Countdowns - Event Countdown Reviews

by Slithy Toves

I currently use a different countdown app. I liked the look of Countdowns, and the watch complication is very well done (and even supports the new Infograph watch face), so I downloaded it to try. Unfortunately, when counting down by days (as opposed to days+hours+minutes) there is a weird off-by-one design in the this app from Countdowns. For example, if you have a countdown to your birthday, you'd reasonably expect the count to be "2" when it is two days before your birthday, "1" on the day before your birthday and "0" on your birthday itself. That makes sense and matches how people talk about the concept of "how many days until".

Countdowns is different: "2" in Countdowns is *three* days before your birthday, "1" is two days before your birthday, and "0" is the day before your birthday. On your birthday itself, the counter reads "364" days, using the logic that it's now 364 days until your *next* birthday. I think I understand why Countdowns was written this way: strictly speaking, on the day before your birthday, it's less than 24 hours to go, so it's not one full "day", and so Countdowns shows it as "0" days to go. The problem is that this is not how people think of and speak about this app (or how other countdown apps work). To humans, the rocket launches at zero, not at negative 1.

I love the rest of the features, but this sort of breaks it for me.

by Phil Ament

Another reviewer mentioned the off-by-one design flaw when using days, and it is still present in Countdowns as of this review. The developer needs to change how they account for days until an event, or at least give users the option to consider how many days until an event as the way humans actually think about it.

Two days before your birthday, Countdowns should not return “1” for the number of days until then. From midnight to 11:59 pm two days before your birthday, it should report “2”. On the day of your birthday, it should return “0” just like the other reviewer described (or even better, return “Now” or “Today” or user-supplied custom text, instead).

This design flaw seems to be due to basing the remaining days count on the number of hours divided by 24. Easy fix: add an option to consider days-until as *calendar* days.

Otherwise a great app, with watch infograph complications!

by Kupdegrove2041

First, the Developer has done a good job by adding widgets and complications across all devices...something his competitors lack.

I'm not a fan of the limited icons and would really like to be able to choose custom graphics on the iPhone and iPad. Where the icons should be limited (or even removed) is the watch complication where a single, standard icon or lack thereof (user choice) is warranted.

The subscription model is a little disappointing for Countdowns but I guess $20 for a lifetime unlock isn't horrible if the interface is cleaned up a bit.

Ultimately it offers a lot and I'd be inclined to rate it higher with a bit of UI polish. If you're looking for a countdown app that covers all the bases,this is really your only choice but there are "prettier" ones out there

by Cluelessblues

Countdowns serves its countdown purpose fairly well, but I noticed that the iOS 14 widget won’t refresh itself until you open Countdowns . This seems silly, especially since I have background refresh enabled, and the requirement defeats the purpose of the widget (i.e., quick access to app content without having to open the actual app).

by Jlough77

This is the best countdown app that I have ever used. The only reason that I tried them out is because I was formerly using another app that disappeared from Countdowns store but I am glad they did because this is so much more useful.

The iPhone app is great but I mostly set up the this app for my apple watch. The this app stay in sequence and they automatically update on the complication as one ends and another begins or is already in progress. Notifications are customizable and you can set up a countdown to the second. They have also already updated their app to work with the new watch OS5 infograph face only a few days after the OS5 release, which is impressive.

If you are looking for a reliable timer, especially for the apple watch, this is it.

by The_undertow

Far too many times there are crap apps for free and even for pay, but this is one of the rare times you don’t get what you pay for.

This allows for multiple timers, countdown, count up, and continue counting after the timer has reached its conclusion. It’s simple and it’s useful. Thanks for making this!

Be sure to tip the developer!

by RX-001

Countdowns is amazing. It makes it really easy to track many events in your life and the UI is well thought out. I’ve tried a few others but this one tops them all.
The only down side is the privacy policy. Currently I’m blocking as much as I can with AdGuard on my home network and on my phone. I wish that the developer reconsiders the use of trackers.

by Whizardani

It has no frills, bells, or whistles. It offers you EXACTLY what your looking without a complicated system to enter what you want. They honestly couldnt have made it simpler or cleaner than this.

My only gripe is you cant enter the date using the keypad. You have to scroll to get a date which is annoying. But compared to all other apps out there, thats barely even worth mention when you see how awful their system is.

by Whistlegowooo

Everything you need in one app. You can keep track of the age of your newborn too by allowing the countdown to continue after the date has passed. Put in your newborns birthday and set it to continue countdown after - DONE! Really useful for those of us who have a lot of tasks and things to remember. Must have app. Not distracting or over complicated. Don’t change a thing!

by Laweber9

I’ve been searching for a simple countdown app for awhile...my search is finally over because I love Countdowns!! I love the simplicity and how easy it is to swipe and see my this app on the widget. I countdown to big things like vacations as well as small victories like the end of my workday - it was important for me to find a countdown app that allows for hours and minutes, which this does. Great app and totally worth the $1 to upgrade. Thanks!

by S-i-mon

It is one of examples how app could be so simple and useful at the same time. Without unnecessary design solutions.

Must have if you are using Apple watch and definitely need to buy upgrade version! But if you are going to use it for certain tasks, not like me in permanent basis with repeated events you can enjoy free version without any disadvantages.

For developers: I would be very grateful if you add “auto-import from calendar” to avoid opening Countdowns each time to import it manually. And second, another setup to choose time period before which the task will start to show up in the list.

Thank you guys for the amazing work! 😊

by DaveKubi

I really like the features in Countdowns and appreciate the fact that dates are brought to me rather than having to find the "To Do's" or appointments on a calendar. I would like to see more "images" pertaining to church, household activities and doctors or medicine. My tip for adding some color to the screen is to paste in (one or more) emoji from the keyboard anywhere in the "Title" text. The B&W "image" on the other hand is always on the left of the Title and centered between the lines of,say a 3 line Title.

by A_dX03

Literally the simplest and most thorough count-down/count-up app I have found so far; and that is saying a lot! I have tried at least 25 prior to this one and have been overwhelmed and disappointed in the past by apps that offered so many extras, I can hardly see how it was considered a countdown app at all. This one is perfect. It was perfect without paying for the upgrade. But I was so impressed I paid for it anyways.
Thank you!!!

by Jenniferossi

I 100% recommend this countdown widget app to anyone looking to keep track of important dates! The design is simple yet effective and Countdowns is extremely easy to use. I love that my this app are displayed as a widget on my iPhone for quick and effortless viewing! I also love the fact it's Apple Watch compatible and I can add it as a complication so I can see my countdown with a glance at my wrist! The lists feature is great for organizing and iCloud sync allows me to manage my this app across devices!! My favorite countdown app out there by far!

by Pixie862

I used to be in love with another countdown from a developer that no longer has Countdowns out and for the life of me, I cannot seem to transfer that app over to my new devices. After countless of hours of trying to find a simple yet effective app, this did the job! I paid the extra dollar to remove ads even though it didn't really bother me but I figure it helps the developer in some way to maybe add a few features like changing the font or color of each background. Either way, best countdown out there.

by Tfkempo

Most of these countdown apps are ugly, lack important features like cloud sync and widgets, or both. This one has a clean interface, decent customization options, cloud sync (paid version) and a widget, which is the most important 90% of what I want.

Wish list: dark mode and the ability to assign solid color backgrounds to events and/or the event icon. Also would prefer a couple-bucks/year subscription model to the one-off purchase because then I have more confidence that Countdowns will continue to be updated. Maybe add a premium level with addtl features for subscribers?

by Manic Bobo

Been using this for a long time, always gets better & better. Regular fixes and updates.
Unlike others I had tried, this works great on the watch with nice complications. Counts up and down which is what I need; how long since, how long until, and automatic repeats for whatever time frame you need, set up your countdown and forget it = excellent. Has enough customization options to really make it useful, and helpful.
Addition of Home Screen widgets has been great, but wish it would show more than the next two, I could use three or four.

by Katze Kranz

I really like Countdowns especially since it comes with the widget which was primarily why I downloaded it. It’s simple and easy to use. I like that you can have multiple this app as mine are a count down until my closing day on my house, Christmas, and New Years. Most of the icons are odd icons for a countdown, but I wish some were more holiday oriented like for Christmas perhaps a Santa or a tree not just a present. I like your not bombarded with ads. Most apps you click on one thing and BOOM 30 second ad you have to watch but Countdowns seems to be pretty good about that. Overall I love Countdowns and will continue to use it!

by BCruik

I wanted a simple app to calculate and keep tabs on major milestone dates for my family that I could look at in one simple date ordered list.

I figured there would probably be many apps in Countdowns Store for something so straight forward that would work - but after cycling through about 5-6 of them that all that seemed to be inexplicably missing one or more simple things, or just downright awful, I found this one and it does everything exactly how you would imagine it should.

Really flexible to let you present the this app and dates in a format that makes sense so you can see everything at a glance. The today view widget is a nice bonus too.

by Lanwarrior

I have tried multiple apps that track events until / after completion and Countdowns by far have the best UI. The breakdown of list make it easy to quickly glance which event belong to which list.

My only recommendation is to allow tracking of individual event. For example: I have event ABC that is due in 3 days. After 3 days, I want to track the same event that will be due in 6 days. I should be able to see in ABC that there was 1 past event and 1 coming up.

by Ben Mackowski

I wanted a countdown app that would display months and years in list view. 287 days or whatever is kinda meaningless. The only other app I saw that had that (though I might have scrolled past a few too fast) had a review complaining about lots of full screen video ads.

by Marcuscadwell

Countdowns is exactly what I wanted in a this app app and more. The fact that I can change the countdown metrics is just awesome. A lot of other countdown apps don’t let you do that. Also the fact that it syncs with iCloud so I have all my this app synced up between my iPhone and iPad is the best thing ever.

by EC2006

I have downloaded many other countdown apps in order to find the perfect one. Since I downloaded this one I know this one is the best one there is. There’s a widget for it and you can even link it up to Siri. It’s everything I ever wanted! I’m telling you download Countdowns if your looking for the perfect countdown app. Trust me you won’t be disappointed.

by RJNC00

Absolutely the best scheduling/countdown for Apple Watch. Easiest to use and actually works on Apple Watch unlike other apps that are clunky and work poorly.

Wish there was a way just to show the event and no seconds/hours/days/years etc.