Fantastical 2.1 for Mac now includes OS X El Capitan’s split-screen feature + much more

- Sep. 23rd 2015 7:00 am PT

Fantastical 2.0 notably upgraded the smart calendar menu bar utility to a full-sized calendar app in March. Following that massive release, Flexibits is back today with the first big update that builds on that it.

Fantastical 2.1 for Mac adds full El Capitan support ahead of OS X 10.11’s release next week (which should be welcome news to El Capitan public beta and developer testers now). In addition to general stability that you would expect, OS X 10.11 support includes El Capitan’s new split-screen feature for viewing and resizing two full-screen apps side-by-side.

Fantastical’s developers say the new release also fulfills the vast majority of feature requests after version 2.0 that users have requested. The result is more refined Fantastical 2 for Mac with an extensive change log that likely includes something for everyone: expand full story

Fantastical adds Mail-like multitasking drafts to iPhone, Japanese localization

Zac Hall

- Jul. 29th 2015 9:27 am PT

@apollozac

Apps & Updates Apps Mail calendar Fantastical Reminders

Following Fantastical’s recent debut on the Apple Watch, which includes the full iCloud Reminders experience and more, Flexibits is delivering a neat new drafts feature to the intelligent calendar app and newly added support for another language. expand full story

Flexibits announces upcoming Fantastical for Apple Watch app

Zac Hall - May. 29th 2015 11:37 am PT

Flexibits, makers of Fantastical 2, just announced an upcoming version of the super useful calendar app coming to the Apple Watch. Included in the teaser is the above preview of Fantastical made for the Apple Watch. We’ll have a full hands-on review of the new app when it launches so stay posted for that. In the meantime, check out our review of the recently released Fantastical 2 for Mac, which takes the natural language parsing calendar from a menu bar app to a full fledged calendar with a complete Yosemite redesign. You can grab Fantastical 2 for iPhone from the App Store for $4.99 to be ready for the Apple Watch update.

Review: Fantastical 2 for Mac graduates to a full calendar replacement w/ Yosemite widget+extension, much more

Zac Hall

- Mar. 25th 2015 6:00 am PT

@apollozac

Apps & Updates Mac Apps Reviews iCloud yosemite

Fantastical 2 Mac 1

Fantastical’s ability to parse natural language input and create detailed appointment entries on your calendar has always been the primary reason to use it instead of or in addition to Apple’s own Calendar app on the Mac. Apple Calendar has picked up some language parsing smarts in recent updates, too, but it still doesn’t match Fantastical’s control and real-time appointment preview.

Still, I say in addition to because Fantastical for Mac has lived in the menu bar next to your clock, WiFi status, and other utilities where you can quickly access it for reference or adding an appointment from anywhere in the OS. The menu bar app includes a compact month view calendar above a streamlined, scrollable list view of appointments and reminders, but sometimes it’s nice to stretch out and view your schedule in a different context.

So when Fantastical first debuted on iPad almost a year ago putting the efficient list view next to a larger full calendar, I wrote optimistically that “the iPad’s app design could spill over into a future version of the Mac app (maybe as a dock app rather than a menu bar app).”

What Fantastical 2 for Mac actually became is even better: the same menu bar calendar users know and love (but new and improved!), and a full-sized calendar app with an optional dock icon. Both have been designed with the aesthetics of OS X Yosemite in mind and loads of under-the-hood features and improvements including the ability to actually change which calendars you see based on your location. expand full story

Flexibits teases upcoming Fantastical 2 for Mac app

Zac Hall - Mar. 18th 2015 1:17 pm PT

Flexibits just released the first teaser for the upcoming Fantastical 2 for Mac app. The teaser includes new iconography matching OS X Yosemite’s aesthetics similar to the iOS 7 and later versions of Fantastical 2 for iPhone and iPad. Fantastical 2 for Mac will obviously be the sequel to the popular language parsing calendar utility for Mac.

The new version of the smart calendar app is due out in one week on March 25th, the teaser reveals, and we’ll have a full, hands-on review at launch so stay tuned. Until then, check out the Fantastical 2 for Mac teaser here (it has a cool 1984 Macintosh Super Bowl ad vibe to it) and catch up on our review coverage of Fantastical 2 for iPhone and iPad.

Flexibits Black Friday sale goes live early: up to 65% off Fantastical for iOS & Mac, more

Zac Hall - Nov. 26th 2014 10:09 am PT

Flexibits, makers of Fantastical for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, just kicked off their huge Black Friday holiday sale early with savings up to 65% off the regular price of their apps.

If you haven’t already tried Fantastical, it’s my favorite calendar replacement app–especially for iPhone–with natural language input and a clear list view for finding your appointments easily. Both the iPhone and iPad versions feature Today view widgets, extensions, and interactive notifications for iOS 8 users, and the Mac app is a simple menu bar app for accessing from anywhere.

Here are the deals:

Fantastical for iPhone: ~~$4.99~~ $1.99 (60% off)

Fantastical for iPad: ~~$14.99~~ $4.99 (65% off and lowest price yet)

Fantastical for Mac: ~~$19.99~~ $9.99 (50% off)

In addition to discounting Fantastical for each platform, Flexibits is also taking half off its Chatology app which helps you archive and search messages on your Mac. Available from Flexibits.com, the $19.99 app is on sale for $9.99 for the holidays. For more deals and savings, stay tuned to 9to5Toys for all the best Black Friday deals.

Fantastical for iOS updated w/ Today view widget, extension, interactive notifications

Zac Hall

- Oct. 22nd 2014 7:00 am PT

@apollozac

Apps & Updates Apps iOS 8 calendar Fantastical Reminders

Fantastical for iPhone and iPad, the alternative calendar and Reminders app from Flexibits, received a major feature update today for iOS 8 users. If you’re unfamiliar with Fantastical, the ability to turn text input like “Dinner with Tim tomorrow night at 7pm” into a calendar appointment without fiddling with menus and dials is it’s killer feature.

Fantastical for iPhone received an update last month which optimized the user interface for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users, and today’s new version adds a Today view widget in Notification Center, an app extension for use in other apps, and interactive notifications for responding to alerts without even opening the app. Check out the new features in the latest version of Fantastical for iPhone and iPad below. expand full story

Flexibits says iOS 8 features coming soon to Fantastical following iPhone 6 update

Zac Hall - Sep. 18th 2014 2:03 pm PT

With iOS 8 launching yesterday and the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus hitting stores and delivering to customers tomorrow, a number of apps have already begun shipping updates to take advantage of the new screen sizes and software features. With several customers asking where the update for Fantastical 2 on iOS 8 was, Flexibits today shared in a blog post its plans for the iPhones 6 and new version of iOS.

The makers of the smart calendar app note that the current version of Fantastical 2 has already been released with iOS 8 support and that a version of Fantastical 2 optimized for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has today been submitted so users of the new device won’t have to wait long for the new version. More importantly, a version introducing a Notification Center widget and system extension will be “coming in the next few weeks.”

Hands-on: Fantastical 2.1 for iPhone & iPad adds snooze, invitation/birthday notifications, keyboard shortcuts, more

Zac Hall

- Jul. 23rd 2014 6:59 am PT

@apollozac

Apps & Updates Apps Reviews Productivity calendar Fantastical

We’ve already taken a close look at Fantastical 2 for iPhone and Fantastical 2 for iPad, and today Flexibits is releasing Fantastical 2.1 for both platforms with a list of new features and discounting Fantastical for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Among the list of changes include new snooze functionality, event invitation notifications and badges, notifications for upcoming birthdays, external keyboard shortcut support, and more. Below we’ll take a look at each new feature added to Fantastical for iPhone and iPad… expand full story

Review: Fantastical for iPad completes the improved calendar suite… and it’s pretty sweet

Zac Hall

- Apr. 2nd 2014 5:05 am PT

@apollozac

Apps & Updates Apps Reviews calendar Fantastical Reminders

Fantastical for iPad

After first debuting on the Mac then joining iOS with the iPhone, Fantastical is finally ready to replace the calendar on your iPad, too. With Fantastical for iPad, Flexibits has brought the same, streamlined design and natural language parsing for quick event and reminder entry to the iPad. I’ve been using Fantastical for iPad for a few weeks now, so let’s take a look at how it compares to Apple’s calendar app… expand full story

Flexibits teases iPad version of popular ‘Fantastical’ calendar app

Jordan Kahn - Mar. 25th 2014 9:59 am PT

Flexibits, makers of the popular Fantastical calendar apps for Mac and iPhone, today teased an upcoming iPad version of the app on its website.

Fantastical 2 for iPad is “coming soon,” and the company is taking sign ups for those interested in learning more, but it hasn’t yet revealed any other details on the app. The company did confirm in the tweet below that the iPad version would be a separate download and not introduced as a new universal app for both iPhone & iPad. The iPhone version of Fantastical 2 sells for $4.99 on the App Store.

We’ve reviewed previous version of the app and are big fans, so we’ll definitely be bringing you a full review of the app when it officially launches. Until then, check out our latest review of Fantastical 2 for iPhone.

You can sign up to learn more about the app on the Flexibits website here.

[tweet https://twitter.com/flexibits/status/448506098526334977]

Fantastical for Mac updated with Reminders due times and performance improvements

Zac Hall - Nov. 25th 2013 6:28 am PT

Fantastical for Mac received a small performance update today but also added one really useful feature: Reminder due times. As we mentioned in our full review here, Fantastical 2 for iPhone recently picked up full Reminders support and today’s update brings further parity between the two apps.

Fantastical for Mac, which I find to be the easiest way to input dates and reminders, is available on the Mac App Store for $19.99 to new users and today’s update is free for existing users.

Full change log below:

Fantastical 2 for iPhone updated with new notification sound, additional toggles and improvements, and more

Zac Hall - Nov. 18th 2013 6:29 am PT

After a rather successful launch (it was #1 in the App Store for quite a while), Flexibits has updated Fantastical 2 for iPhone with a number of small but notable improvements.

Most notably, Fantastical alerts now come with a notification tone. New options for assigning the app icon badge are available as well.

If you haven’t already tried it out, you can pick up Fantastical 2 on sale for $2.99 in the App Store (regular $4.99) and read our full review here. Fantastical 2.0.1 is a free update to existing customers and available now. (Full change log below.)

Fantastical 2: The calendar Apple should have built… again

Zac Hall

- Oct. 30th 2013 6:00 am PT

@apollozac

Apps & Updates iOS iPhone Apple News Apps Reviews

After bringing natural language input to the mobile calendar experience with Fantastical for iPhone last November, Flexibits today released a brand new version of what was already my absolute favorite calendar app.

Fantastical 2 delivers an all new design made just for iOS 7 as well as numerous new features like Reminders support, dark and light themes, landscape support for week view, and much more.

I’ve been using Fantastical 2 for the past few weeks, and below I’ll show you why it’s my go-to calendar for iPhone.

expand full story

Review: Is Chatology the solution for Messages search?

Mike Beasley

- Jun. 18th 2013 9:00 am PT

@MikeBeas

Apps & Updates Apps Reviews iMessage search Flexibits

Messages for Mac is buggy. There’s no denying that fact. At some point, all of us have tried to search for a specific message in the app only to be confronted by everyone’s favorite multi-colored symbol of despair.

Several weeks ago, Flexibits, developers of Fantastical for Mac and iPhone, announced a new project called Chatology that would finally solve this issue once and for all. Today, they unveiled the app to the world. So what exactly is Chatology? Does it solve the problem it sets out to solve? Keep reading to get answers to those questions and more.

expand full story

Chatology for Mac, Flexbits’ answer to the comical search bugs in the Mac’s Messages app

Zach Kahn - Jun. 4th 2013 11:02 am PT

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Flexibits, makers of the popular calendar app Fantastical for Mac and iPhone, have just announced their next product for the Mac. Their new app, Chatology, seeks to ease the pain of searching through conversations using Apple’s buggy Messages app.

If you haven’t tried this yourself, don’t. But often when searching on messages, the application locks up for an indeterminate amount of time. Apple doesn’t seem to be getting all of our crash/bug reports and hasn’t fixed it since its release with Mountain Lion.

I'd say Chatology would make you never search in Messages.app again, but Messages.app managed that by itself

— Steve T-S (@stroughtonsmith) June 4, 2013

A new page on the Flexbits website shows the above image and option to signup for their mailing list, which will include updates on Flexibit’s suite of apps as well details on when you can download Chatology.