Hi there - I’m curious what people are using the iPhone app for? I like the idea of an iPhone app for ideas, etc. But I notice it hasn’t been updated in quite a while, so I’m just curious what people use it for. Thanks.
It hasn’t been updated in awhile because – in my humble opinion – it is feature complete and Apple hasn’t broken iOS to a degree that required an update. I know there are things it cannot do that the Desktop apps can, but lets keep in mind intended scope vs mission creep here.
I have it on my iPhone, but I don’t normally use it on my phone, but on my iPad where I do more than a fair portion of my composition. When you are writing (with a physical keyboard like Apple’s Magic Keyboard case) the iPad is about as solid as anything else I’ve tried. Sure I can and do write on my Mac, but for just whip out and pounding keys, nothing beats the iPad for me.
But you asked about the iPhone….
When I use it, mostly it is for review and reading, or when I’m stuck somewhere and need to jot down a note or what have you.
I could (and have in the past) write on it, again through the use of a physical keyboard. In a recent forum post here (that’s a 16 Pro Max in the picture for size comparisons) I even showed off one of the keyboards I keep around with my other EDC tools. Incidentally you might find that discussion thread useful in your query here, too.
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I mostly use it for capturing ideas on the go, jotting a quick scene or line of dialogue when I’m away from my desk, then syncing back to the Mac later. It’s not where I do heavy writing, more of a mobile notebook that feeds the main project. The lack of updates is a bit concerning, but the sync still works reliably for me, which is really all I need from it.
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That’s a smart way to use it, treating the mobile app as a capture tool rather than a full writing environment takes the pressure off its limitations. Those away-from-desk moments are exactly when the good lines strike, so having a reliable place to dump them that syncs back is huge. As long as the sync holds up, the lack of updates matters less. The heavy lifting still happens on the Mac where it belongs. Solid workflow.
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Thank you all for your valuable input.
I write my initial draft on a MacBook Pro. After that I do my first pass editing on an iPhone. Then the final tidying up either back on MacBook Pro or on a PC. Viewing a draft on significantly different devices lets me see it from a new angle. Also, my eyesight is shot, and it’s easier to work with a book on a smaller screen at times for me. Plus, I expect most of my readers to be viewing the book on a portable device, so I can also gauge how the book looks with a smaller screen limitations in mind as and when I feel the need.
I actually do all this with a phone specific project. Then manually moving the files over to their actual projects on the MacBook Pro / PC. That eliminates the need to keep remembering to close out of a project before opening it again on different device.