Things by Cultured Code delivers a carefully-balanced mix of clean design, ease-of-use, flexibility, and power that make it a world-class task management solution. The app is available natively on the Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Watch with deep OS integration that takes advantage of each platform’s unique features and strengths. It’s a compelling, integrated package that makes it clear why it has won two Apple Design Awards and a MacStories Select Award for Best App Update.

The design elegantly scales from the Watch all the way up to the biggest iMac screen, showing you exactly what you need to know about your tasks. The app has all the features you need like reminders, tags, notes, and checklists that can be added to a task, all organized by project. There are tons of fantastic little touches that set Things apart too like the ability to break a project into sections visually with headings and a Today view that brings together today’s tasks from across projects.

Things also has fantastic power user features. The app includes extensive keyboard shortcuts on the Mac and iPad, has a deep, well-documented URL scheme for automating tasks, and there’s Shortcuts and Siri shortcuts support. You can even paste a plain text list of items into a project and Things will automatically turn each line of text into a task, which makes the app a delight to use with a plain text editor and opens up powerful automation options.

Staying focused and on track is hard with a big project, but with an app like Things that’s available on all the devices you use and adaptable to the way you work, you can get that project over the finish line on time. So give Things a try today, you’ll be happy you did. New features are being added all the time too, so if you haven’t tried Things in a while, now is a great time to give it another look. You can download a free trial of Things for the Mac at thingsapp.com or get the iOS apps on the App Store.

Our thanks to Things by Cultured Code for sponsoring all of MacStories’ WWDC coverage this week.

GoodTask is a powerful task manager for iOS and the Mac that’s built on top of Apple’s Reminders app. By leveraging Reminders, GoodTask syncs to all your iOS devices and Macs, supports Exchange, and works seamlessly with Siri shortcuts. But that’s just the start.

Tasks can be filtered using GoodTask’s Smart List feature. Smart Lists act like saved searches allowing you to view subsets of your tasks. For example, maybe you want to find all of your un-dated tasks with a certain tag. With Smart Lists, that’s incredibly simple to set up.

Another powerful feature of GoodTask is Quick Actions. You define a grid of information to add to tasks with a single tap from the Quick Actions view. Maybe you have a project, tag, day of the week, time, or other bits of data you add to tasks over an over. With Quick Actions, the repetition of typing that information over and over is eliminated. The app also includes a Smart Button on iOS to quickly move between frequently-used lists.

Interactive notifications with Quick Actions allow users to do things like auto-snooze tasks right from a notification without opening the app. There’s also a feature-rich Apple Watch app from which you can manage existing tasks and add new ones. Add to that a handy Today widget and GoodTask excels at being available no matter the device or context. The app’s iOS icons are customizable and you can switch between a variety of themes or make them yourself to set GoodTask up exactly the way you want too.

Take charge of task management today by visiting GoodTask’s website to learn more about its Mac, iOS, and Watch apps and discover the power of the premier task manager based on Apple’s Reminders app.

Our thanks to GoodTask for sponsoring MacStories this week.

iMazing is a Mac app that provides unparalleled access to everything on your iOS devices. The app works over both WiFi and USB, so it’s ready whenever you are. With it, you can take control of your iOS data: make Time Machine-style backups, easily transfer documents, media and content, and dig into system files, access device and battery diagnostics, and a whole lot more. iMazing is the Swiss Army Knife of iPhone and iPad management.

Backups

All of your data stays local, on your Mac and backups can be encrypted for maximum privacy. Backups can be saved to any destination you want, including external drives or a NAS, and unlike iTunes, iMazing keeps a history of your backups so you can roll back to any prior backup.

New WhatsApp and Messages Features

The app is continually updated with new and exciting features. The latest update focuses on Apple’s Messages app and WhatsApp. WhatsApp integration is all-new. iMazing has a dedicated WhatsApp view that displays your chats, photos, videos, shared contacts, links, locations, message status, and much more. The app includes powerful search functionality for finding messages and the ability to make printed copies and export PDFs, CSV files, and text files too.

Messages integration has been improved too. It’s faster than ever and has gained the same printing and export options as the WhatsApp integration, making iMazing an essential tool for preserving memories and finding conversations.

Limited-Time Discount

iMazing is offering a special, limited-time 30% discount just for MacStories readers until May 27, 2019. So don’t delay, download iMazing today and take control of you iPhone data.

Our thanks to iMazing for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Your search for the perfect Mac CRM ends here. Built exclusively for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, you can win more business and get more done with Daylite.

If you’re tired of relying on your brain to remember when to follow up and remember tiny details, then Daylite was created for you. Capture every client, project, email, and detail – all in one app.

Imagine it now…

You follow up when you say you will. You stay top of mind with your customers and close more deals. Your projects are so streamlined you never worry about what’s next. Everything you need is organized in one place. Does this sound like a fantasy?

Integrate with Apple Contacts & Calendars. Integrate with Apple Mail and create tasks and set follow-up reminders all from your inbox. Easily organize contacts into lists for email campaigns and follow-ups. Streamline your sales process and your project steps for the whole team to follow. Delegate tasks and improve team collaboration without micromanaging.

Most people are stuck in a perpetual struggle to stay on top of everything, but that’s not you. Instead, you know that if you want to get different results, it’s time to try something new. Sign up for a free 30-day Daylite trial now.

Our thanks to Daylite for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Backups of your computer’s files have to be trustworthy. If you can’t trust your backups, they’re not really backups.

The reason Stefan created Arq Backup for the Mac back in 2009 was because he couldn’t find an online solution that felt like real backup. Most online backup providers were and continue to be vague about where the data are stored, how durable the storage is, and how sustainable the business model is.

Arq does everything it can to provide a completely trustworthy backup solution.

Why should you trust Arq?

• Arq is open. It stores versioned, de-duplicated backup records in a format that’s documented.
• Arq is private. Backup records are encrypted with a password that only you know. The password never leaves your computer, and your data is encrypted before ever leaving your computer.
• Arq gives you control. Your backup data is stored in your own cloud account, SFTP server, or NAS.
• Arq verifies. Arq periodically makes sure the contents of the objects at the destination match the contents of your files on disk.
• Arq notifies. You’ll get a notification when there’s an error.

Do you like having total control over your data? Do you want to maintain your privacy? Then Arq is for you!

Download a free 30-day trial of Arq today and rest easy knowing that your files are backed up and secure.

Our thanks to Arq for sponsoring MacStories this week.

With Apollo: Immersive Illumination, you can unlock unlimited creativity over a single Portrait mode photo with the app’s powerful relighting tools. Apollo enables an infinite number of lighting variations that let you create a dull, dark, spooky, magical, or night club feel to your images. But Apollo isn’t only about theming your photos. You can also create more natural effects by removing lighting from areas of an image, highlighting faces with low emissive lights, or adding other subtle lighting effects.

Apollo sees photos as 3D scenes but hides the technical complexities of the process behind elegant single-finger interactions that allow users to focus on the adjustments to their pictures, which update in real-time. Up to 30 virtual light sources and adjustments to their position, brightness, color, and spread can be applied to a single photo. You can apply masks that alter emitted light and color and adjust parameters like shadow intensity, the range of lighting effects, progressive background removal, and fog effects. Apollo’s features are constantly refined and new ones are added all the time after thorough testing to ensure they work across a wide range of iPhone models and wow users.

To see exactly what Apollo can do for your Portrait mode photos, check out its Twitter and Instagram accounts which are full of stunning examples of the app in action.

Download the Apollo on the App Store today to open a new world of creative lighting for your Portrait photos. Apollo is a one time paid up-front app. There are no In-App Purchases or subscriptions.

Also, just for MacStories readers, Apollo is giving away 51 promo codes for the app that can be redeemed in the App Store. The codes are available on a first-come, first served basis, so don’t wait, visit this link for a chance to win a copy of Apollo.

Thanks to Apollo for supporting MacStories this week.

Email doesn’t have to be difficult. Instead of letting it rob you of your precious time use Spark on iOS and the Mac to recover those lost moments automatically.

Spark is loaded with smarts starting with its Smart Inbox that categorizes messages as Personal, Notifications, and Newsletters, which makes it easy to focus on what’s important and return to what’s not later.

Intelligent search makes it simple to find messages no matter where they are too. Spark features a natural language algorithm that thinks just like you. Spark also uses Smart Notifications, so you only get notified what you need to know now.

Spark features beautifully designed card-style calendar invitations that can be accepted with just one tap, the ability to send later and set up reminders for messages that don’t receive a reply, message snoozing, and Quick Replies that let you acknowledge a message with a single tap. Spark also has customizable gesture actions and works with Dropbox, Box, iCloud Drive, and more.

As if that weren’t enough, Spark for Teams completely changes the way colleagues collaborate giving them the ability to do things like comment on and discuss messages and even write messages together. Messages can be delegated to team members for follow up too. Once you’ve tried Spark for Teams, you won’t know how you worked without it.

The future of email is now. Download Spark today for free on iOS and the Mac to take control of your inbox.

Thanks to Spark for supporting MacStories this week.

Agenda is a strong new entrant in the arena of note taking apps for Mac, iPad, and iPhone. It’s elegant and powerful — Agenda was the only Mac app to win an Apple Design Award in 2018 — and includes a few twists on what you have come to expect from a note taking app.

To begin with, Agenda focuses on dates. You organize your notes chronologically in projects, with each project flowing from future, through present, and into the past. Use Agenda to plan for a future meeting or vacation, and have your notes ready when it is time to begin. When it’s all over, the very same notes are preserved for posterity in Agenda’s unique timeline.

You can even link notes to events in your calendar app, and edit the events without leaving Agenda. Rather than competing with your calendar, Agenda complements it, working perfectly in tandem.

Even more exciting, the Agenda team is putting the finishing touches on an update which will bring that same level of integration for Apple’s Reminders app. Reminders is great tool for scheduling tasks that are due at a particular time or place; in just a few weeks time, Agenda will allow you to create and edit reminders without leaving the app.

Similar to calendar support, the Agenda team have opted to integrate with the existing Reminders app, rather than reinvent the wheel. You will be able to link reminders to list items in Agenda, so that you get a notification when they become due. Agenda will autofill as much information as possible, making it ridiculously easy to create new reminders for your tasks. There is even support for a markdown-like syntax, so you don’t even have to stop typing.

Agenda is free to download and use forever. It is a great time to give it a try, because there is now support for importing from Evernote and Apple Notes, and free sync via iCloud.

A premium feature upgrade is available via In-App Purchase. It includes all current premium features, as well as new ones added in the next 12 months. Best of all, the features you unlock are yours to use forever — strictly no subscription.

Our thanks to Agenda for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Backups of your computer’s files have to be trustworthy. If you can’t trust your backups, they’re not really backups.

The reason Stefan created Arq Backup for the Mac back in 2009 was because he couldn’t find an online solution that felt like real backup. Most online backup providers were and continue to be vague about where the data are stored, how durable the storage is, and how sustainable the business model is.

Arq does everything it can to provide a completely trustworthy backup solution.

Why should you trust Arq?

• Arq is open. It stores versioned, de-duplicated backup records in a format that’s documented.
• Arq is private. Backup records are encrypted with a password that only you know. The password never leaves your computer, and your data is encrypted before ever leaving your computer.
• Arq gives you control. Your backup data is stored in your own cloud account, SFTP server, or NAS.
• Arq verifies. Arq periodically makes sure the contents of the objects at the destination match the contents of your files on disk.
• Arq notifies. You’ll get a notification when there’s an error.

Do you like having total control over your data? Do you want to maintain your privacy? Then Arq is for you!

Download a free 30-day trial of Arq today and rest easy knowing that your files are backed up and secure.

Our thanks to Arq for sponsoring MacStories this week.