Stick with the iOS app

I have been using Due for both Mac and iOS for about week now. About the Mac app, all I can say is "meh." Come back when it has baked a little more in the programming oven.

First, sync between iOS and Mac devices simply does not work. Making a reminder on one device often does not mean it is synced between all your other devices. And even worse, this means that a timer will go off on all your devices throughout the day unless you explicitly turn it off. In Dues defense, this is mostly because Apple does not let third-party apps run in the background in iOS. But even syncing between Macs is often buggy: I frequently get the error "Failed to upload database." When I fired up the laptop just this time, I had to close the app once, and just as I was writing this, it displayed that error again.

The syncing problems are the main issues with this program. But the UI also feels incomplete. It is at times buggy: if you had tasks due before the app has properly synced, the icon in the menubar remains lit up with these already "done" tasks until you click on it. And it is disappointing that the app just doesnt stay in the menu bar (like Fantastical). The natural language doesnt always work (it mysteriously does not understand statements with simple numbers (like "start spaghetti at 8")). And even when it does recognize the natural language, it doesnt remove it from the title, so you end up with timers that say things like "pay the bill tomorrow" (when, of course, you pay the actual bill tomorrow is today).

My suggestion is to skip the Mac app for now, but buy the iPhone app. The disappointing quality of the Mac app doesnt detract from the awesome iOS app. And you have your phone with you at all times anyhow, right?

pindarninja about Due — Reminders & Timers