Microsoft's Sunrise Not Rising Again After August 31

Microsoft's Sunrise calendar app will not rise again on August 31 as the software giant announced that it will be shutting it down.

The Windows maker seeks to incorporate the technology to its Outlook-related services by killing off the standalone calendar app which it acquired a year ago for an undisclosed sum although reports indicated that the company may have spent around $100 million for its acquisition.

"As heartbreaking as this sounds, we're hard at work bringing the magic of Sunrise to the Outlook apps," the official message reads as quoted from its official blog post. "The entire Sunrise team is now working side-by-side with the Outlook team and it's a thrilling moment for us to work on an app of this scale."

The calendar app has proven itself well for quite a number reasons like its ease of use, clutter-free design, cross-platform functionality, event integration, and even notification support.

For quite some time, the software company has been constantly working on adding a slew of enhancements to its Outlook iOS and Android-based apps. As reported by The Verge, Microsoft integrated Evernote, Facebook, and Wunderlist into Outlook with the help of the Sunrise team.

As expected, more calendar-related apps and other services are expected to churn out from Microsoft sweatshop including Skype for Business and OneNote integration. Sunrise is still working providing support for other calendar services but Microsoft's plan of putting everything in one basket in the coming months should make a lot of sense.

For current Sunrise users who are saddened over its inevitable August 31 sunset, here is a rundown of the best calendar app alternatives available for Apple device users as per Apple Insider report:

1. Fantastical 2- This calendar app has received 2015 Apple Design Award for Mac for its effective natural language engine that picks up calendar events for easy social media integration including Facebook, clean user interface, and Quick Access menu option. However, the app comes with a price tag of $39.99 for desktop. For iPhone and iPad users it is priced at $4.99 and $9.99 respectively. To pay for three, the price comes at $49.99.

2. Google Calendar- This one is absolutely free and works quite well if users simply want to know what's on their calendar agenda. However, the app lacks several options for customization. Also, too many events lead to an increasingly cluttered calendar.

3. Calendars 5- Like Fantastical 2, this app also has natural language processing feature, a task manager, and nice week view that syncs well with iOS calendars, Google calendar and other notifications and reminders. Furthermore, it also sets up recurring events on the calendar and indicate event locations using either Apple or Google maps. The app, however, doesn't come free. It offers a universal version for $6.99 across many of Apple's mobile devices like iPhones and iPads.

4. Tiny Calendar- This app also has a clutter-free and simple user interface that integrates well with Google and iOS calendars. It also offers natural language processing as well as drag and drop features. It has excellent different views available like day, week, month, mini-month and so much more. The app has both free and paid versions. The in-app paid version costs $6.99.

5. Week Calendar- The Sunrise alternative also provides various features like language support and alternate calendars (e.g. Chinese, Hebrew, Hindi, Islamic and Persian). The app also syncs well TomTom and a number of other navigation devices. It reportedly integrates quite well with iOS and Google calendars. Among the paid calendar apps, Week Calendar is the least expensive for only $1.99. The downside to this app is its non-clutter-free interface design.

While the Sunrise name and design will disappear, many of its essential features will remain as Microsoft makes use of its technology acquisition worthwhile.