You Can Write Stories on Your Phone Again! Mobile Editing Is Back
Mobile editing is back, and it’s only going to get better.
Maybe you’ve already noticed the update. I’m late to the game, and this is not breaking news. At the time of this writing, mobile editing on the Medium app has been functional for about a week!
I learned about it by accident when I happened across the article from Shannon Ashley, Update Your App: The Mobile Editor Is Back.
After a search, I found this article from Breana Jones, which explains that mobile editing is back, plus other upcoming changes.
A short history of mobile editing
Medium writers were once able to write, edit, and publish stories on their phones via the mobile app. Last March, Medium announced the end of this ability to have “simplified mobile apps, built for reading.”
The backlash was swift and strong. We’re too much of a culture that uses phones for everything and even people that primarily write on laptops still enjoyed writing on the go on their phones.
But more than an inconvenience, it was devastating for people who only used their phones to write.
When Tony Stubbline took over as CEO of Medium, one of the first things he promised was a return of the editing feature in the app. You can see him talk about it, along with many other topics, in a YouTube interview Coach Tony did with Sinem Gunel.
And now, it’s back! I checked my app this morning, and this is what I found.
The good news is that more improvements are coming. According to Breanna,
“This upcoming version is nearly identical to our old mobile editor. However, we have already started a future improvement list based on your feedback, such as allowing editors to accept/reject drafts in the apps. As we move forward, we’ll take your recommendations into consideration. This is your editor as much as it is ours, if not more so. We’re listening.”
What’s even better news, and most refreshing, is that Medium is listening to its writers and is willing to make changes based on writer feedback. That is the most welcome change of all.
What do you think? Are you excited to see the mobile editor return?
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