Overview
Wunderlist was a cross‑platform task management and to‑do list application that allowed users to create, organize, and share lists of tasks. The service featured cloud synchronization, enabling access to lists from various devices, including smartphones, tablets, personal computers, and web browsers. It supported collaborative list sharing, deadline reminders, file attachments, and integration with calendar services.
Development and History
- Founding: Wunderlist was developed by the Berlin‑based software company 6Wunderkinder GmbH. The initial version was released for iOS in 2011, followed shortly by an Android version and later versions for Windows, macOS, and a web client.
- Funding: The company secured venture‑capital funding, including a notable $2 million round in 2012 led by Earlybird Venture Capital, which facilitated expansion of the product’s feature set and platform availability.
- Growth: By 2014, the application had amassed millions of users worldwide and was recognized for its simple, user‑friendly interface and cross‑platform compatibility.
Acquisition by Microsoft
In June 2015, Microsoft announced the acquisition of 6Wunderkinder and its Wunderlist product. The acquisition was finalized later that year. Following the purchase, Microsoft integrated key members of the Wunderlist development team into its Office 365 (later Microsoft 365) engineering groups.
Discontinuation and Successor
Microsoft positioned Wunderlist as a transitional product toward its own task‑management service, Microsoft To‑Do. In May 2020, Microsoft officially retired Wunderlist, advising users to migrate their data to Microsoft To‑Do. The migration tools provided a means to export lists and preserve task information.
Features
- Task Creation and Organization: Users could add tasks, assign due dates, set priority levels, and group tasks into customizable lists.
- Collaboration: Lists could be shared with other users, allowing collaborative editing and real‑time updates.
- Reminders and Notifications: The app offered push notifications, email alerts, and in‑app reminders based on due dates or custom times.
- Attachments: Users could attach files, photos, and notes to individual tasks.
- Cross‑Platform Sync: Data synchronization was handled through cloud services, ensuring consistency across iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and web clients.
- Integrations: Wunderlist supported integration with services such as Outlook, Gmail, and third‑party calendar applications via export and import functions.
Reception
Wunderlist received generally positive reviews from technology publications and users, praised for its clean design, ease of use, and reliable synchronization. It earned several awards, including the 2013 “Best Consumer Product” at the European Software Awards. Criticisms were typically directed at the lack of advanced project‑management features compared with specialized tools.
Legacy
Although Wunderlist is no longer available, its design principles and feature set influenced subsequent task‑management applications, notably Microsoft To‑Do, which retains many of the original app’s functionalities while integrating more tightly with the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. The acquisition demonstrated Microsoft’s strategic interest in consolidating personal productivity tools under a unified brand.