I've compared the main screens of iPhone Twitter apps, weather apps, and podcast apps, and next on the agenda is calendar apps. While iOS contains a default calendar app, and many people find it affable enough, it never seemed to get as much high level Apple attention as some of the other core apps. Maybe that's why a plethora of canny developers and designers have managed to reverse-Sherlock) (Moriarty?) Apple and put out good look, great working calendar apps that go above and beyond the default. For this piece, I'm taking a quick look at the standard view of 11 of them, including the built-in iOS Calendars app, for a total of 12.
Calendar apps, like other categories, tend to fall into two main categories: minimalist, which surfaces glance-able information and lets you dig more deeply when and as needed, and crammed, where all much data is shown on the screen at one time as is digitally possible. Some fall very much into the iPhone's design aesthetic, while others look almost purpose-built to make former Windows Mobile users feel at home, and yet other are almost Windows Phone Metro chic.
Here they are, in order:
- iOS 6 Calendar, Fantastical, Week Calendar
- Calvetica, Readdle Calendar, Agenda
- Sunrise, [Awesome Calendar](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/awesome-calendar-?at=10l3Vy&ct=UUimUdUnU17633 google-task/id480102733?mt=8&at=10l3Vy&ct=d_im), CalenGoo
- MiCal, Tempo, PocketInformant
Of course, the default view is just that -- the default view. Almost all calendar apps let you switch between some combination of year, month, day, and list view, and many have special features beyond the views as well. For a more in-depth look, check out our full reviews.
However, since pictures, or in this case, screenshots, can be worth a thousand words, check out the designs above and let me know what you think. Which calendar apps do you use, and are they the same ones that appeal to you most in the comparison above? Any of the calendar screens attractive enough they encourage you check out an alternative app?
