Itsycal is a tiny menu bar calendar. If you want, it will display your events as a companion to the Mac Calendar app. Itsycal has Dark Mode, ISO week numbers, a customizable system clock replacement, and more.
Apple often faces criticism for the slow development of its iOS apps. Unlike Android, where all Google frequently updates its stock apps through the Play Store, the iOS apps only get the update treatment annually.
Both Google and Microsoft have stepped into fill the gaps here. Both have a rich portfolio of apps offering that directly rivals Apple’s approach. In the past, we have already compared built-in iOS apps with either Google’s or Microsoft’s apps and often concluded that Apple doesn’t match up to competition.
- OSJOY.com is a software sharing website offers Windows 10 / 8 / 7 free software, open source software, games, how-to tips, free download applications, etc. Limit my search to u/osjoydotcom use the following search parameters to narrow your results.
- The calendar app runs on a Mac, but iOS and other device versions are available, as well as a web-based option. Try the SmartDay Mac OS X app for $29.99, iPhone and iPad app for $9.99 each, or the web version for free. Features: Synchronize events and tasks with iCal; Search events; Drag and drop events; Create tasks and to-dos; Apply tags.
In this post, we are going to compare yet another iOS app, Apple calendar with Google’s offering. Are we going to end up with the same conclusion or did Apple pay extra attention to the calendar app? Let’s find out.
App Size
Apple Calendar is a part of the whole iOS package that comes by default on every iPhone. The entire suite takes around 13GB-14GB space on the phone. Google Calendar weights around 215MB in size.
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Read MoreUser Interface
As you may have observed Google doesn’t follow UI guidelines set by the rival platforms. The company develops a design language and sticks to it on all platforms.
It recently unveiled Material Design 2. And it has updated both Android and iOS calendar app with the new UI rules. There is a big colorful button at the right corner of the app.
By default, the app showcases the Schedule screen with all the upcoming and current events in one screen. I have some complaints though. The app is using a hamburger menu, which is fine on the Android platform but looks out of place on iOS.
Apart from adding a new event, all the options sit uncomfortably at the top.
Apple's Calendar adopts a white theme with red fonts and accent. The first bottom tab is Today which displays all the events in the day category. The Calendar tab lets you choose from different iCloud and device calendars. With Inbox, you can confirm and reject meeting invites.
Apple also ignored the ease in reachability and implement all the remaining options like adding a new event, search events and month calendar at the top. It's a chore to stretch and use those options with large screen bearing iPhones.
Add a New Event
Adding a new event is as straight forward as it should be for a calendar app. Both Google and Apple give several options to choose from in the event menu.
Google calendar lets you select time, day, location, another notification on top of default one, guests, colors and so on. You can also add notes and attach a file from Google Drive, which is neat.
One can also opt to go with reminders if he wants something similar to task management service. It’s pretty basic though but works for me as the service is directly integrated into the calendar app itself.
Apple calendar gives all the above options excluding the file attachment support. In the future udpate, I would appreciate the ability to add files to an event from iCloud and other third-party cloud storage providers.
Apple doesn’t support reminders functionality in the calendar. For that, you will have to use the built-in Reminders app.
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Read MoreWidget Support
Both the apps support the widget functionality and it works as expected. Apple calendar shows the current and upcoming event in the widget panel.
You can tap on the little date icon to directly go to the calendar area. And a tap on the event will take you to event details.
Google calendar shows the events for today and tomorrow. Unlike Apple, you can’t tap on it to go to the calendar page. You can only select the event to see the details.
Aesthetically speaking, I found Google’s widget more appealing than Apple’s.
Unique Features
In 2015, Google acquired Timeful, a smart scheduling app. And after a year, the company added Goal functionality to the app. The aim is to let the user build a health routine, whether it’s exercise, or developing a skill or meditation.
You can select an activity and add the number of times and routine period you can commit in a week. You won’t be able to choose a particular time though. You can only select from Morning, Afternoon, and Evening.
After that, the app will find a suitable time for you and add the activity accordingly to the calendar. After adding the Goal to the app, it will ask if you want to adjust the timings.
Give it a shot. You might get habituated to complete personal goals.
Moving to Apple calendar, the app lets you add the travel time during an event.
For example, a certain meeting is due at 7.00 pm tomorrow, and the travel route will take an hour to reach there. So, you can add 1 hour travel time while adding an event and the app will automatically block the 6.00 pm to 7.00 pm time for travel.
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When it comes to UI, I’m siding with Apple as it looks and feels native compared to Google calendar. Google’s offering strikes back with a built-in Reminder and Goals functionality.
Finally, if you are someone who usually switches between Android and iOS, then go with Google calendar for its excellent cross-platform availability. As it uses the same UI across devices which will make you feel right at home.
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The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read NextHeadspace vs Calm: Which Is the Best Meditation AppAlso See#productivity #google calendar
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Apple iPhone users and reviewers often criticize the company for developing a closed ecosystem. Apple’s apps and services like iCloud, Photos, Mail, Calendar, etc. aren’t natively available on rival platforms. To make the situation worse, the company won’t let users change the default apps to other Microsoft and Google alternatives.
The situation is improving. Recently, Apple launched the iCloud web for mobile browsers. So, users can view and access Apple Reminders, Contacts, Calendar, Pages, etc. on Android devices. For Windows users, Apple has released the iCloud desktop app. With that, you can sync iCloud Photos, Mail, Calendar, and even Safari bookmarks to Windows apps.
As for Apple Calendar, there is no direct way to get it on PC. But there are easy workarounds to get things done. In this post, we are going to talk about the top four ways to access Apple Calendar on PC. Let’s get started.
1. Use iCloud Web
Apple provides a robust iCloud web solution to access the major apps and services. Visit iCloud.com and sign in using Apple account credentials.
You can access Apple Notes, Reminders, Mail, Contacts, iWork suite, and of course, Apple Calendar. Tap on Apple Calendar and view the web version of it with events, calendars, and more.
You can change the views to weekly or monthly. You can create new events and add every detail such as URL, Notes, Location, Time, and more. Using the iCloud Web, one can access Apple Calendar on Linux too.
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Read More2. Use the iCloud Windows App
Apple has released the iCloud desktop app for you to sync the iCloud Photos, Mail, Calendar, and more to the Windows computer. It’s a boon for iPhone users opting for Windows 10 on desktop.
First, download the iCloud app from the Microsoft Store. Add iCloud credentials to sync the data on Windows 10. It will ask you to sync iCloud, Bookmarks, Photos, Mail, and Calendar. The app will also display the remaining iCloud storage for your account.
Switch on the iCloud Mail and Calendar sync with Outlook and select Apply. Open the Outlook app on Windows and navigate to the Calendar option from the bottom menu.
You will find the iCloud calendars under the iCloud section in the Outlook app. You can view, add events, decline, and modify every detail of the event from the app.
3. Copy iCloud Calendar from the Web to Outlook
This one is useful for those who don’t want to go through the iCloud app and expects a native experience on Windows. Users can manually add the iCloud Calendar in Outlook and access them from the Mail and Calendar app on Windows. Here is how to set it up.
Step 1: Open iCloud web on a browser and select the Calendar option.
Step 2: Decide which Calendar you want to export and select the share button beside it.
Step 3: Select Public sharing and copy the sharing link for the calendar.
Step 4: Navigate to the Outlook web and open the calendar menu in it.
Step 5: Select the add calendar under the monthly view in the Outlook calendar.
Step 6: From the following dialog, tap on the subscribe from the web option.
Step 7: Paste the calendar URL that you copied from the iCloud Calendar.
Step 8: Hit import, give it a name, icon, and color, and voila! You have successfully integrated iCloud Calendar in the Outlook.
Now, you can open the Outlook app on PC, and you will find the iCloud Calendar under the subscribed Outlook calendars.
After that, whenever you add new events or make changes in the Apple Calendar app on the iPhone, it will get synced to the iCloud Calendar in Outlook on the Windows PC.
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Read More4. Change the Default Calendar on iPhone
By default, all the added events in the Apple Calendar gets saved in the iCloud platform. However, you can change that to Outlook. Here is how to do it.
Step 1: Open the iPhone Settings app and go to Passwords and Account section.
Step 2: Select Add Account and tap on the Outlook option.
Step 3: Add login credentials to integrate Outlook on the iPhone.
Step 4: Go to Outlook accounts from the same menu and toggle on the Calendars option.
Step 5: Dive into Settings > Calendar, and here you will see all the settings options for the app.
Step 6: Open default calendar, and here you will see the Outlook calendars as well as iCloud ones.
Step 7: By default, it will be set to iCloud Home, change it to your preferred Outlook account.
From now on, every newly added event in the Calendar app will get saved in the Outlook calendar account.
Head to your PC and open the Calendar app, which has the same Outlook ID as the iPhone. Here, you will see all the events that you added on the iPhone.
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As you can see from the list above, each option lets you access Outlook Calendar on PC. Use the iCloud web for a quick glance, use the iCloud desktop app for more Apple services integration, including Calendar and Photos. And the third and fourth option lets you get things done without using the iCloud platform.
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The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read NextTop 5 Apple Calendar Alternatives for iPhoneAlso See#alternatives #apple
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