The 7 best calendar apps for your smartphone

Depend heavily on your smartphone to organised your day? Does your default smartphone calendar lack the flair or the versatility to juggle your multiple calendars? Our list of alternatives don’t just come with an elegant user interface, but some of these apps also manage to integrate your tasks and arduous ‘to do’ lists into a single screen. So whether you're seeking to max out your productivity at work or just looking for some extra eye candy for your smartphone, read on: 

Cal by Any.do:
This is the near perfect calendar app, among the best out there. Firstly, it’s the smooth interface that makes even your most boring appointments look pretty on your smartphone. And then it’s the brilliant integration of calendar items and tasks. We particularly like the ‘heads up' feature that sets up a countdown for those important items on your daily agenda, and the Facebook birthday integration with the app.

Available on: iOS, Android

What we like: Terrific interface, excellent integration of tasks and calendar items and the cool ‘heads up’ feature.

Google Calendar:
If you thought the Google calendar app always came pre-loaded with your Android smartphone, think again. There was a time when the app didn’t measure up to device manufacturer calendars. All that changed with the debut of Android Lollipop (5.0) and how. The calendar is easily one of the biggest improvements in Google’s new scheme of things with their now trademark ‘material design’. Gmail users will love how the calendar extracts information (like upcoming flights) from your inbox and automatically adds it to your calendar while we like the ‘3-day’ calendar view; particularly useful for those crammed weekends or business trips.

Available on:  Android
What we like: Intuitive Gmail integration

Sunrise Calendar:
One of the best free calendar apps on the iTunes app store, Sunrise is ultra efficient, comes with a clean UI, and is relatively easy to use. One of the app’s most useful features is natural language parsing for each entry you create. That’s not all, Sunrise goes beyond just integration with standard calendars and syncs up with other apps like Evernote reminders, as well as adding location-based weather forecasts for your meetings. Particularly handy for global frequent fliers.

Available on: iOS, Android
What we like: Location based weather forecast

Sol Calendar:
On the surface, Sol is a fun calendar bursting with multiple colours and cute emojis. But dig a little deeper and you have a serious calendar app that manages to integrate multiple calendar sources seamlessly. The app comes with heaps of widgets – in different sizes, styles and colours, that can be customised effortlessly. The emojis are customisable too. Aside from your calendar entries Sol also takes it upon itself to nudge you occasionally – "Go to the gym", "Call mom"!

Available on: Android
What we like: Fun to use yet very capable.

WAVE Calendar:
The first thing you will dig about WAVE are the multiple view modes. The Monthly view mode works like a split screen, making the best use of your screen real estate with ‘drill down’ details on the bottom half. We also like how you can pre-set recurring events and sync with multiple calendars with minimal effort. The ‘Invitation manager’ allows you to share event notifications with your Apple watch or Android wearables.

Available on: Android, iOS
What we like: Multiple view modes.

Jorte Calendar:
The free version of this retro-style calendar covers most bases. The app’s ‘Omni-present’ tab bar allows to toggle screens effortlessly. The task and memo bar is more than useful keeping a tab on your itinerary while the ‘important event’ classification allows you to put the spotlight on your key engagements for the day. Jorte allows you to add multiple calendars (including national holidays) and also a personal diary/journal that can be accessed by select users. The paid version adds extra features like an app lock, and the app also comes with its own cloud service.

Available on: iOS and Android
What we like: Loads of ‘add-on’ calendars and features.

UpTo:
This one makes our list because it goes beyond your everyday meetings and engagements. It wears two hats – flitting between your work appointments and your personal interests with minimal fuss. So whether you want to keep tabs on the weather or your interests or what’s happening at a particular location, UpTo allows you to keep up. We also like the app’s ‘Social skills’ that let you share interesting calendar updates within your social media circles.

Available on: iOS, Android
What we like: Versatility and social skills.