Developer: Erik Eggleston
Price: $0.99/£0.79
Size: 5.5 MB
Version: 4.0.4
Platform: iPhone & iPad
Jotalicious has been on the App Store for an astonishing eight years at the time of writing, but this sharp to-do list app is still receiving updates from its diligent solo developer.
The latest update adds support for Live Text in iOS 15, so we thought it would be the ideal time to hop in and see how this tiny App Store fixture is mixing it with major rivals such as Things, Todoist, and Evernote.
Jot away in plain text, and Jotalicious will automatically generate a to-do list
The answer, it seems, is by doing the basics well and without fuss, allied to some simple but powerful list-writing automation.
At the heart of Jotalicious is the ability to quickly jot down lists. Start a new list in its stripped-back interface, and you won’t find any bells or whistles, just a blank text document and some simple color options above the iOS keyboard.
Adding individual prices will keep a running spending total for you
Start typing out your list in plain text, starting with the title, and when you’re finished the app will produce a properly formatted checklist for you. From this finished list you can tick off items as you complete or acquire them, which will manifest as a neat colored bar chart from the hub page.
Dive into the individual lists and you’ll find the ability to edit your entries, adding things like prices and locations to each list item. In the case of prices, this will automatically add up as you tick the items off, providing a handy running cost for shopping lists and the like.
It’s easy to keep track of your progress through each list from the hub
You can also attribute items to a new place by typing ‘@Garden center’ (for example) after the entry, which will prompt Jotalicious to generate a place that can be attributed to future list items, and sorted accordingly. It’s a small matter to share lists, and to copy and paste in lists from other sources.
The new dictation feature we mentioned at the outset works faultlessly. Simply tap the mic button in the Jot mode and start speaking to add items, saying ‘New line’ to add the next entry. True, this is as much a tribute to Apple’s voice recognition work as anything, but Jotalicious’s implementation is well-judged, friction-free, and refreshingly unshowy.
iOS 15 voice dictation has been implemented nicely
Which is a pretty accurate description of the app in general, come to think of it. It might not be as extensive or fully featured as the to-do list app big boys, but Jotalicious is the perfect demonstration of how to stick around for the long haul on the App Store: a sound idea, solid implementation, and ongoing support. The fact it’s just a buck with no subscriptions or in-app purchases helps too.