iPadOS 18 was a great update for Apple Notes because we got a lot of useful features for digital note-taking. So, what does that mean for note takers in 2025?
Pricing and supported OS
Since Apple Notes is completely free and it syncs across all your Apple devices, it makes sense to try it first before app looking into paid apps. Its Web version means you can access it on any device, in any Web browser. It’s not the best version of the app, so I wouldn’t rely on it much. But if you’re really desperate, you’ll appreciate it.
UI
Those of us who prefer simple apps, will love the modern and minimalist user interface in Apple Notes. Everything happens on one screen, so you can easily navigate your folders without needing to close your notebook. The sidebars for your folders are also easy to tuck away when you don’t need them. I love how minimalist the top toolbar in Apple Notes is. It’s blends seamlessly with the app, and it’s subtle. You won’t even notice it, until you need it. It’s probably one of my favourite toolbars in a handwriting note-taking app. If you ignore the popup toolbar for your writing tools, of course.
New notebooks
It’s not all rosy, though. The minimalism in Apple Notes also means you have limited page options for new notebooks. You have no page sizes, orientation, or colour options, and your default page templates are not very exciting either. I still hate the wide line spacing for the squared and lined paper templates. But, for minimalist note-taking, and perhaps even some sophisticated, the set up in the app grows on you.
Handwriting notes
Four pen types in a handwriting note-taking app are quite decent. Apple Notes doesn’t have a fountain pen, though. It has a gel pen, which in some ways can be easily confused for a fountain pen. It feels a lot smoother than a ballpoint pen. That could be the source of confusion, maybe. But it lacks a lot of the essential features that qualify it as a fountain pen.
The thickness options you get in the app are not great, especially in 2025. That is one of the reasons I could never take serious handwritten notes in Apple Notes. I am starting to believe that it’s probably all in my head, really. Some feel too thin, and then suddenly they are too thick. The five fixed sizes feel quite restricting, and the same goes for your pen colours. Without a favourites toolbar in the app, using pens with custom colours is a massive pain in Apple Notes.
Typing notes
If you’re using Apple Notes, you’re best using it for typed notes instead. Apple Notes does not have word processing capabilities, but for quick typed notes, the app is great. It’s what our team uses for most of our YouTube scripts. The collapsible titles, and subheadings, are a decent way to organise your notes in the app. Coupled with the highlighting feature in iPadOS 18, maybe even the quotes, and you have yourself a good text app.
You can easily add and organise lists, tables, and different attachments. The best, by far, being the audio recording feature with live transcription. If you dislike typing, or handwriting notes, you can just record them. The transcription is very easy to add to your notes, and you can then edit any errors while listening to the audio.
The biggest limitation with body text is how your images integrate with your notes. At any given point, your images are either too big or too small. Without text wrap, they’re not fun to work with in Apple Notes. You’re better off using text boxes instead. Though for the longest time I did not like how body text does not mix with handwritten sections, I’ve grown to appreciate that setup. It took a while, but it really does make a lot of sense, especially when you want to keep the two separate. It’s funny that in 2025, the feature I dislike the most is now my favourite. Perhaps it’s simply because I have found a way to use this feature instead of wishing it was different.
Writing tools
To get more out of your type notes, you want to make use of the writing tools that come with Apple Intelligence. You get offline proofreading to correct any grammar errors that you might have in your writing. From our experience though, you’re getting very basic proofreading. The app has been quite helpful with proofreading our work which usually gives us a lot of trouble because it’s technical. The writing tools seem to work a lot better with our work than other tools that we have tried in the past. And I love the fact that all of this happens on your device and that it’s not taken away elsewhere. It’s annoying that Apple has made these features easier to use in Apple Notes, a bit of a massive in Pages. How has your experience been with the writing tools in Apple Notes? Do tell?
Shapes
Shapes for your handwritten notes can be fun if you don’t hand-draw them. You have a lot of options and things to customise including but not limited to changing the border colour, adding auto fill, and adding or removing sides from your shapes. Even though shapes are not particularly impressive in Apple Notes, the double sided arrows are kinda cool.
Photos
Photos are not great, even for handwritten notes. Image Wand and Playground, will only waste your time if you’re taking serious notes. Apple Intelligence still has a long way to go before we can create useful AI images. For a handwriting note-taking app, Apple Notes still has a lot of work to do to make photos more useful in the app. There is simply too many features that are still missing.
Videos
At least you can add videos to notes. Not a lot of handwriting now taking apps can do that, so there is something to consider. You won’t have much control over where your videos go and how they interacts with everything else in your notes, but at least you can watch them if you add them to the app. These are limited to body text, by the way, you won’t have the option for handwritten notes. Still, it’s better than nothing.
Lasso tool
Even though the lasso tool is not selective, the app supports smart selection which allows you to select your handwriting as if it is text. This is something I’ve only seen in Apple Notes so far. It also allows you to create space between words in your handwriting, and even refine and straighten that handwriting. Very few apps can do that, a lot of note-takers like that feature. So, though the lasso tool is not your traditional lasso that you typically see in a handwriting note-taking app it is quite impressive.
OCR
Handwriting conversion in Apple Notes is limited to copying your handwriting as text so you can paste it in other apps. As one human who doesn’t convert my handwriting to text, I have found this more useful. I can easily just copy some handwritten notes to paste in Reminders for example when I’m creating tasks to do for the day. I love the fact that I can write my rough ideas and not worry about converting them but just copy them and paste them as text when I need them. It makes the handwritten notes more useful, versatile and flexible when you can do that. It is not a feature you get with a lot of not taking apps.
Collaboration
Collaboration is one of the main reason our team uses Apple Notes. We love how easy it is to track changes that have been made to your notes while you are away, and even in real time. You also get enough permissions to control who gets to edit your notes. The communication setup through Messages is not great, though. It would be better if we could communicate within the app itself, in the notebooks we are working on.
Organisation
It’s very disappointing that we don’t have auto backup for Apple Notes in 2025. I’ve been using Apple Notes for a while now, a couple of years to be exact, and nothing has happened to my notes, yet. That however, is not enough for me to be comfortable not having a backup for my digital notes. That is the only aspect of organising your notes in Apple notes that you will probably dislike and will be a little bit uncomfortable with.
The tags and smart folders in the app are brilliant, though. Sometimes I wonder why I’m still even using folders. Old habits, I suppose. Since tags are fairly new, we haven’t always had them. Another awesome feature we now have in iPadOS 18, is the ability to link our notes in Apple Notes? So, you can link all the important information using the link feature.
Final thoughts
The little colour for our text, refining handwriting and the writing tools that come with Apple Intelligence make Apple Notes better than it was in iPadOS 17. Apple Notes is not for everyone, for most it might seem too simple and limiting. But for some of us: it’s irreplaceable. What has your experience been like with Apple Notes in iPadOS 18? Do tell. Until next time, fantastic human, stay fantastic.
