iOS 26 Notes App Finally Gets Markdown Support This Fall

Apple's Notes app has quietly evolved from that basic note-taking tool to something genuinely powerful, and with iOS 26, it's taking another significant leap forward. MacRumors confirms that iOS 26, currently in beta, has gained new Markdown support, letting you seamlessly import and export files in the popular plain-text formatting language. The functionality works both ways: you can bring existing Markdown files into Notes while preserving formatting like headings, links, and lists, or export your Notes content as Markdown for use in other apps. With Apple expected to officially release iOS 26 in September, this feature represents a major step toward making Notes a more versatile, cross-platform tool.

Getting Markdown files into Apple Notes

The import process is refreshingly straightforward, which is exactly what you'd expect from Apple's design philosophy. To get started, MacRumors explains you'll need to locate your Markdown (.md) file on your iPhone (e.g., in Files or your writing app). Once you've found the file, open it, tap Share, then choose Notes. When prompted, tap Import to save the file to an Imported Notes folder, and your note will be automatically saved in a dedicated "Imported Notes" folder for easy organization.

Here's where the technical implementation gets impressive: when you import a Markdown file, Notes automatically converts the plain text formatting into rich text, preserving headings, links, bulleted lists, and text styling like bold and italics. This conversion handles complex formatting challenges like nested lists, multi-level headings, and embedded links without breaking the visual hierarchy. The feature is compatible with iPhone and iPad running iOS 26, making it accessible across Apple's mobile ecosystem.

What's particularly smart about this implementation is how it maintains the familiar Notes experience. You're not suddenly thrown into a world of plain text markup—instead, everything appears as rich, formatted content that you can continue editing just like any other note. It's the best of both worlds: the portability of Markdown with the user-friendly interface that Notes users already love.

Exporting your Notes as Markdown files

The export process follows Apple's familiar sharing paradigm while solving real interoperability challenges. MacRumors walks through the simple steps: in Notes, open the note you want to export, tap the Share icon in the top-right corner, then select "Export as Markdown." From there, you can choose where to share or save the markdown file from the share sheet options.

The real value lies in how the exported file handles format translation. Geeky Gadgets confirms that the exported file retains all essential formatting elements, including tables, hyperlinks, and lists, ensuring your content is ready for immediate use in Markdown editors or web development environments. This addresses a longstanding pain point where moving content between rich text editors and plain text environments often meant hours of reformatting work.

YouTube guides note that once exported, you'll be given multiple options to Save to Files, Send via AirDrop, Mail, or Messages, open in a third-party Markdown editor or cloud app, or even Copy directly. This flexibility means your notes can seamlessly move to apps like Notion, Obsidian, GitHub, and more—platforms that power modern documentation workflows, academic research, and content creation.

Why this matters for the Apple ecosystem

This Markdown integration represents more than just a new feature—it's Apple acknowledging how people actually work across platforms and applications. Geeky Gadgets points out that the addition of Markdown export and import capabilities in iOS 26 makes Apple Notes a more versatile tool for users who work across multiple platforms. The move is particularly significant for professionals and content creators who need their work to be portable and platform-agnostic.

On iPadOS 26, the implementation demonstrates Apple's commitment to professional workflows. AppleInsider reports that the export as Markdown feature is available via sharing, under an option marked "Export as Markdown," or under the File section of the Menu Bar. The Menu Bar has crossed over from the Mac to the iPad in iPadOS 26, creating a more unified experience that may make it easier for users of the macOS version of Notes to migrate over to an iPad.

This cross-platform consistency reflects a broader shift in Apple's strategy. As remote work and collaborative projects become the norm, the ability to move content freely between applications has evolved from convenience to necessity. Apple's embrace of Markdown signals recognition that even within their ecosystem, users need bridges to external tools and platforms.

What this means for your workflow

The implications of native Markdown support extend well beyond simple file conversion. Medium analysis suggests that Apple Notes is not just catching up with competitors—it's carving out its own lane by combining the simplicity users love with the power that professionals need. The app has been steadily upgraded, adding speed, intelligence, and surprisingly powerful features while keeping it clean and simple.

For content creators, this opens up entirely new workflows. Instead of juggling multiple apps for different stages of content creation, you can draft in the familiar Notes interface and export directly to publishing platforms without losing formatting. Even John Gruber, Markdown's creator, has weighed in positively, writing that the export capability "sounds awesome" while maintaining that Notes should keep its WYSIWYG approach rather than becoming a full Markdown editor.

Let's break it down with a practical example: say you're brainstorming ideas for a blog post during your morning coffee. You jot down thoughts, add some bullet points, maybe bold a few key concepts—all in Notes because it's quick and always available. Later, when you're ready to move that content to your publishing platform, you simply export as Markdown and paste it directly into your CMS or static site generator. No formatting lost, no tedious reformatting needed.

This workflow extends to academic research, where you might capture ideas and citations in Notes throughout the day, then export to platforms like Obsidian for knowledge management, or to GitHub for collaborative documentation projects. Technical writers can draft API documentation with proper formatting, then export directly to documentation platforms that expect Markdown input.

Where do we go from here?

iOS 26's Markdown support in Apple Notes represents a thoughtful evolution rather than a revolutionary overhaul. Apple will preview these new features along with other operating system updates at the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on Monday, June 9, giving us a clearer picture of how this fits into the broader ecosystem strategy. The feature addresses a real need for users who work across multiple platforms while maintaining the simplicity that makes Notes accessible to everyone.

What's particularly interesting is how this positions Apple Notes in the broader landscape of note-taking and writing apps. While apps like Bear and Notion have built their identities around Markdown support, Notes is taking a different approach: keeping the user experience familiar and friendly while adding the power features under the hood. It's classic Apple—making advanced functionality feel effortless.

Bottom line: this isn't just about adding another export format—it's about making your notes truly portable without sacrificing the user-friendly experience that makes Apple Notes so appealing. Third-party apps have supported Markdown export for years, but having it natively integrated into Apple's ecosystem changes the game for millions of users who rely on Notes as their primary capture tool. Whether you're a casual note-taker or a content professional, iOS 26's Markdown support ensures your thoughts and ideas can travel wherever your work takes you.

The real test will be in the execution details—how well does the conversion handle complex formatting like tables within lists, or nested code blocks? How does it manage Notes-specific features like hand-drawn sketches or scanned documents? These implementation specifics will determine whether this becomes a genuinely transformative feature or just another checkbox on the feature list. From what we've seen so far, though, Apple seems to understand that the magic isn't in the technology itself, but in making that technology invisible to the user experience.