Things 3 review | |
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Starting price | $9.99 |
Key features |
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If you have the need for a little task manager in your pocket, on your wrist or on top of your desk at home, then Things 3 might be the right solution for you. It’s an app for iOS and Mac users who need to manage their to-do lists for family and work. You can schedule events, create task lists and set reminders across all your devices for multi-channel convenience. In our Things 3 review, we expand on important features, benefits and possible alternatives to improve the decision-making process.
Jump to:
- What is Things 3?
- Things 3 pricing
- Core Things 3 features
- Things 3 ease of use
- Things 3 customer service and support
- Things 3 pros and cons
- Best uses for Things 3
- Things 3 alternatives
- Things 3 review methodology
What is Things 3?
Figure A
Things 3 is a productivity and task management app for mobile and desktop Apple devices. You can use it to keep up with family during the holidays, meet work deadlines or prioritize schoolwork. It’s meant to be easy to learn and use for daily needs.
Things 3 pricing
Pricing Plan | Cost (per purchase, billed annually) |
---|---|
iPhone | $9.99 |
iPad | $19.99 |
Apple Watch | $9.99 |
Mac | $49.99 |
Pricing based on the one-time purchase of app versions, not plan tiers.
iPhone and Apple Watch
Things 3 on iPhone and Apple Watch are the cheapest app purchase options. They have access to all the main features.
iPad
The iPad version costs slightly more than iPad and Apple Watch packages, but it does offer the main features of the app.
Mac
In the desktop version of Things 3, there are extra features. You are offered a 14-day free trial where you can test their flexible navigation options.
For Quick Find, you can start typing any terms of what you want to see, and the search automatically takes you there, it’s called Type Travel. You can also use Quick Entry, which is the option to create tasks outside of Things 3 using a shortcut window, so interruptions in what you’re doing are minimized but you don’t forget new priorities.
The main reason someone might buy multiple versions of Things 3 is to sync tasks across devices, so they can meet work and personal needs anywhere, at any time.
Core Things 3 features
Most of Things 3 feature highlights are tools to improve overall planning, work-life balance, time awareness and task management.
Scheduling
Figure B
The app offers dynamic calendars to help with scheduling events and managing daily activities. Daily to-do lists will organize the events from different calendars you keep to separate family and work and show everything applicable that day. You can also have time-specific tasks that will show up when you should be home or leaving work in the afternoon or evening. For future events that week, you can view upcoming priorities and reevaluate them if needed.
Task management
Figure C
For managing and creating tasks, Things 3 has a drag-drop interface with a tool called Magic Plus. It allows you to create and edit your to-do lists, such as adding heading or sending tasks to your Inbox. Within your to-do lists of tasks, you can also add checklists or in-app notes to ensure you don’t miss relevant steps or details. Users can keep track of to-do items with customizable tags, headings and searches.
Searching and tagging
Figure D
When you need to find specific tasks, projects or notes, you can use the Quick Find tool. It lets you type in any term and applies a filter throughout the app to find relevant tags or data. This can be great for looking for similar tasks you may want to copy or finding out if you missed a task.
Jump Start
Figure E
To make scheduling events and deadlines easier, the app offers the tool Jump Start. It’s a pop-up that allows you to schedule immediate or long-term dates, reminders or put something on hold until you get back to it. The tool has natural language processing (NLP) so that it can offer relevant text as you type to speed up scheduling altogether.
Reminders
Figure F
As you schedule events, you have the option to add a reminder for specific times. Reminders can be made via Siri voice commands or by shorthand notes like “Thursday 2 pm” that will translate into reminders. Your time reminders also translate across all devices that you have Things 3 installed to ensure you don’t miss a thing.
Things 3 ease of use
In terms of user sentiment, Things 3 receives mostly positive feedback. The app has positive reviews online and from third-party sites. Many talk about the task manager app’s design and simple interface. Online, you can also find tutorials that show how user-friendly the app is for organization and productivity.
Things 3 customer service and support
When it comes to Things 3, there isn’t much available for direct customer service that you would find in business applications. The app is very simple and intuitive, so most may never need to contact support.
Support search
On the support page, you can use the general search engine to enter more specific terms to your needs. Popular searches included “discounts,” “password” and “android,” which will inform you Android, Windows and Linux operating systems are not compatible.
Troubleshooting
For simple app issues, you can check out the troubleshooting guide on the Things 3 support page. It offers simple prompts to start, then takes you to applicable user documentation.
Contact form
If you’ve tried the self-service options, then you can use the contact form on the Things 3 website. It has you enter your email, message and device type. The form tells you business hours and lets you know the company operates out of Germany with a quick note of their timezone.
Things 3 pros and cons
Pros | Cons |
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Great for mobile on-the-go use. | Apple products only. |
Designed specifically for Apple product lovers. | Designed for the App store and not suited for business use. |
Very positive reviews from avid users. | Costly for individuals, students or small teams. |
Organization features like searching and filtering. | No robust features for analytics, reporting, automation, etc. |
Help documentation for getting started. | Not ideal for requiring entire teams to download and use because it’s expensive and Apple only. |
Best uses for Things 3
With an app like Things 3, the best-suited use cases are very specific.
Personal
The task management and productivity tool is great for staying on top of personal deadlines. It can be events, errands, work, school or just ensuring you have useful reminders. You can definitely benefit from an app like this during the holidays, that’s for sure.
Mobile
If you’re always on the go, Things 3 is a great mobile app for staying on schedule. It’s available for multiple iOS devices, like iPhones and Apple watches.
Apple lovers
First and foremost, Things 3 is for Apple users. It’s designed only for Apple devices and helps you stay on top of your to-do list, take notes and remember important priorities.
Things 3 alternatives and competitors
If you’re looking for cheaper alternatives that work on operating systems other than Apple, then the selection below is a great place to start.
Things 3 | Microsoft To Do | Trello | TickTick | |
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Dedicated support | No | No | Yes | No |
Collaboration | Limited | Yes | Yes | Limited |
Task lists | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Free plan | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Starting price | $9.99 one-time | $0 | $5 user/month | $0 |
Microsoft To Do
![Microsoft To Do logo.](https://assets.techrepublic.com/uploads/2023/12/Logo_Microsoft_to_do-1.jpg)
If you’re looking for a great Windows friendly task management and scheduling tool, then Microsoft To Do is a great, free option. You can create and organize tasks while scheduling them and setting reminders to meet deadlines. Teams that prefer a Microsoft workspace can use it with their Microsoft 365 account, and users that just need a separate application can download it for free on Windows desktop and mobile devices.
Trello
![Trello logo.](https://assets.techrepublic.com/uploads/2023/12/Trello_logo.svg_-2.png)
An amazing project management and agile workflow solution is Trello. It offers kanban, calendar, lists and even timeline views for data visualization. The online application is great for sprint projects, personal tasks, classwork or general collaboration. In the app, you can take advantage of powerful integrations, templates and AI for automation.
TickTick
![TickTick logo.](https://assets.techrepublic.com/uploads/2023/12/ticktick.png)
Very similar to Things 3, TickTick is a task management and scheduling app. It’s not feature-dense and is available as a free download for desktop and mobile devices of diverse operating systems. You can build task lists, schedule events, track time and set reminders. The app is a great choice for non-Apple users or Apple users who want a cheaper option.
Things 3 review methodology
In our review, we considered Things 3 from the perspective of both business and personal users. We looked at the core features offered, support options and considered the best use cases for the application. Alternatives were provided so buyers would be able to see other options with capabilities or benefits Things 3 may not have that users preferred.