I’ve been in search of a calendar app that I like, but also will do what I would like it to do. There are many apps that do the calendar service app thing. Nearly every phone has a calendar on it including most “dumb phones.” So why is it that we have multiple calendar apps if there is a stock one on our phone itself? For me, it’s because I have a basic need for a calendar, but also have very particular things I want in my calendar app.
The need I have to stay organized with the different hats I wear. I have my school, youth, church, home calendars,all needing to differ from each other, but also be all in the same place.
The wants I have are just more like suggestions. I wanted a calendar that would also incorporate the tasks I have strung about the different internet locations gathered in a central location. I want an calendar app that’s easy to add edit and invite people to events in my calendar. And I want an app that will change my ringer off or turn on do not disturb on if It’s marked as showing me busy in my calendar.
I present to you the Sunrise Calendar app. This app adds a whole lot more information to one central location. When opening the basic calendar app on iOS, we get this image:
And though it gives you the best information possible in a basic view I prefer the view of Sunrise:
Notice the times started along with how long it is schedules with weather and if location is given in the calendar. Sunrise calendar will also show everything I have in Wunderlist scheduled for the day (see above right image of Wunderlist task). As well as many other apps that I have connected through social medias. Here’s a list of various accounts I have attached to Sunrise—look at them all:
Let’s make a few things clear. There’s a desktop app and a iOS, Android, and a Chrome extension for this service. That’s great for most anyone who’s using this service can pull it up on most any device. A drawback for me is that I had to sign up for another account just specific for Sunrise in order to even use this app. It wasn’t until I installed this app on my iPad and Macbook that I saw why this was necessary. Every account, task manager, and to-do list app that I add automatically syncs to my other devices. This feature makes it worth signing up for a Sunrise account. It’s also worth noting that not everything can be added from the mobile devices and may need to be added by way of Chrome or desktop before it will show up on mobile devices.
Sunrise app does most of what I want a calendar app to do. It gets all my tasks, grocery lists, to-do’s from multiple jobs, meetings, and pretty much everything I need it to do in one place. In the last month that I’ve been using it, I’ve seen how the appeal of this app has caught the eye of Microsoft. With the addition of temperature forecasts on the calendar and notifications, it’s added bonus for planning on grabbing a jacket or not.
The one thing I am sad it doesn’t do is the Busy doesn’t automatically turn on the Do Not Disturb ringer and vibration. I’ve yet to find a calendar app that will do this. I know there are apps separate from calendars that you can set up a task that will mute your phone during the time set up. But to me, it just seems like to many steps need to be taken to do that. If my calendar says I’m busy, the mute or do not disturb should auto enable. Is it a deal breaker? No it’s just my laziness and my own phone addiction that causes me to want a feature like this.
Adding to the wants that I had for a calendar app, I also found it was robust enough to offer options for incorporated invite and location system. The directions could be from Apple Maps, Google Maps or Waze. It lets you choose the email app and isn’t just the stock Apple email app. Unfortunately It’s only Apple Mail or GMail app, but that’s better than most calendar apps offer you to send your invites from. The Temperature settings and which day the week starts on are both bonuses also. These features aren’t always seen in calendar apps and is a pleasant sight to see.
A feature I wasn’t expecting to use and at first bugged me was the badge counter. It took me a bit to get used to because I used it as the day’s date. I found this nice as I don’t get a lot of calendar invites, so the badge notification really wasn’t being used. I finally decided using it as the date is better than not using it at all. This may bug some people who don’t like seeing notifications on the app’s top right corner.
Pro’s:
- Sunrise Calendar incorporates Evernote, Wunderlist, Google, Outlook, Yahoo, Trello, and many other great apps into one location.
- The Weather, location with directions and driving times is a must appreciated feature not always included.
- The ability to sync between devices when adding account makes things simpler that not everyone does or allows us to do.
- The view broken down into morning, afternoon and evening with weather is a nice site when app first loads.
- Time event is scheduled helps a bunch which most calendar apps you have to open events to see.
Con’s:
- Sunrise Calendar doesn’t mute your phone when it’s set to busy.
- The app requires an account and to sign in order to use this app.
Overall this is my calendar app that I will be using unless the make drastic changes. This app does nearly everything I ask of it and adds a few features I didn’t ask for but end up using. I would recommend taking this app for a test spin if you are using many of apps and wanting to centralize location for the information.
Learn more and get started on the Sunrise website.
[Smartphone image via junyaogura via Compfight cc]
Eric Dye says
I need to try Sunrise, again. I wasn’t too happy with how some of the scheduling worked when setting up appointments with Phil and Jeremy. Might have to try again…
Auggie says
It’s got it’s issues. I’ve had a few times attempting to add others to a calendar event where things ended up getting wrong date and time for event. There’s a setting I had to change in order to get it figured out. I just don’t remember which setting it was.