Things
Things review. One of the most popular to-do apps on iOS!
나름대로 아이패드에 있는 수많은 할일 앱을 리뷰했고 지금도 하고 있습니다. 그런데 이 유명한 앱을 지금까지 깊게 살펴보진 않았습니다. 사실 제가 아이폰 유저였으면 다른 할일 앱 안 쓰고 그냥 이 앱에 정착했을 수도 있습니다. 이미 구매도 했고 말이죠. 왜 이 앱의 안드로이드 버전은 안나오는가… 애플한테 통수 당할 일은 없다고 믿는 것일까요? 하나씩 적어보겠습니다. Things입니다.
Table of Contents
- Things review. One of the most popular to-do apps on iOS!
- Things has a distinctive, yet highly professional and intuitive interface.
- The updates themselves are frequent, but there’s hardly any addition of features.
- For Things, you have to purchase the app separately for each device, but I like that it’s not subscription-based.
- What will the future hold for this app?
- Things Summary
Things has a distinctive, yet highly professional and intuitive interface.
Though it focuses more on text than images, it has a remarkably unique feel. A rare vibe these days. It has the feel of an early app.
The first thing I noticed when using Things was that the interface is both distinctive and quite intuitive. Other apps typically feature a calendar or date section as the focal point, with a list of tasks for today displayed prominently. It gives a sense of businesslike or professional feel. However, Things has a feeling reminiscent of early Apple apps, almost to the point where it feels like an official Apple app – it’s very intuitive. For instance, when you tap on the to-do section, it enlarges, prompting you to add here, giving the feeling of using an actual object. Pressing on an item elicits an immediate response, giving it a very intuitive feel.
사실 예전에는 앱들이 실제 제품을 사용하는 듯한 느낌, 또 뭔가 개성이 있어야 되는 그런 느낌을 가진 앱들이 많았었습니다. 하지만 요즘은 구글의 머티리얼 디자인이나 애플 디자인 등 어느 정도 개발자측에서 가이드라인을 제공하는 등 예전처럼 개성을 살리기보다는 본인들의 디자인 규격에 따르라 그런 식의 앱이 많아진 것도 있고, 예전보다 단순 사용성만을 중시한 앱들이 많아지기도 했습니다. 또 단순히 개성만 넘치던 앱은 수익성의 문제인지 많이 망하기도 했습니다. Squarespace Note라거나… Zoho Notebook도 예전 앱의 느낌이 나는데, 이 앱 역시 이 앱 자체로 수익을 많이 올리지는 않고 있거든요. 수익성을 위해서는 역시 전문적인 인터페이스가 필요한가 싶습니다.
On the other hand, Things exudes the vibe of old iOS apps. Furthermore, the interface, which has more text than images, contributes to its intuitive feel, almost resembling the experience of using a note-taking app. It’s a bit challenging when images or icons change shape or respond to touch, isn’t it? However, in a text-focused, simple interface, making changes like altering square boxes is relatively easy, so I believe that’s the chosen approach.
Actually, in terms of functionality alone, the app is quite simple, but these aspects actually contribute to a very straightforward and intuitive interface, often giving off a rigid, ‘just do what needs to be done’ vibe. An app with a unique feel in many ways… Of course, it’s likely still popular because of these aspects. Many apps that were simply overflowing with personality have failed. You could express these as skeuomorphism transitioning to minimalism, and nowadays, the term “neumorphism” is often used. But I’m no expert, so I just wrote it out briefly.
- Skearmorphism links in Wikipedia
While it may not be a crucial aspect, another unique point is that it integrates with official Apple calendar and reminder apps by default. What’s also peculiar is that tapping on the calendar section links directly to the synced calendar app. The visual aspects are left to the app’s design. This part also feels very Apple-like. Overall, it doesn’t feel like it’s competing with those apps in terms of managing tasks… The developer seems to have captured the Apple vibe so well that one might think they’re from Apple themselves.
The updates themselves are frequent, but there’s hardly any addition of features.
Meanwhile, why isn’t there Korean localization? There are quite a lot of Korean reviews as well…
Things는 업데이트 자체는 나름대로 자주 해주는 편이지만 기능 추가는 거의 없다시피한 편입니다. 그냥 버그 수정 수준의 업데이트만 하는 듯합니다. 개인적으로는 아쉽지만 사실 iOS 앱중에서 이런 앱이 어디 한 두개가 아닙니다. 그러려니 하기는 합니다만 실제 내역을 보면 의문이 갈 정도입니다. 뭐 이미 어느정도 기능이 갖춰졌다고 판단되어서 그렇기도 하겠지만 그런 식으로 치면 todoist이나 tick tick같은 기존 유명 앱들은 지금도 기능이 꾸준히 추가되고 있습니다. 어느 방향성이 맞는 것인지는 각자 판단하심이… 그나마 iOS에서도 위젯을 지원하게 되면서 Things도 위젯 기능이 썩 괜찮게 추가되었습니다. iOS 17에서 추가된 내용인 첫 화면 위젯도 역시나 추가되었습니다. 개인적으로는 이 기능 자체가 좀 별로지만…
On the other hand, I’m disappointed that it’s not Koreanized. Although there are quite a few Korean reviews, why isn’t there localization in Korean? However, there are a lot of iOS apps that aren’t actually Koreanized. Could it be that they have the mindset that anyone using their app would understand English anyway? Actually, since Things has been around for quite a while, those who have been using it since then are likely to be quite Apple hipster-ish, so even if it’s not localized in Korean, they might have just used it anyway. Indeed, the Apple of the hipsters…
For Things, you have to purchase the app separately for each device, but I like that it’s not subscription-based.
However, these days, there are more and more subscription-based apps on iOS… I wonder?
Things may have a relatively high app price, but it’s not subscription-based. So far, I really like it, but you have to buy Things separately for iPhone and iPad. This aspect is not great, but compared to most subscription-based to-do apps these days, I think it offers decent value for money. By the way, the Mac version comes at a fairly high price. The Mac version might face some price pressure.
What will the future hold for this app?
Actually, there is an official Apple app called “Reminders,” but it’s quite lacking…
사실 애플이 현재까지도 잊을 만하면 셜로킹을 하고 있고 이 리뷰를 쓰는 현재 가장 최근 피해자(?)는 일기 앱 ‘데이 원‘입니다. 사실 데이 원은 앱도 꽤나 좋고 일찍부터 여러 플랫폼을 지원했었으니 타격이 그렇게 크진 않을 수 있습니다. 다만 이 Things는 생긴 것부터 너무 애플 앱의 느낌이 많이 나서 애플이 iOS 18 이후에 ‘할 일’ 혹은 ‘일정’ 앱을 만들어버린다면… 뭐 개발진이 알아서 잘 대처해나갈 일입니다. 사실 이미 애플 기본 앱 중에서 ‘미리 알림‘ 앱이 어느 정도 할일 앱의 기능을 하긴 합니다. 근데 여러 모로 아쉬운 앱이라서요… 기능 추가 자체는 꾸준히 하는 듯하지만 Things 입장에서는 다행이도(?) 많이 부족합니다.
Certainly, while Apple’s official “Reminders” app is somewhat disappointing and not particularly intuitive, Things is undoubtedly a well-crafted app. Personally, I sometimes wonder what it would be like if Apple were to simply absorb this app, much like they did with their “Shortcuts” app. The to-do app Things was actually better at capturing the Apple vibe than Apple themselves.
Things Summary
Good point
- The app has a vibe reminiscent of early days, particularly embodying Apple’s intuitive feel quite well.
- You have to buy it for each device, but it’s not a subscription service.
- Fundamentally faithful features.
Bad point
- Not Koreanized.
- The functionality itself isn’t extensive.
- Feature updates are very slow unless there is no iOS or iPadOS update.
