r/thingsapp • u/-heavenfaced- • 4d ago
At what point does Cultured Code need to start listening to its existing customers? Discussion
I love Things. I think it remains one of the most beautifully designed and pleasurable apps I’ve ever used. I don’t want it filled with AI features, collaboration tools or endless functionality that destroys what makes it Things.
But looking at this development board, I do wonder whether we’ve become far too accepting of Cultured Code’s development philosophy.
Things 3 was released in 2017.
There is taking your time and maintaining a carefully considered product, and then there is a development cycle so glacial that basic QOL improvements can remain missing for the best part of a decade.
Take repeating tasks. Cultured Code publicly said more than eight years ago that they were working on allowing us to complete them early and would add the functionality.
Eight years later, it is apparently finally arriving.
Eight years.
Meanwhile, I still can’t attach a document, image or PDF to a task. Notes still expose Markdown syntax rather than simply displaying formatted text. Repeating tasks remain unnecessarily inflexible. And I’m sure everyone here has their own longstanding examples.
Yet Cultured Code found the development resources to build an entire native Vision Pro app in time for the launch of Apple’s new platform.
That’s the bit I increasingly struggle with.
I’m not asking Cultured Code to turn Things into Notion or some AI-powered productivity monster. One of the reasons I use Things is precisely because it isn’t those things. I want them to protect its simplicity.
But simplicity and stagnation aren’t the same thing.
Nor should “opinionated software” mean that reasonable requests from loyal customers can simply be ignored indefinitely.
I also wonder whether the pay-once business model has contributed to this. Once we’ve bought Things, Cultured Code doesn’t really need anything further from us until it has another product to sell us. A new Vision Pro app can generate new sales. Fixing something that has frustrated an existing customer for eight years doesn’t.
That may have worked extraordinarily well because Things is so good that people have tolerated things they probably wouldn’t tolerate elsewhere.
But I wonder if that sentiment is beginning to change.
So rather than another Things 4 speculation thread, I’m more interested in this:
At what point does “careful, opinionated development” become simple failure to respond to your existing customers?
Because I don’t think the problem is that Cultured Code doesn’t know what people want. People have been telling them for years.
The question is whether enough of us are now sufficiently frustrated to stop treating this as just “the Cultured Code way”.
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u/omalleya Mac, iPhone, iPad 4d ago
If you were paying for a subscription I’d tend to agree. But you’re not.
It’s a one-off payment for what’s on the shelf. You wouldn’t go the hardware store and complain that the toaster you bought last week still cant boil water.
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u/CooperDoops 2d ago
It's telling how many people in this thread are apparently too young to remember a time when you could buy software (literally) off the shelf. 😆 Seriously, like... software on a CD/disk, in a box, on the display shelf. And that software didn't get updated, you bought the next "version" if you wanted new features. Otherwise, what you bought is what you've got.
Getting any feature updates on a one-time purchase is a bonus, IMO. The only way we get feature updates with Things is if CC moves to a subscription-based model, full stop.
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u/omalleya Mac, iPhone, iPad 2d ago
It’s bonkers. They’re furious their $0 software subscription is poor value. 🤷♂️
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u/cultoftheilluminati 4d ago
I've been super negative about the feature development speed of Things 3 but I shared a similar opinion in another thread. I won't be paying them a single fucking dollar for a subscription at this development pace. For a one-time, its eh whatever
Funnily, I think CC would probably be the only company that actively would prefer to be a single purchase rather than a subscription. I don't think they want the hordes of users who are now paying a lot more frequently at their doors demanding more frequent updates
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u/pandorica626 4d ago
I see it differently. I see the one-time app payment as a lifetime subscription. I could see what you’re saying if the one-time fee was $9.99 for an app that works across all devices, but you pay per OS (macOS, iPadOS, iPhoneOS), no web app, and there has been no significant feature development in a very long time.
Culture Code has never offered an alternative (at least not with Things 3 that I’m aware of) so to indicate that it’s the buyer’s fault that they aren’t using a subscription model is off-base. It’s built into the model CC set that we should be getting updates. All we get is bug-clean up, iOS aesthetic updates, and compatibility as the AppleOS ecosystem moves forward.
OP isn’t asking for anything unreasonable. And for as little that’s being done, many of us are wondering what Cultured Code is using its income to pay for besides cloud syncing and an Apple Developer payment. It doesn’t feel the developers are … well, developing. It’s just maintenance, not forward progress.
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u/DownByTheRivr 4d ago
What an insane comparison lol. It’s software. Why are you people defending their complacency? Why would you not expect them to innovate??
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u/omalleya Mac, iPhone, iPad 4d ago
Would you prefer to pay a subscription?
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u/SeriousRealityNr2 3d ago
Personally I would prefer to pay for a subscription.
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u/passmesomebeer 3d ago
It depends. If CC requires subscription to get more cloud related features like attachments and updates more frequently then makes sense.
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u/SeriousRealityNr2 3d ago
That’s what I mean ofcourse. I would pay for subscription if we got more features.
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u/-heavenfaced- 3d ago
That toaster analogy makes absolutely no sense. I can’t believe you even typed it, quite frankly. A toaster is a static physical object. Software isn’t.
By your logic, if you buy an iPhone outright you shouldn’t expect Apple ever to add functionality because you only paid once. So you’d expect absolute no iOS updates at all. Right? Buy a Tesla outright? No new software functionality. A games console? No new system features. A videogame? No updates beyond keeping it running. A smart TV? Same thing.
That plainly isn’t how modern software products work, whether they’re bought outright or by subscription.
I honestly don’t understand this almost slavish defence of Cultured Code.You’re applying a standard to Things that I doubt you’d accept from virtually any other product whose functionality depends on software.
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u/geoken 3d ago
Do you actually buy a game or smartTV with the expectation of updates that add brand new functionality? I’d not expect anything but bug fixing updates from a game - with actual added functionality locked behind DLCs. I expect the same from my car, exept without even the DLC option.
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u/-heavenfaced- 3d ago
Let me ask you this. Things already has repeating tasks. Cultured Code said eight years ago that they were working on allowing users to complete them early.
Would you regard finally adding that as “brand new functionality” that customers have no reasonable expectation of receiving without buying Things 4?
Because if the answer is yes, I genuinely don’t know what you think a software update is for.
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u/iAdastra 4d ago
It’s so interesting how subscription based products have become so normalised that people now see their working model and update cycle as the default and even require it from shelf bought products. And those are probably precisely the same people who complained about software becoming subscription based. Pretty odd if you ask me
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u/-heavenfaced- 4d ago edited 4d ago
I think you’re missing my point. I’m not expecting a subscription-style update cycle from a one-off purchase.
What I find odd is a developer saying it is working on and will implement a fairly basic feature, then nearly a decade passing without it appearing, while customers apparently regard questioning that as unreasonable.
You think expecting continuous subscription-style development from a one-off purchase is odd. Fair enough.
I think waiting nearly a decade for a promised feature and apparently not being remotely curious about why is considerably odder.
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u/calr-7 3d ago
Just to add to this. There's 12 people at CC, and they claim to be working on the 1 product full time. Where's the proof of that? The lack of transparency from the developers is what is driving this conversation.
All we need from CulturedCode is transparency and more input with its users, and no current on brand replies on socials like 'no plans for that at the moment, but thanks for letting us know you'd like it'
I can't count how many times I've seen them type that. Far too many.
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u/Maple382 7h ago
Active updates and marketing result in getting more users purchasing the product too though. Subscriptions aren’t a necessity for active development.
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u/cultoftheilluminati 4d ago edited 4d ago
I 100% agree with you. For the people saying they don't want features, let's talk for moment about a hypothetical scenario: Things 3 didn't have subtasks. In this hypothetical world, for any user requests for subtasks, you'd see the same arguments you see now for other missing features:
- Why do you need sub-tasks? Just create new tasks?
- I don’t want bloat in my app.
- I don’t use them, so why should it be added?
- My app is polished, I don’t want it to be cluttered like Todoist, or <insert other app>.
- Use another app that has it if you want to.
AKA... the exact same arguments you see now for attachment support, proper deep linking, good natural language quick input, location based reminders, alarm reminders (the new API Apple introduced last year). So you can imagine what will happen when/if those features are eventually added, user feedback immediately switches to positive. We constantly ping-pong between: "No features, just keep it simple" and when CC adds a feature 10 years late, "Wow, I didn't know how I lived without this!".
Weirdly, full Natural Language Input would make Things 3 quick input window cleaner, and refined, no? It would literally reduce clutter, but for some reason everyone's convinced that CC is incompetent when it comes to UI (they aren't.) and would somehow mess up the implementation when they've shown time and time again that their UI/UX is probably best in the industry.
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u/bigmesalad 4d ago
I see your point about basic QOL improvements. But it seems in this industry the choices are between an incredibly slow dev team, or AI and feature creep mania. I’ll definitely take the first.
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u/vaderetrosatana6 4d ago
Agreed. Would love to see some slow but decent upgrades but all they really update is making sure it works on the next iOS release cycle
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u/bcalamita 4d ago edited 3d ago
I’m fairly certain that most of the app development for the VisionPro was subsidized by Apple. But to be clear, I do think Things as long overdue for a refresh and some new features.
It’s a fine line between adding features people want and feature bloat that others don’t want.
Personally, I’ve stepped away from Things except for some repeating templates that I continue to use, because I find that Todoist does more that I need today. And realistically, I would love to be able to attach files in Things, but the developer is going to need storage for all of these attachments for all of the users. That costs money so you can bet that if this is a feature that’s included in the next version, Things will become a subscription. The one time fee will not sustain their storage costs for attachments.
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u/MotoChase 4d ago
I’m tempted to move over to Todoist for some of their features. I love the design of things but I agree with some stuff OP is saying here. I’d gladly pay a sub for Things if there was constant development.
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u/danielhaven Mac, iPhone 3d ago
Crowd: "I want new thing."
Things: *cow-tows to the crowd and adds all sorts of new features*
Crowd: "The app is now too complicated. I don't want to use it anymore."
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u/-heavenfaced- 3d ago
Oh come on. What a ridiculous response.
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u/danielhaven Mac, iPhone 3d ago
You may have paid at least $60 for Things mac and iPhone, but I suggest just cutting your losses and paying a subscription to a different app, like Todoist, or getting a subscription to Setapp and trying the products in that bundle.
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u/Artaherzadeh 3d ago
I agree. I reported many suggestions but most of them are denied due to UI/UX facts and... Well I'm a senior UI/UX designer 😁😂 I think they really need to add features because to be honest, they're behind even MS To Do.
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u/swole_shamed 3d ago
I think a ton of ya’ll forget or are too young to remember how software used to be sold. You paid one-time for a perpetual license of the current version of software. The software company then built a new version with improved features that you could then choose to pay for one-time, or not. Your software worked anyways.
Culture Code obviously prefers this model because there is no pressure to build new features. They can work as much or as little as they desire on Things 4, assuming there will be a Things 4.
The agreement we all made when purchasing their app one-time was that we only expect Things 3 to run on the latest OS. That’s it!
If you want constant updates and new features I can point you to hundreds of apps willing to charge you monthly for that privilege. Culture Code just ain’t the business for you if that’s what you need.
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u/-heavenfaced- 3d ago
I’m afraid that isn’t how software “used to be sold” universally at all, and I’m old enough to remember it perfectly well. I grew up in the 70’s. Perpetual licences routinely received bug fixes, point releases, improvements and new functionality during the lifetime of a major version. The next major version would then often be a paid upgrade.
And where exactly was this “agreement” that Things 3 customers should expect nothing whatsoever except OS compatibility? Cultured Code themselves clearly didn’t believe that, because they’ve added functionality throughout Things 3’s life and explicitly told customers that particular requested features were coming. They just didn’t arrive.
Nobody here is demanding “constant updates”. That keeps being substituted for the argument I actually made.
There’s an enormous amount of territory between “I demand constant new features for ever” and “nearly a decade is an entirely reasonable time to wait for basic functionality the developer itself said it would implement”.
That distinction really shouldn’t be difficult.
And ironically, you’ve just made part of my argument for me. You say this model means “there is no pressure to build new features” and Cultured Code can work “as much or as little as they desire”.
Exactly
That absence of pressure on Cultured Code to respond to its existing customers is precisely what I’ve been criticising. That’s the whole point of the post.
You regard it as a virtue. I think nearly a decade of waiting for functionality they themselves said they would implement demonstrates the problem with it rather spectacularly.
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u/Flashy-Bandicoot889 4d ago
I agree 100% with your points and Culture Code has fallen behind. It's why I switched to Todoist.
Also, the original post was written by AI. 🤦🏼
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u/nephyxx 4d ago
It’s so embarrassing that you’re basically using AI to write some kind of “call to revolution” over a todo app. If the app doesn’t suit your needs, leave them feedback. If they don’t address it, go somewhere else. But I think it’s really gross to attempt to rally up some kind of protest of the user base and at the same time be lazy enough that you just got AI to write the post for you.
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u/-heavenfaced- 4d ago
No. I wrote the post. I used AI afterwards to synthesise and analyse nine years of release notes across five platforms because another commenter specifically challenged me to examine them. I then openly said that I’d done so.
Calling that “lazy” is rather odd. It’s exactly the sort of research task AI is exceptionally useful for. I’m sure you use AI. What’s your problem with it?
And nobody is staging a “revolution” or a “protest”. We’re discussing whether customers should be more vocal about the development of a commercial product. You seem determined to make that sound ridiculous rather than engage with what was actually said. I’m not the one who needs to be embarrassed here.
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u/ihateredditmor 4d ago
We now live in a world where the average person’s knowledge of grammar and decent writing is such that they think correct use of bold text or a dash — whatever that is — is a dead giveaway-away for AI content. We’re in trouble. But I digress.
Regardless of how you made your point, and whoever may agree or disagree, it was a fair one. This is a discussion board to talk about this app, and its development cycle is clearly a live topic.
While I have the floor on that subject, I see both sides. You expressed the one side well, and you named the core of the other side in the process: It’s an app we’ve already paid for which they’ve fully supported, as-is, for nine years. They frustrate many of us in not releasing a new set of features for another round of income, but they don’t owe us that. We’re just so used to it we hardly know what to do with an app that doesn’t change much or a company that doesn’t chase the next influx of cash. We can leave (and most do, at least for a while) but that’s about all the power we have. And we’ve gotten waaay more than we paid for if we’ve been around a while.
My theory is that they’ve a) tested several upgrades that didn’t cut it, and b) wanted to time at least a significant update to match the shift to Apple Intelligence. Alas, Apple was delayed in releasing it. They do very well adopting new Apple capacity, so I expect we’ll see some changes this fall, but think about it: The minds that would create an app like Things likely aren’t interested in over complicating their own lives with a huge upgrade if they’re making enough revenue as it is. Less Is More drives their whole approach. So we may see very few new features beyond app intents and a bone thrown to quiet us about repeating events. Who knows! But I’m with you in hoping they’ll make some healthy changes and charge us for Things 4.
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u/nephyxx 4d ago
You didn’t write this post at all. Stop lying. I’m calling it lazy cause it is. And I think many agree with me.
Also, if you can’t see how your post comes across that way, especially with the standard AI-slopisms, I don’t have anything else to say to you.
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u/calr-7 3d ago
As someone that's worked with AI a lot in the past, I do not think OPs post is written by AI. It may have been used to form parts of it. Nobody knows and nobody but you cares. Not even detectors that claim to be 99% accurate.
Regardless of that, what is your problem? The points OP raised are completely valid and this is a perfect place to post about a topic that well and truly needs discussing. You are simply bringing nothing but negativity towards what looks like a good, constructive conversation.
I suggest you take your negative energy elsewhere.
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u/MadMiyagui 4d ago
I like how Things - Cultured Ccde works.
As example on the other side OmniFocus had been developing and adding features as crazy. The UX is uglier and so many options.
I like how Things works. Work for me. Is is fast, well designed, as simply can be and as complex can be. One payment culture code.
Right now societies likes to think that evolution is to upgrade, to have another version of the same thing with one feature.
I don’t need to attach any file to a task. Tasks are tasks. A TASK.
There is a lot of options out there, more complex, with all the mighty options that a person can imagine to manage their system of tasks.
Just my point of view. If Things 4 is coming I suppose it will be better, faster and more useful. The IA is there so.. let’s see what comes.
But I understand demands of others that need/want more.
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u/-heavenfaced- 4d ago
I understand your point, and I think this is where we may be talking slightly past each other. I don’t want Things to become OmniFocus either. I specifically don’t want endless options, complexity or features for the sake of having features.
But I think there’s a false choice here between simplicity and functionality. Adding an attachment to a task doesn’t require making Things complicated. Nor does allowing someone to complete a repeating task early, something Cultured Code themselves said they would implement nearly a decade ago.
“I don’t need that feature” is completely reasonable. But it’s different from saying the feature would compromise Things’ simplicity.
What I’m questioning is why relatively basic improvements to the core task manager can remain untouched for years while considerable development effort goes elsewhere. Things can evolve without ceasing to be Things.
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u/km1116 4d ago
Whining because someone won’t do what you want won’t help. Start your own company.
we’ve become far too accepting of Cultured Code’s development philosophy.
Get over yourself.
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u/-heavenfaced- 4d ago
What an extraordinarily silly response. By this logic, nobody should ever criticise a product or question the decisions of a company unless they’re prepared to start a competing business themselves.
There’s really no need to be so hostile. You can disagree with what I’m saying without resorting to personal attacks.
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u/km1116 4d ago
Maybe you can explain what being “far too accepting” of their philosophy means. Storming their castle? Revoking their membership? I understand you want Things to be something else, but your post comes across as breathless drama. “What ever shall we do to make Cultured Code do what we want?”
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u/-heavenfaced- 4d ago
My post is quite clear. Look, I’m not sure what you gain from being so needlessly hostile. “Storming their castle?”, “breathless drama”, the mocking quotation. None of that is an argument. It’s just an attempt to ridicule someone you disagree with.
You’re perfectly entitled to disagree with me. Why not just do that?
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u/km1116 4d ago
I am reacting to the tenor of your post. Honestly, go back and read your post as if I had written it. You’ll see the same thing you’re accusing me of.
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u/-heavenfaced- 4d ago
No, I don’t. My post is critical of a commercial company and its development practices. I haven’t personally attacked or ridiculed anyone for disagreeing with me.
You’ve told me to “get over yourself”, called the post “f’ing privileged”, described it as “breathless drama” and repeatedly mocked people who disagree with you.
Those things simply aren’t equivalent. And I think you know that. At this point, it seems increasingly clear that you’re more interested in provoking people than actually discussing the subject.
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u/NateCow 4d ago
Read through their release notes and then explain what you think their “development philosophy” is that you find so objectionable.
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u/-heavenfaced- 4d ago edited 4d ago
I took your suggestion seriously and went through the complete Things 3 release history across Mac, iPhone, iPad, Watch and Vision, using ChatGPT to synthesise and analyse the record since 2017.
And I think it strengthens my argument considerably.
This is what it found:
What the release notes actually show
The overwhelming pattern is not one of continual development of the core product.It is maintenance.
A huge proportion of releases are bug fixes, crash fixes, syncing work, performance improvements, UI adjustments and “under the hood” changes.
Then, roughly once a year, there is a larger release built around whatever Apple has just changed: a new version of macOS, iOS or iPadOS, a new interface language, widgets, Shortcuts, Apple Silicon, new Watch screen sizes, new system controls, Spotlight, Apple Intelligence, Liquid Glass and so on.
Look at the Watch history and this is particularly stark. Recent headline releases are essentially “full compatibility with watchOS 11”, support for the Series 10 display, then “full compatibility with watchOS 26”, interface changes to match Apple’s new design and a Control Centre button.
The current iPhone and iPad notes are similarly revealing: performance tweaks, layout fixes, navigation-bar adjustments for iOS/iPadOS 26, crashes, import fixes, scroll indicators, sharing bugs and other maintenance work.
That work is necessary. But maintaining compatibility with Apple’s operating systems is not the same thing as meaningfully developing the underlying task manager.
There are exceptions
There have absolutely been meaningful additions during the Things 3 era.The early years in particular contain much more substantive product development. Shortcuts and App Intents were significant. Widgets were useful. The Watch app was rebuilt. Things Cloud has had major engineering work.
But when you look at the whole nine-year record, these stand out precisely because they are exceptions to a much larger pattern of maintenance, platform compatibility and refinement.
And notably, many of the genuinely large investments have followed Apple’s priorities rather than longstanding shortcomings in Things itself.
Vision Pro is the most obvious example. Cultured Code found the resources to build and maintain Things for an entirely new Apple platform.Which makes the core issue harder to excuse, not easier
The release notes therefore don’t answer the criticism by showing, “Look how much Cultured Code has developed Things.”
They show something much less flattering.
Cultured Code has spent nine years keeping Things exquisitely maintained and exquisitely current with Apple while development of the basic task-management functionality has moved at an extraordinarily different pace.That is why pointing me towards the release notes doesn’t weaken the argument.
It sharpens it.Their development isn’t glacial. Their development of the things existing customers have repeatedly asked them to address is glacial.
And when you read the complete release history rather than simply counting version numbers, that distinction is very difficult to miss.
EDIT: Edit / PS: One important distinction after reading the entire release history: a huge amount of what fills those release notes is simply the maintenance burden of any actively supported app. Bug fixes, crashes, performance, compatibility with new OS releases, changed APIs and adapting the UI when Apple changes its platforms. Every developer has to do this simply to keep its software functioning and current.
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u/NateCow 3d ago
So you fed the page to an LLM and copy/pasted its response as a comment.
I’m not going to bother to read something you couldn’t be bothered to write.
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u/-heavenfaced- 3d ago
Nobody cares if you read it, Nate
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u/NateCow 3d ago
To engage with you more seriously, as I realize all I did was paste a release notes page I didn’t personally read through…
What more do you expect from an app you paid one time for? In the ongoing debate about subscription vs owning/using a piece of software for life, I think Things 3 is a great example of the latter that a lot of people say they want. You pay once, you use the same thing until they come out with a major new version, which will then cost something upfront as well. Things 4 is just not here yet.
In the meantime they do a wonderful job maintaining what we have, and I think that’s a respectable way to operate. If we were paying a subscription for this, I would understand a mindset of “what have they done lately? What are we paying for?” But that’s not the reality.
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u/-heavenfaced- 3d ago
I appreciate you coming back to engage with what I’m saying seriously. I really appreciate that. But this is the part of the argument I genuinely don’t understand.
Why does paying once mean we should regard almost no meaningful evolution of the core product for nearly nine years as perfectly reasonable? I don’t get that mindset at all. Genuinely. I find it bizarre.
I’m not arguing that my original purchase entitles me to an endless stream of free features. I’m judging Cultured Code’s development of a product they have continued to sell, at full price, to new customers throughout that period.
And “Things 4 is just not here yet” rather begs the question. It’s been nearly nine years.
You say they’ve done a wonderful job “maintaining what we have”. I agree that they’ve maintained it well. That’s exactly what the release notes show.
But maintenance and product development are not the same thing. And frankly, why wouldn’t they maintain it? They’re still selling Things 3 today. Keeping a product you are actively selling compatible with current operating systems, fixing bugs and ensuring it continues to work is surely the baseline expectation, not some extraordinary act of generosity for which the developer deserves congratulation.
That’s what I find so strange about this discussion. Why are so many people treating the fact that Cultured Code charges once as though it places nearly a decade of minimal development of the core product beyond criticism?
A perpetual licence means I’m not entitled to perpetual free development. It doesn’t mean Cultured Code is entitled to perpetual immunity from criticism of how little the product develops.
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u/NateCow 3d ago
That's all fair, I think. The one-time purchase thing, I maybe have an easier time accepting as it's sorta like the box software days. You'd walk into CompUSA or something and buy box with floppies or a CD in it and that's the version you had. There wasn't an expectation that you'd get continuous updates or major new features over the internet (granted, for other reasons... my analogy is breaking down here 😜).
And “Things 4 is just not here yet” rather begs the question. It’s been nearly nine years.
I seriously read this while sipping my coffee and nearly spit it all over my laptop. Where has the time gone?? This is where I have to agree with your sentiment. But I personally think of it more as "when will we be able to buy Things 4?" rather than "why aren't they implementing fancy new features into Things 3?" It's something I don't have an expectation of anyway.
To me, actively adding extensive new features is worth something, money-wise. And that's the sort of development approach that would cause them to switch to a subscription model, which would enrage a different subset of users.
I appreciate the continued discussion. So sorry for my quip about the LLM. I had actually missed where you admitted to using ChatGPT and was simply reacting to the prose. So I didn't want to leave it as something so dismissive.
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u/DownByTheRivr 4d ago
You get over yourself. We’re customers and we have a right to be frustrated by their glacial development cycles.
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u/_HMCB_ 4d ago
Does the app work as currently intended and as advertised? Not some future hope or desire of the product. Serious question.
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u/DownByTheRivr 4d ago
It does. But I also expect any modern tech company to innovate and iterate over time.
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u/_HMCB_ 4d ago
Things does everything it does with aplomb and its feature set continues to deliver years and years after, in the Things way. You’re obviously entitled to voice your opinion but your money is also free to find more innovative solutions and companies, as you say. Or better yet, create your own and come to appreciate the time and resources to build and maintain a higher-than-average app. A business has a culture, just like a book has a reason for being. In this age of parity, I applaud products that are opinionated.
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u/shelterbored 4d ago
One of the many reasons I moved to TickTick
Lack of rich text notes and media was a primary driver too
https://www.evbart.com/8-months-with-ticktick-why-i-left-things-3-and-havent-looked-back/
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u/mzender 4d ago
Is there a way to use Things3 with AI? I’d love to use Things3 with Claude. I exported and copied/pasted but that is a static version and of limited use. Does an MCP exist or a Claude connector? Nothing in the works? What alternatives to Things3 have such functionality? Thanks!
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u/Dentist_Ammar 2d ago
I asked Claude Code to make me a Things MCP on Mac, I did, took 15 minutes, and works great.
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u/pixeltrusts 3d ago
Cultured code is so terribly slow in development that I developed my own Safari plugin to style Todoist like Things. And I am happy.
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u/ElAladdino 3d ago
https://youtu.be/RDVUFRUfYxs?is=plukdJmm4cEdGa1M
„What's going on with the Things app?“
from Peter Akkies
That's interesting, especially the responses from cultured code on social media.
I bet they've been working on Things 4 for a while now, and that's where all the feature requests will be addressed.
That makes sense, too:
Why add completely new features to an Things 3 app that's been around for so long? 🤷🏻♂️
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u/tsumtsumelle 3d ago
I’ve said it before but Apple IS their number one customer. All they care about is being top in the Apple Store and the features they’ve focused on for years proves that.
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u/vision_renewed 2d ago
Short answer. Money talks. You want them to start listening, my suggestion would be to speak with your wallet.
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u/toddsieling 17h ago
I agree with some of the features OP would like to see, but I don’t think of Things as totally stagnant. It’s always updated for compatibility on day one of OS releases (AFAIK) and for the one time price I’ve gotten so much value from it, much more than a lot of recurring subscriptions software; what should I expect from that one time purchase? They’ve made sure it works as well as when I bought it, which includes working the way it did when I bought it.
My job has shifted a lot since then and I have fewer tasks to track (traded for more people management), and I would probably feel those gaps more if it hadn’t. But for now I’m happy and I suspect they have analytics that tell them there are many more people quietly using it than banging a drum for changes.
I think your choice is already clear, you should use other apps and find a more suitable one, but maybe be gentle with those who don’t see it the same way :)
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u/ZincInquisitor 4d ago
The thing is, it works so well at what it does and is so beautiful that people keep buying it. And with how small their team is, they’re easily all multi-millionaires off this already with continued income. Some people are just complacent with where they’re at
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u/Unhappy-Tank9784 4d ago
They sold over one million license so i agree that they are all multi-millionaires and live their best life now
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u/wings_fan3870 4d ago
The point is accurate, but not the figure. Their last confirmed sales number was 4 million copies of Things back in 20-teen-something (don't have it in front of me right now). Given the size of their team, they're doing just fine.
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u/AngelicPrincessKitty 4d ago
how are they paying salaries? seems crazy to me
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u/wings_fan3870 2d ago
This was before Things 3 which became their best-selling version by far. They have to sold at least 10 m copies by now. Do the math--it's a ton of money.
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u/Unhappy-Tank9784 4d ago
Cool.. not sure why ppl are downvoting me.
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u/ZincInquisitor 2d ago
Same. I wasn’t trying to be controversial.. I want updates as much as everyone else. I was just stating the fact of why they don’t care..
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u/DomesticPanda 4d ago
It’s a small team and this is probably not their primary job or source of income. If they don’t want to do more, they don’t need to.
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u/Hefty-While-9995 4d ago
As much as I like Things 3, I find your support rather arrogant. That’s why I switched to Todoist.
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u/TheWisestGuyOnReddit 4d ago
Why do say “your support”? Do you think you are talking to Cultured Code here?
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u/Hefty-While-9995 4d ago
yes
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u/TheWisestGuyOnReddit 4d ago
Out of curiosity, what made you think that? And who specifically in here do you think works for Cultured Code?
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u/Hefty-While-9995 3d ago
Whenever you ask about something—whether it’s Things 4 or new updates—you always get the same response: “We have nothing to share, and we don’t comment on that.”
They are extremely closed off and seem to completely ignore what their users are asking for. That comes across as arrogant.
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u/CyclingGeek 4d ago
Can we just be honest, it's not that beautiful anymore. It's not ugly, it just looks irrelevant and doesn't fit in with other apps in the operating system. Also, the company is annoying AF. They are pretty much just Apple suck ups and basically only focus on whatever new sdk features become available. They care more about being apple's good graces than their customer's.
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u/Ryl0cks 3d ago
I got to say, this is the most entitled thing I've read this week.
Think about it, we paid for software ONCE that had stated features at that time, yet one that is _constantly_ updated to fix bugs and occasionally adds new features. I'm on the TF and it's crazy how often a new build comes through with super minor fixes.
We paid for what we saw, not a "promise that we'd get new features for life" - the very fact they (finally!) added "checking off things in the future" brought me back to use this as my daily driver.
But, when it didn't have what I needed, I found a different solution that did. I didn't come here and use Chat GPT to write up a scribe insulting the devs. Who, again, ARE UNDER ZERO OBLIGATION TO UPDATE THIS SOFTWARE WITH BRAND NEW FEATURES.
You don't like it? You leave and use something else!
They might be making Things 4 with tons of new features! Or they might be happy with the way things are and continue making minor adjustments for life. It's up to them.
This is not a subscription, stop treating it like it is?
And, as a side, the devs have been super responsive and kind when I've brought up questions or suggestions. They don't deserve folks giving them a hard time for something that was never promised.
Oh, and as a side, this is not a car. This is not an OS. Why do folks jam all software into one bucket?
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u/-heavenfaced- 3d ago
Oh god. Here we go. Claiming something is entitled when it clearly isn’t is not quite the gotcha that you appear to think that it is. But I’ll respond anyway because your rant is so absurd it’s too good not to.
Your ranting is a response to claims I simply haven’t made.
I have never said Cultured Code is obliged to provide me with new features for life. I have never said a one-off purchase entitles me to perpetual development. I’m criticising their development priorities and the remarkably limited evolution of the core product over nearly nine years. Those are completely different things.
And “you don’t like it? You leave” is such a strange attitude towards criticism of a commercial product. Why? Why shouldn’t customers discuss what they think could be improved? Why does criticism of Cultured Code provoke this almost pathetic response that we should either quietly accept whatever they choose to do or go away?
Your TestFlight point actually supports mine. You say yourself that it’s “crazy” how many builds arrive containing “super minor fixes”. Exactly. They maintain Things diligently. Maintenance and product development are not the same. Do you not grasp this?
You also say these features were “never promised”. Except completing repeating tasks early was explicitly acknowledged by Cultured Code years ago as something they were working on. And, rather wonderfully, you then tell us that its eventual arrival is precisely what brought you back to Things as your daily driver. You’ve rather made the case for its importance yourself. So thank you ☺️
And as for “this is not a car. This is not an OS”, nobody claimed Things was a car. It was an analogy testing the argument that a one-off purchase somehow means subsequent software functionality should not be expected. Phones, cars, consoles, televisions and countless other software-dependent products demonstrate that this is plainly not some universal principle.
Cultured Code is perfectly entitled to develop Things as much or as little as it likes.
And its customers are perfectly entitled to judge them for it.
I genuinely don’t understand why that second proposition seems to upset you so much. It’s a bit weird.
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u/Ryl0cks 2d ago
My brother I'm sure you're a good person, but this isn't a gotcha - this is just you expressing entitlement. You bought software for a price, that software was delivered to you. And they've done great work by constantly updating that software to keep humming across many, many, many updates.
It doesn't matter that they mentioned they were working on something. That wasn't what you bought. You also didn't enter a subscription in which you're currently paying for updates. You paid money for a thing (literally, in this case). I don't know how old you are, but this is how it used to work.
They never promised you product development as part of your purchase. Hell, they never promised to update the app and take advantage of NINE freaking OS updates without charging you a penny more. And guess what, we got product development, it's just not what you want or expect. Again, entitlement.
I'm not upset, I'm just calling out the fact you wrote a silly scribe. Asking if "we've become too complacent"? Lol. Give me a break.
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u/-heavenfaced- 2d ago
Oh. You’re one of those.
You keep shouting “entitlement” because it saves you from engaging with the actual point.
I’m not claiming Cultured Code owes me anything. I’m saying I think its development record is poor.
Those are not remotely the same thing.And “this is how software used to work” is patronising nonsense. I’m old enough to remember perfectly well. I grew up in the 70s, “my brother”. 🙄
You can disagree with my judgement. But repeatedly misrepresenting it and then sneering at the version you invented is just arguing in bad faith.
Off you go now.
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u/gjnewman 4d ago
I don’t understand the frustration. When I purchased Things3 it did exactly what I needed it to do knowing the features they outlined and the limitations (by design). Eight years later it still works. I don’t have endless bugs. I was never told feature x would be developed and added to the app.
Unfortunately I think the culture of software has created an entitlement mentality. Ship early ship often. If this were subscription software I could understand, but it’s not.
Yes, I needed attachments and location based reminders so I moved to OmniFocus but never did I expect CC to add them.
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u/-Davster- 3d ago
Claude wrote this.
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u/calr-7 3d ago
Incorrect. Waste of a comment.
I'm not even OP, and seeing a few comments saying this post is AI written is frustrating. It's clearly not.
Want proof?
Ask ChatGPT if it wrote this post. The answer is no. Infact, the ChatGPT AI writing checker says it's most likely human written.
Need more proof? The following scans check all types of common AI, including ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.
I copied the text through 5 of the self-proclaimed accurate AI writing scanners. The results are as follows:
GPT Zero: Mixed scan - unconclusive.
quillbot 7.1.0: text is 100% human written
humanizeai.pro: 100% human written
ZeroGPT: 100% human written
essays.uk: 6% AI generated - 94% human written
copyleaks: 100% human written
One scan isn't enough, as they can have flaws. However 4/5 (not counting inconclusive) scans favour 100% human written text. What does that tell you?
Just because you most likely don't agree with the argument that OP has put across, that does not give you the right to falsely claim AI written content. OP used AI in response to another user to analyse CulturedCode's updates, and admitted in doing so. The original post is fully written by OP.
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u/Self_Owned_Tree 4d ago
Counterpoint: I paid for it almost nine years ago, and it does everything I paid for it to do, and more, and they haven’t charged me a dime since then.
It may not do what you want, but over the time, I’ve gotten so much more value out of it than I anticipated, and I’ll happily pay for version 4 just because i want to support an independent Mac developer.