I write a lot and take a keen interest in applications that make my life easier. Most of my stuff is written in plain text, some in simple Markdown, and there are hundreds of text editors to choose from. Normally I insist on using an app that has iPhone, iPad and Mac versions combined with slick synchronisation. Apps such as Byword offer such compatibility. Others, including my current favourite, Ulysses, give me both Mac and iPad versions but do not support the iPhone. But Ulysses is so good that I have made an exception.
If you do prefer to write using iPad and iPhone, however, Editorial is definitely one of the best text editors—particularly for Markdown support—that you can get. Federico Viticci of MacStories has produced one of his powerful and comprehensive reviews of the latest version of Editorial:
If I had to pick one iOS app I couldn’t live without, that would be Editorial. Developed by Berlin-based Ole Zorn, Editorial was the app that reinvented text automation in 2013 and that pushed me to start working exclusively from my iPad. Editorial is a powerful Markdown text editor that combines visual Automator-like actions with a web browser, text snippets, Python scripts, and URL schemes to supercharge text editing on iOS with the power of automation. I spend most of my days writing and researching in Editorial, and my workflow depends on this app.
I share Federico’s passion for Editorial—I have used it extensively in the past—and I agree with his assessment that it is a superb productivity tool. Unfortunately, I do not work exclusively in iOS, as does Federico, and I cannot manage without a Mac version. It’s a pity. I can just about live with Ulysses, despite the annoying absence of iPhone support, but I cannot survive without a desk-top editor that syncs with iOS. Byword, although much more limited in scope than Editorial or Ulysses, is currently one of the few cross-platform editors that you can rely on and which is available wherever you happen to be jotting down your notes.