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Meet Fantastical, the king of calendar apps [Awesome Apps]

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Fantastical, the best calendar app for iPhone, iPad and Mac: You don’t have to settle for Apple’s stock calendar app.
You don’t have to settle for Apple’s stock calendar app.
Image: Cult of Mac

Awesome Apps is a new series highlighting the best apps around. We’ll be featuring our favorite apps as well as new and notable apps. Apps are transformative, and these are the best.

Years ago, I decided to ditch my paper Filofax diary for my iPhone, before quickly realizing that Apple’s built-in Calendar app didn’t fully meet my needs. Fortunately, 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 own 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, long-time favorite Fantastical from developer Flexibits is a great option. The app’s wide-ranging feature set 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.

These are Apple’s picks for the best apps of 2020

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Best of 2020 app award
For the first time, Apple created a physical award to hand out to winners.
Photo: Apple

As 2020 thankfully sputters to its conclusion, Apple has released its list of the year’s best 15 apps and games “notable for their positive cultural impact, helpfulness, and importance.”

The App Store Best of 2020 winners cover a multitude of areas — from the Zoom app that more or less defined the year of lockdown to streaming service Disney+ to a nifty sleep app.

Save 93 percent on a bundle of great Mac apps [Deals]

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This massive bundle of 8 top apps is discounted by a whopping 93 percent.
This massive bundle of 8 top apps is discounted by a whopping 93 percent.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

You’ll never squeeze maximum productivity out of your Mac until you load it up with some fantastic software.

That’s just what you’ll get in the Epic Mac Bundle, featuring Fantastical 2 and PDF Expert. It’s a bundle of eight premium Mac apps that usually costs nearly $500, but right now you can get it for just $22.50 with promo code “LAST25.”

Add events to your iPhone calendar using natural language and Drafts

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Adding an calendar event with Drafts is as easy as writing it on paper.
Adding an calendar event with Drafts is as easy as writing it on paper.
Photo: Sludge G/Flickr CC

Do you hate adding new events to your iOS calendar? It’s a real pain, right? You have to click, and type, and turn one of these time and date dials, and type some more. On the Mac you can just hit ⌘-N to create a new event, and then type something like Dinner tomorrow at 19:00, and the Calendar app just works out what you mean, and adds the event.

On iOS, you have to do it manually, or try to coax Siri into doing it for you — neither of which is a pleasant experience. Why isn’t there a natural-language input for the iOS Calendar app? Well, if you’re using the awesome Drafts app, then there is.

Take control of your schedule with Fantastical [50 Essential iOS Apps #30]

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Fantastical Ticker view upcoming events
Understanding your calendar, reminders, and events is fast and easy with Fantastical
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: FanstasticalManaging a busy schedule is something we all deal with from time to time. Relying on a calendar app makes it easier, but entering every meeting, project, or appointment can be a hassle. Fantastical is the best calendar app for adding events to your calendar and managing your schedule.

Awesome Mac app makes managing contacts easier than ever

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Cardhop contacts app for Mac
Cardhop was created by the stellar team behind Fantastical.
Photo: Flexibits

Remember how Flexibits made managing your calendar incredibly easy with Fantastical? Now it is doing the same for your contacts with a brand new app called Cardhop.

Cardhop makes keeping your address book up to date and staying in touch with friends and colleagues quick and easy. It uses the same great natural language recognition found in Fantastical, and it’s available today on macOS.