

[hagar]

I agree with the overal sentiment that their lack of communication, shutting down their community forum when too much negative comments were posted and the painfully slow update cycle are very negative points. But overal I quite liked Things 2, although it had some quirks I never got used to.

Things 3 looks very sleek, but I can't figure out why collaboration and sharing are still missing? I remember from the painful Things Cloud rollout that they implemented their backend from scratch so they had a robust platform to build features on. But here we are, 5+ years later and no collaboration?? For me that's a huge minus. It might be ideal for people working alone, but not being able to share a list with your team or spouse is not very 2017. Especially at these price points.

 

[philosopherdog]

If you can't afford it. 1. Make more money 2. Find something cheaper 3. Go to windows. But for god sake stop complaining. Turns out developers need to eat too. Who knew.

 

[iDento]

If you can't afford it. 1. Make more money 2. Find something cheaper 3. Go to windows. But for god sake stop complaining. Turns out developers need to eat too. Who knew.

If you can't afford it, or can't appreciate what it can do, it's not meant for you!

As a manager of a medical center, and it's only general dentist, a husband and a Dad, 80$ to organize my chaotic life is like having an assistant for 80$ per 5 years...that's her salary!!!

Expensive they said!!!

 

[pickaxe]

If you can't afford it. 1. Make more money 2. Find something cheaper 3. Go to windows. But for god sake stop complaining. Turns out developers need to eat too. Who knew.

There's no reason to get so passive aggressive. I can certainly afford it. At the same time, I can also question whether or not it's actually worth it.

 

[beanbaguk]

If you can't afford it. 1. Make more money 2. Find something cheaper 3. Go to windows. But for god sake stop complaining. Turns out developers need to eat too. Who knew.

This is the most ridiculous I've seen in ages. But then again, it shows many people will pay for a polished turd.
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I agree. I for one do not mind paying for software that I will use. If there is software that I will use on a daily basis and enriches my life I don't mind paying for the privilege to use it whether it be a one-time shot or an annual or monthly subscription. That's why I happily pay for OmniFocus, Office 365, Pocket Informant etc.

I don't get where people think they are going to get quality software for free or they expect software to be free. On top of that they are usually the ones that complain the most and loudest when their free software doesn't work as well or do what they expect it to do. Yet at the same time they no that that "expensive" software that costs less than $2 a month will do exactly what they want, but God forbid they have to give up that 1latte every 2-3 months to pay for it.

Because it's not quality.

I also pay for Office365, Adobe Photograoher Suite, Evernote, Xmind, and many more. Things is a continual disappointment and as many have mentioned, it hasn't got collaboration features??????
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Cultured Code definitely took its time in making Things 3....but along the way, they also added lots of functionality to the older versions and personally, I thought their Cloud implementation was ROCK SOLID and an impressive demonstration of putting performance first, instead of developer convenience (look at Real Mac Software's crappy Cloud services to see what happens when a developer just decides to rely on iCloud or DropBox for synching...).

Anyway, Things 3 looks very very polished. We'll see, but for someone who uses a task manager every day, $50 for custom apps on three different devices is not a lot to ask.

Just a correction, it's $80 for all three apps.

 

[JuBe]

I'm tinkering with the trial version, and I'm trying to start with a clean slate (I admit that I have been a heavy critic of their development time, their coy responses to their customers, and times when they have explicitly white-washed Wikipedia of cited facts), but I'm having a hard time convincing myself that I would take the plunge after the trial period is up. One thing has immediately jumped out at me, and it could just be that I'm not used to it, is how you go about setting alerts for tasks. The whole "reminders" thing (i.e., setting a timed alert) just doesn't seem be intuitive. The truth is, I can't just switch between task managing apps willy-nilly, and right now, despite a long list of new features, it feels like the biggest development has been a move away from skeuomorphism. With a development cycle that feels inspired by Duke Nukem, it's hard for me to feel like it is worth the time and energy re-investing in a platform that takes this long to make an update that is sort of par with where it should be and has been so cavalier with customer concerns about that.

 

[hagar]

No collaboration features, and just noticed it's not integrated with Spotlight on macOS or iOS. Also, for an app that coasts on its looks, it's disappointing there are no previews when attaching links or photos like in Apple Notes. Just textual links and file names.

And while these features might be coming in the future, history teaches us this will may well take a couple of years. So when purchasing these apps, don't do it because you expect new features to be added soon. But do it because you like the way they function now.

 

[GerritV]

Reviewhttps://www.macstories.net/reviews/things-3-beauty-and-delight-in-a-task-manager/

There's no reason to get so passive aggressive. I can certainly afford it. At the same time, I can also question whether or not it's actually worth it.

Can't help but wondering how many of the price whiners here will be standing in line soon enough (like they might do every single year) to purchase the newest + $1000 iPhone, and ask themselves that very same question "Is it actually worth it?"
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No collaboration features, and just noticed it's not integrated with Spotlight on macOS or iOS. Also, for an app that coasts on its looks, it's disappointing there are no previews when attaching links or photos like in Apple Notes. Just textual links and file names.

And while these features might be coming in the future, history teaches us this will may well take a couple of years. So when purchasing these apps, don't do it because you expect new features to be added soon. But do it because you like the way they function now.

You can't know that for sure, unless CC decides to dedicate their development resources on the v4 development. as of tomorrow. Until proven otherwise, I trust they're on top of things now (pun intended) and ready to add functionalities in the coming months.
But then again, I'm not adicted to "New!!! New !!! New!!!"

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

One wants quality, one must pay for it.

 

[TheNormsk]

I purchased Things when it was new. In the end I gave up on it because of planned features that never appears (at least after a year or more). In the end I switch to 2Do. That app alas lost me after the last redesign. The question is, do I try Things again. I still feel burned from years ago...

 

[Internet Enzyme]

Cultured Code today officially released an all-new version of Things, the personal task manager software for Mac, iOS, and Apple Watch.

Things 3 brings an overhauled user interface and multiple new features to the to-do apps, which continue to use Things Cloud to seamlessly sync across devices.

First up is the new design, offering a stripped-down look that aims to integrate the old features with the new, and put user content front and center. For example, to-dos are adaptive to their content, and can look like straight text on a piece of paper, or include additional details like tags, checklists, a start date, or a deadline. These fields also respond to a range of gestures (drag and drop, swipe, tap to expand, mark complete) to make organization easier.

Other refinements include the ability to search across the entire app by pulling down inside any list to trigger Quick Find, which offers immediate access to to-dos, lists, tags, and more. There's also a progress indicator for projects, indicating their status at a glance.

The Today and Upcoming screens have been re-imagined, and now display both calendar events and to-dos together, with events for the day shown in a timeline at the top. Every day at midnight, the next day's to-dos appear at the top of the Today list. There's also a new section called "This Evening" to make it easier to structure your day.

Things 3 also introduces headings, which can be used to break up milestones in projects and make them easier to grasp. Another new structural tool are checklists within individual to-dos, making it possible to break down tasks even further.

In addition, Things 3 features a new way to create to-dos called the Magic Plus Button. The button lives in the corner of the screen and can be either tapped or dragged up to a particular list to generate the to-do in a specific location. The button can also be used to quickly create and place headings in new projects.

Elsewhere, the iOS app now offers multiple item selection and easier list editing interactions, while the macOS version features a Slim Mode for better focus and the ability to open multiple windows with drag-and-drop support between them. Time-based reminders have also been added to the task manager, offering instant sync between devices. And a new feature called Type Travel enables fast navigation to any project, area, or to-do in the app.

Finally, the all-new Things brings an updated Apple Watch app, Wunderlist/OmniFocus import, a new structure for Areas, and Touch Bar support on MacBook Pros.

The apps will be available in the App Store as one-time purchases for Mac ($49.99), iPad ($19.99), and iPhone/Watch ($9.99). They are a paid update for existing customers, who can take advantage of a 20% discount on all apps during launch week (offer ends on May 25). A 14-day trial of Things for Mac is available on the Cultured Code website.

Article Link: Cultured Code Announces 'Things 3' Task Manager for Mac, iOS, and Apple Watch

Before I saw the picture I thought that the app was an alternative to Activity Monitor. Could such a third party app even exist?

 

[windowpain]

Did you bother to read the article, or just jump straight to complaining? It's ten dollars for the iPhone app, which does include the watch app. Per the last paragraph of the article.

If it actually helps you organize your life, a $50 one-time purchase is quite cheap. If you don't need it, don't buy it. The juicer was made by idiots chasing after money. Cultured Code are not idiots. It appears they're just people who like writing great software.

Yes, I read the article.
I just typed iPhone instead of iPad...which is an additional 20bucks.

I have no problem at all paying for software.
I have no problem at all supporting developers, I know they have eat.
I am not poor, I can afford fifty bucks, and don't spend $4 at time on lattes everyday, and am not 'an entitled millennial wanting everything for free'. I also don't have a $1000 iPhone.

Look, it looks like a nice app (I even bought things 1 back in the day) and I am sure it is very useful for some people..if you want it spend 80 bucks on a task manager have at it.

But it is overpriced in my opinion, and it would be more suitably priced with the decimal point moved one place to the left.