iCal

• Compatibility
• Multiple Calendars
• Simple
• Easy to Create and Modify Events

Compatibility

Apple is known for its compatibility among devices and applications, so it comes as no surprise that iCal works well with Apple’s mail and message applications. In fact, iCal will often be auto-populated with events from your texts or emails, such as flight schedules or dinner reservations.

For people who forget to put things in their calendar after hearing about them, this feature can save a lot of hassle. 

Plus, iCal can be programmed to send you any number of reminders or notifications about upcoming events. These can come through in the form of push notifications to your phone, watch, etc. 

The most recent notification setting gets saved for next time you create an event, so if you are consistent in the amount and frequency of reminders that you want, you will have to set it up only once, and iCal will remember for future events.

Multiple Calendars

iCal users can enjoy the benefit of seeing calendars from multiple platforms at once. Not only can you create as many calendars as you need (and choose a custom color for each one), but also you can subscribe to a number of calendars, such as US Holidays, Outlook calendars, or Google calendars.

You can also share calendars with other people who also use iCal, and thus, when you create an event on a shared calendar, the event automatically populates on the iCal of anyone who shares that calendar with you. This can be helpful for planning family gatherings, team projects, etc.

Simple

For users with simple calendar needs, iCal is a great choice. It is easy to figure out and use because it looks and functions much like a paper calendar. 

The accessibility of iCal is appealing because you don’t have to spend much time organizing or stressing about how the software works. You can quickly begin scheduling events and reminders for those events, and you’re on your way.

Easy to Create and Modify Events

Events on iCal can be created with one click. They can also be easily dragged to a different date or time without any additional modification necessary.

Another nice feature is the fact that you can create recurring events, and you have complete control over which days of the week the events reoccur. Plus, if you need to make changes to or delete a single event that is recurring, you can make changes to that event only, and your others will remain unchanged.

• Exclusive to Apple Users
• To-Do List Not Included

Exclusive to Apple Users

Because iCal runs on Apple’s iOS operating system, it can be accessed only by users who own Apple technology, such as a MacBook, iPhone, or iPad. 

For customers who use exclusively Apple products in their lives, this may not be a drawback at all. However, non-Apple users have no access to iCal. 

Plus, those who maybe have one Apple product and other non-Apple products are not able to fully use iCal, since it works best when it can sync between all devices owned by a user. People in this category may find it difficult or impossible to integrate other calendars with iCal.

To-Do List Not Included

Unlike other calendar software platforms that have a place within the software interface where you can keep a list of reminders or to-do items, iCal does not offer a place to make or keep lists.

Apple does offer this feature in a separate Reminders application; however, if you are looking for a task list or reminder feature within iCal itself, you won’t find one.

Plus, if you try to circumvent this feature by creating events in your calendar that are tasks rather than actual events, you don’t have the option to snooze your notification when it comes. Thus, if you don’t do the task right at that time, you might forget about it, and an alert for it won’t pop up again.