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

[xyion1]

This update looks nice, however the reason that I won't purchase is because it seems that there is no online/web version of the app. I have a Mac at home, a personal iPhone and Apple watch however at the office I am issued a Windows PC. During the day I just leave a browser open with the webapp and enter/complete tasks as they come - its just faster using the keyboard and mouse instead of picking up the phone and entering. I've probably tried them all (2Do, Wunderlist, Remember the Milk) and have been using Todoist for the past year or so (paid version).

I also like that Todoist has syntax for quickly adding Tags, Projects, and Priorities (and also natural date parsing) while Things only seems to have natural date parsing and even then only on the Mac app. I don't share/collaborate much but that seems like another missing feature from Things.

It looks beautifully designed however for $10 + $50 I'm left wondering if the utility is there (I'd skip the iPad app...$20 for a barely-used app is not for me). $60 would cover like 2 years of Todoist premium and CC seems to ship paid upgrades every 3-5 years, so I'm actually paying more for Todoist comparatively. Not saying Todoist is perfect, it isn't by any means, but it just works better for me. (No webapp is also the reason I am not keen on OmniFocus).

 

[brentonbrenton]

I think I'm personally going to wait and see on this Things update. Could it be a blessing or a curse that it has arrive just before WWDC? What if Apple introduces amazing (doubtful) updates to iOS or the calendar/notes/reminders apps that makes Things 3 moot? Or if Apple introduces biggish changes (UI or under the hood), how long would it take Things 3 to update/adapt?

My hesitations come that Things 3 has been a work in progress for a number of years, despite the minor updates. If they felt a little more robust with updates, more open about upcoming features (collaboration?, previewing links/files within app?) I'd be more willing to play ball.

 

[BWhaler]

I bought all three apps, and after using them today, I couldn't be more pleased. As Steve said, design is how,it works, not how it looks, and the new apps are huge improvements in design..
The workflow on iOS is so much better.

For those who,say they need something else, I get it; we are all different. For those who think 60 bucks with no perpetual rental subscription, free syncing and years of updates, is an outrageous price, I'd say you're the reason we can't have nice things. If you want fantastic software, you have to be willing to pay for it.

I'm excited about this new software. For me and my needs, it's a great update.

 

[canyonblue737]

The one thing, the one and only thing, that gives me pause... lack of collaboration or sharing. Can a guy share a darn grocery list with the wife in real time? It's 2017, I'll pay the $50+$20+10 but come on, at least put in core features that belong in to-do lists at those prices.

 

[johannnn]

Man they took an eternity to release version 3. I was a heavy user of version 2 a long time ago, but then there was NO functionality update for years. Finally moved to Omnifocus which puts out updates on a regular basis. So I'm not even considering buying version 3, because even if I'm happy now, I'm gonna complain again in a year or two about the lack of updates.

 

[ScottNWDW]

The one thing, the one and only thing, that gives me pause... lack of collaboration or sharing. Can a guy share a darn grocery list with the wife in real time? It's 2017, I'll pay the $50+$20+10 but come on, at least put in core features that belong in to-do lists at those prices.

If all you want is to share a shopping list there are two great apps especially for that, one is haiku and the other is Any List.

 

[johannnn]

If all you want is to share a shopping list there are two great apps especially for that, one is haiku and the other is Any List.

Why not Reminders.app with a family account?

 

[ArisaemaDracont]

I've been a Things user... for ages.

Overall, this seems like a solid update. The "This Evening" feature would really fit into my workflow and being able to sync with my calendar's events and have my events and tasks for the day in one place would be great. Checklists will be useful.

However, it is missing several key features I've been waiting-for for a long time. The most critical being collaboration. A second is the ability to prioritize or color-code tasks. These are borderline unacceptable omissions, and with Cultured Codes secretive policies, we have no way to know if they will ever be added.

The new look is clean, but could be more compact. Some ability to auto-sort task would be nice.

The price is very reasonable for a valuable productivity, something that I'll use more than nearly any other piece of software. But I'll take the time now to compare this new version with other options on the market before I decide who gets my money.

 

[macintoshmac]

One thing I genuinely miss is ability to use the service online, or on Android. As of right now, I have no phone with me, let alone an iPhone with me (a story in itself) and the only thing I have is an Android tablet that I am using for hotspot purposes. Along with my Mac. I just found myself searching for Things on Google Play Store. So, if I must use Things, I ought to use it on my Mac alone at the moment. (which I am: giving Things 3 a whirl)

ToDoist is one app whose cross-platform nature has been really liberating over the last two years. If not any app, I can login to the service online. That is a huge bonus, a huge advantage. Things should at least have an online service, that will also potentially increase the user base.

 

[Bruno Jenso]

The one thing, the one and only thing, that gives me pause... lack of collaboration or sharing. Can a guy share a darn grocery list with the wife in real time? It's 2017, I'll pay the $50+$20+10 but come on, at least put in core features that belong in to-do lists at those prices.

You have a fair point about this, even though I have no need of collaboration and the feature set is enough for me CC should probably have included this for v3.

 

[TwiceNightly]

I've been lucky enough to use the beta of T3 for a while now and I'm still a bit torn between it and Omnifocus.

When you have a lot of tasks in a project Omnifocus seems to be a lot better at managing them, especially when you are using subtasks. In T3 if you want your subtasks visible at all times to get a good overview of a project then you have to include them under headers - if you add subtasks inside a task they get hidden unless the task is clicked open.

I made a test project in Things 3 and Omnifocus to see how they look and I maybe prefer how Omnifocus looks, what do you guys think?

 

[nnoble]

[QUOTE="pickaxe, post: 24588786, member: 769096" I have to say I'm quite underwhelmed. Not much has changed at all, other then the design (which I don't even like, stick to the damn human interface guidelines).[/QUOTE]
'Not much has changed......' is misleading to say the least.

 

[matthewjrallen]

Is it possible to sync Things 3 with my todo list in Fantastical 2 which I think uses the apple reminders?

 

[macintoshmac]

I've been lucky enough to use the beta of T3 for a while now and I'm still a bit torn between it and Omnifocus.

When you have a lot of tasks in a project Omnifocus seems to be a lot better at managing them, especially when you are using subtasks. In T3 if you want your subtasks visible at all times to get a good overview of a project then you have to include them under headers - if you add subtasks inside a task they get hidden unless the task is clicked open.

I made a test project in Things 3 and Omnifocus to see how they look and I maybe prefer how Omnifocus looks, what do you guys think?

Would you mind labelling the files according to the software? I have not used T3 as well as Omni and can't figure which is which! Both look fine, just that the extra highlighting in one photo looks better.

 

[hagar]

Is it possible to sync Things 3 with my todo list in Fantastical 2 which I think uses the apple reminders?

As far as I see, not. Everything you put in Things is locked in. No export, sync, sharing, collaboration, web access, API or IFTTT channel. Very disappointing for 2017 and an app 4 years in the making.

 

[TwiceNightly]

Would you mind labelling the files according to the software? I have not used T3 as well as Omni and can't figure which is which! Both look fine, just that the extra highlighting in one photo looks better.

Not sure how to do that now that they are already uploaded!

The one with the Blue headers is Things 3
The one with the circle checkboxes and the Orange sync icon at the top right is Omnifocus

 

[macintoshmac]

Not sure how to do that now that they are already uploaded!

The one with the Blue headers is Things 3
The one with the circle checkboxes and the Orange sync icon at the top right is Omnifocus

CC T3 is definitely spacious. It looks cleaner, and I think it looks that way just because of the white space. Omni looks a little taut in comparison.

 

[Krevnik]

However, it is missing several key features I've been waiting-for for a long time. The most critical being collaboration. A second is the ability to prioritize or color-code tasks. These are borderline unacceptable omissions, and with Cultured Codes secretive policies, we have no way to know if they will ever be added.

Collab is definitely useful in certain scenarios, but it hasn't been a dealbreaker for me. Usually when I need to collaborate on something, there's already a tool that's better suited to that specific purpose (Reminders / Any List for shared Grocery checklists), or I'm forced into using a particular tool by management that isn't meant as a task manager for individuals (Visual Studio Online for example).

As for prioritization, I can see it being useful, but I tend to fall into the pattern of using Things where tasks live on a backlog. Higher priority things are higher on the backlog, lower priority things are lower on the backlog. As long as I work from top to bottom in terms of projects/tasks, I'm working in priority order even without the feature of setting priorities. The "drag new to insert in current list at specific place" feature in v3 is really helpful in that regard. So for "backlog" use, not needing to set a field with priority is actually a great way to simplify the workflow. But if you want auto-sorting by priority, it's much less useful.

 

[@C_caffeinated]

While I loved Things 2 and was a heavy user, I begrudgingly purchased the app 3 times for Mac, IOS (iPhone), iOS (iPad). nearly $100 at the time. So to say I have a lot invested in a To-Do app is an understatement. I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for Things 3. Only to find out there is no upgrade path, nada, zip, zero.

So as an active user and an evangelist for the platform, my reward for my dedication and patience is to PAY $64. SO DISAPPOINTED. I have planned many awesome things with Things, but I don't plan on being a fool anytime soon.

 

[ScottNWDW]

I have made the plunge and bought all three versions, I tried the free trial for a few hours and was hooked. On my Mac and iOS devices I have several task apps running at the same time. I like them all and Things 3 is now in that mix. Unlike Things 2, This is a HUGE improvement over Things 2 and will likely stay on my devices. The interface is clean and intuitive, The "Magic Button" is awesome and using the headers and such on projects really makes things easy. I like yjr progress circle on projects and creating checklists was so simple. I highly recommend Things 3. I may have to re-think some of the other apps I was using as Things 3 has improved so much and it's simple clean views are so much nicer to work with.

For those wondering I am also using, 2Do, ToDo Cloud, OmniFocus 2, and Informant. I like features of all four of these programs. For main calendaring I do use Informant (both iOS and Mac). My primary task app has been OmniFocus 2. I've been using ToDo and Informant since they first came out and I tried Things and Things 2 in the past. 2Do itself is a nice app and to be honest I don't really use it all that much.

In the past I have tried Fantastical 2, BusyCal3. Both are nice but they always had some glitch that messed up my calendars. None of the apps that are currently on my system has ever screwed up my calendars or task lists like those two have.

 

[macintoshmac]

Playing around with the Mac app some more, I realise how nice the natural language recognition is in ToDoist. I can type "call mason tomorrow 11am" and it will automatically set a task to call mason tomorrow at 11am along with the appropriate reminders. T3 lacks this, big time. I typed "call mason tomorrow 11am" and it did nothing, but create the task with the exact text.

 

[jpooh]

I hate when they don't do an UPDATE for PAID software that isn't universal or charges me twice for Mac and iOS device.
That being said, I use Things 2.0; everyday and really have a hard time trying to figure out if I should make the update.

 

[TwiceNightly]

I think it's ok to charge again for an app but it seems a bit much to charge separately for the iPhone and iPad app these days.

T3 does do natural language, you need to type it in the "when" part of the app, or if you're on the iPhone go into when and pull down and start typing, it works really nicely.

 

[jpooh]

I think it's ok to charge again for an app but it seems a bit much to charge separately for the iPhone and iPad app these days.

T3 does do natural language, you need to type it in the "when" part of the app, or if you're on the iPhone go into when and pull down and start typing, it works really nicely.

Agreed. Charging so much is where it gets me !
Has anyone tried it ??
I'd love to know if on due date, you can add a TIME not only a DATE ?

 

[ScottNWDW]

Agreed. Charging so much is where it gets me !
Has anyone tried it ??
I'd love to know if on due date, you can add a TIME not only a DATE ?

keep in mind that Things 2 came out in 2012, it's 5 years later. I don't get where people thing that developers should upgrade the app for free perpetually. They need to make a living as well. If you use Things 2 everyday like you say you do, then spending the money should be a no-brainer. I have no problem paying for software that I use. If you were use another app that has a subscription base, you'd pay about $16 a year - or more. If you paid for Things 3 at full price it'd be about the same if the next paid upgrade takes 5 years like the time it's taken between 2-3.

To answer your question though YES you can now set a time on a due date.