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Home » Apple Notes

Apple Notes

Launched 2011
90 features found available
Home page iOS App Store

In their words

Notes is the best place to jot down quick thoughts or to save longer notes filled with checklists, images, web links, scanned documents, handwritten notes, or sketches. And with iCloud, it's easy to keep all your devices in sync, so you'll always have your notes with you.   Read more

Pricing

Our most recent pricing details for Apple Notes:

Free

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Platforms
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Appearance
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Features pertaining to how the app comports itself visually
Configurable panes
It is possible to control how many strips of navigation are shown
WYSIWYG view
Editor can show content exactly as it will be exported/printed without requiring keyboard commands
Daily notes
The app allows note content to be created & viewed with minimal formatting and today's date as the default note title
Multiple editing panes
A mechanism is provided to have more than one note concurrently open for editing in a separate viewing window contained within the application
Themes
Different sets of colors can be chosen to alter the appearance of the app window
Themes =>
Custom CSS
Custom CSS can be included by the note editor to effect a specific theme via CSS
Content Uploads & Embeds
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What kind of content can be uploaded or inserted into notes?
Arbitrary file
An arbitrary file of any type can be added to a note
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Image =>
Can be cropped
The note app provides editing tools that allow an image in a note to be cropped (e.g., to remove the left half of it)
PDF =>
Can be annotated
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PDF =>
Can be viewed from within note
Content of the PDF can be viewed inside the note, rather than clicking on PDF and having it open in a new tab or external PDF viewer
PDF =>
Content indexed in search
The title and body of the PDF are automatically indexed in search
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Google Docs
Google Sheets
Image =>
Can be resized
The note app allows the edges of the picture to get dragged so it becomes larger or smaller
Image =>
OCR image text in full text search
Words in the image are added to full text search, so the note will show up in search results that contain a word from within the image
Image =>
Text extracted to note
Text from within an image can be inserted into the note body
Image library
App provides a library of ready-to-use images
Twitter (tweet)
YouTube
A YouTube video can be inserted into a note
Customer-centric
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Features that pertain to how the app interfaces with its customers
Chat support available
Company offers on-site real time chat support, or a chat server in which the company participates
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Perpetual free version
The company offers a version of the product that can be used indefinitely at no cost
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Community chat available
There is a dedicated venue such as Discord where users can chat about the product in real time
Community forum or knowledge base
The company has a specified URL at which users can discuss the product and ask questions in a format where answers can be upvoted to pinpoint the best one
Feature voting
There exists a publicly accessible site upon which users can upvote features they want to see implemented
Regular product updates
Company has averaged at least one blog post or newsletter per month over the past year that details recent feature updates
Encryption/Security
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What measures are taken to ensure customer data remains private, even to employees of the companies themselves?
2FA available
Can enable two-factor authentication from within the app (not only via third parties) to protect account access
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Client-side encryption
Note data can be encrypted before leaving the user's device such that the decryption key is not shared with the note app provider (sometimes referred to as "end-to-end encryption")
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Encrypted at rest/server-side encryption
Documented claim that all note data is encrypted at rest, on the server
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Encrypted at rest/server-side encryption =>
Attachments encrypted at rest
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Explicit security policy
An explicit policy describes how security is implemented, and what access employees have to data.
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Explicit security policy =>
Database access insufficient to decrypt secure note content
Note content can be created such that even a user who gained access to the note app's cloud database (employee or intruder) couldn't decrypt content (i.e., they couldn't obtain a usable decryption key even if possessing the database contents)
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Explicit security policy =>
Policy that employees will not read note content
A documented claim exists that note content will not be accessed by employees
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Password-protect notes
A note or block can have a password applied to hide it
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Client-side encryption =>
Attachments encrypted client-side
Client-side encryption =>
Client-side encryption enabled by default for all notes
Formatting Supported
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What options are available for formatting text and related content in a note?
Bullet list
Bullet list =>
Nested bullet list
Clear formatting
There is a hot key or icon to remove all text formatting currently applied
Colored text
Excluding text that gets colored as a side effect of some other formatting feature listed (e.g., highlight)
Drawing/Handwriting
App provides a built-in means by which to capture user drawings, sketches, or handwriting
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Indent
Text can be indented (without bullets, block quote, or other incidental features)
Justification
Text can be explicitly justified center or right
Numbered list
Numbered list =>
Nested (indented) numbered list
Strikethrough
Superscript & subscript
Typeface/font face
User can choose an explicit font (not just a theme) to restyle text
Unicode standard
A universal character encoding system which allows a wide range of characters (emojis, etc)
Visible formatting bar
A visible text formatting bar is automatically shown, or can be made consistently visible without a mouse hover
h1/h2/h3
Header formatting
Block quote
Bullet list => Nested bullet list =>
Foldable list
Bullet items can be "folded," "collapsed" or "contracted" such that their nested content is hidden from view
Code
Can text be formatted as code?
Code =>
Auto-indented code
As text is written in the code block, the level of indentation survives an "enter" press
Code =>
Code highlighting
Does text formatted as code get syntax highlighting?
Code => Code highlighting =>
Language-specific code highlighting
Multiple languages can be selected to define the code syntax highlighting
Colored text =>
Background coloring
There exists a means to recolor the background behind specific text in more than one color
Draggable text blocks
Paragraphs of text can be dragged to any horizontal or vertical coordinate within the note viewing area
Foldable headers
Note body text can be "collapsed," "contracted," "folded" or otherwise hidden under its (non-bullet list) header
Font size
Can font size be explicitly set? I.e., not just through setting it as a header
Footnotes
Text or images can be linked from a particular string of text in the note (not just URLs)
Highlight
Images =>
Text can wrap around image
One or more lines of text can be placed on the same line as an image
LaTeX/KaTeX
Tex extensions commonly used for expressing mathematics
Literal
A monospace font with its own background color can be invoked without breaking a line. Sometimes referred to as "inline code"
Markdown
All common markdown formatting is recognized by the note editor
Table of contents
A set of links to each header in the note can be inserted into the note
Transclusion
A note can preview content embedded from within another note.
Transclusion =>
Block-level transclusion
A note can preview a specific block/section embedded from within another note or section.
Transclusion =>
Editable transclusion
A note can preview and edit content embedded from within another note or section.
Import/Export and Data Backups
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What features are provided for interoperability between apps? How much lock-in is there?
Delete account
An entire account can be deleted (including all notes and personal data) without emailing the company
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Export note to email
Export to PDF
Import from Evernote
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Note data can be hosted/stored locally
An option exists to forgo syncing to the apps server, allowing for note content to be stored on the user's hard drive
Syncs to cloud automatically
App automatically syncs note & image data to the cloud without implementing extensions, and without signing up for a secondary account on a storage provider
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Trash
Note app offers ability to restore deleted notes
Delete all notes
Export: Hierarchy
Hierarchy is exported in a way that other apps can import
Export: Images
When an export is initiated, the downloadable package includes image files for each image uploaded to the user's notebook
Exports to markdown
Import from Trello
Import from markdown
Import from markdown =>
Import from Roam
Note content can be imported from Roam while preserving all linked content
Version history
Version history =>
Namable versions
Past note versions can be named or labeled
Version history =>
Restore from past version
Integrations/Extensibility
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What features does the note provider offer in terms of third-party integrations and utilities adjacent to the note content itself?
Note templates
Pre-configured content (instructions, tasks, etc) can be duplicated from an existing source note
API offered
A public API is available to fetch and write note content
Audio recording
It is possible to record and store audio and/or video within the app
Calculations (evaluated content)
A syntax exists to make numeric or date calculations within the app
Calculations (evaluated content) =>
Date/time
Date and time can be evaluated and inserted into a note
Calculations (evaluated content) =>
Math calculator
Addition, subtraction and multiplication is possible within an evaluated expression
Configurable key bindings
Hotkeys can be remapped from their default values
Create note from email
Emails can be forwarded to an email address that will create a new note w/ the email content, or append the email content to an existing note
External service callbacks
It's possible to setup callbacks to external services when a note changes
External service callbacks =>
Callback can be scheduled
Note app allows a callback (not just an event reminder) to be scheduled for a particular date & time
Graph view
Linked notes can be viewed as a graph
IFTTT integration
The app can be connected to https://ifttt.com/
Kanban Board
Open source
Public access is available to the source code necessary to build/modify this app
Plugin/extension system
The app offers a plugin or extension system to extend functionality beyond default features included
Spaced repetition
An algorithm to generate flashcards from note content is offered
Timeline view
View project timelines using a Gantt chart
Word count
Word count and character count are provided for a note
Word count =>
Selectable count
The user can select part of a note or task and get a word+character count for just that selection.
Zapier integration
The app can be connected to Zapier
Mobile/Tablet
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Features specific to the mobile experience
"Note view" widget (iOS)
A widget is provided to allow viewing a note
Share Content (iOS)
When picking the "Share with..." option from an iOS app, the app exposes a means for sending content to the app.
"Note view" widget (Android)
Search widget (Android)
Search widget (iOS)
Search within note
Share Content (Android)
When picking the "Share with..." option from an Android app, the app exposes a means for sending content to the app.
Offline
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How well can the app function without internet access?
Attachments
Attachments can be inserted into a note and viewed within the note when offline, after starting the app whilst disconnected from the Internet
Full text search
Searching for text inside notes works when offline, after starting the app whilst disconnected from the Internet
Note read access
Any note can be read when offline, after starting the app whilst disconnected from the Internet
Note write access
Note content can be created or updated when offline, after starting the app whilst disconnected from the Internet
Password-protected content
Password-protected notes can be read/modified when offline, after starting the app whilst disconnected from the Internet
Limited Offline
Allows for offline use only if you've opened the app before going offline
Performance Benchmarks
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How we ran the tests
How fast is it?
iOS =>
Large-sized note lookup, cursor visible in <= 4 seconds
New note opens after looking up title of a large- sized note in the fastest available "note opening" mechanism
iOS =>
Open app from closed state, add a one-word task in <= 5 seconds
Open up app from completely closed state, add a one-word task to first available note
iOS =>
Open app from closed state, cursor visible in first available note <= 5 seconds
Open up app from completely closed state, see cursor visible in first available note
iOS =>
Search for a word, open first search result in <= 5 seconds
Search for a word, see new note after opening first search result
iOS =>
Small-sized note lookup, cursor visible in <= 3 seconds
New note opens after looking up title of a small-sized note with the fastest available "note opening" mechanism
macOS app =>
Large-sized note lookup, cursor visible in <= 4 seconds
New note opens after looking up title of a large- sized note in the fastest available "note opening" mechanism
macOS app =>
Open app from closed state, add a one-word task in <= 5 seconds
Open up app from completely closed state, add a one-word task to first available note
macOS app =>
Open app from closed state, cursor visible in first available note <= 5 seconds
Open up app from completely closed state, see cursor visible in first available note
macOS app =>
Search for a word, open first search result in <= 5 seconds
Search for a word, see new note after opening first search result
macOS app =>
Small-sized note lookup, cursor visible in <= 3 seconds
New note opens after looking up title of a small-sized note with the fastest available "note opening" mechanism
Android =>
Large-sized note lookup, cursor visible in <= 4 seconds
New note opens after looking up title of a large- sized note in the fastest available "note opening" mechanism
Android =>
Open app from closed state, add a one-word task in <= 5 seconds
Open up app from completely closed state, add a one-word task to first available note
Android =>
Open app from closed state, cursor visible in first available note <= 5 seconds
Open up app from completely closed state, see cursor visible in first available note
Android =>
Search for a word, open first search result in <= 5 seconds
Search for a word, see new note after opening first search result
Android =>
Small-sized note lookup, cursor visible in <= 3 seconds
New note opens after looking up title of a small-sized note with the fastest available "note opening" mechanism
Web =>
Large-sized note lookup, cursor visible in <= 4 seconds
New note opens after looking up title of a large- sized note in the fastest available "note opening" mechanism
Web =>
Open app from closed state, add a one-word task in <= 5 seconds
Open up app from completely closed state, add a one-word task to first available note
Web =>
Open app from closed state, cursor visible in first available note <= 5 seconds
Open up app from completely closed state, see cursor visible in first available note
Web =>
Search for a word, open first search result in <= 5 seconds
Search for a word, see new note after opening first search result
Web =>
Small-sized note lookup, cursor visible in <= 3 seconds
New note opens after looking up title of a small-sized note with the fastest available "note opening" mechanism
Windows app =>
Large-sized note lookup, cursor visible in <= 4 seconds
New note opens after looking up title of a large- sized note in the fastest available "note opening" mechanism
Windows app =>
Open app from closed state, add a one-word task in <= 5 seconds
Open up app from completely closed state, add a one-word task to first available note
Windows app =>
Open app from closed state, cursor visible in first available note <= 5 seconds
Open up app from completely closed state, see cursor visible in first available note
Windows app =>
Search for a word, open first search result in <= 5 seconds
Search for a word, see new note after opening first search result
Windows app =>
Small-sized note lookup, cursor visible in <= 3 seconds
New note opens after looking up title of a small-sized note with the fastest available "note opening" mechanism
Platforms
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Which platforms are officially supported?
iOS
There is an iOS app available for download in the App Store
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iOS =>
iPad native app
An iPad app (separate from iOS app) has been published to App Store
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macOS =>
Native app
An app is available that isn't a Progressive Web App
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Android
There is an Android app available for download in the Play store
Linux
Includes web apps that can be installed as PWAs
Linux =>
Native app
An app is available that isn't a Progressive Web App
Web
Windows
Windows =>
Native app
An app is available that isn't a Progressive Web App
Search & Navigation
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What options are there for navigating around the app and finding the note you're after?
Full text search
A list of all notes containing a word or phrase can be produced
Full text search =>
Allow quoted/literal searches
Full text search =>
Sort by date
Search results can be sorted by the note's date of creation
Keyboard shortcuts reference
A menu to view available keyboard shortcuts is located within the app
Note organization hierarchy (tags, folders)
The app provides a means by which to arrange notes such that they can be browsed through a tree structure (e.g., tags, folders)
Note organization hierarchy (tags, folders) =>
Emojis in hierarchy
Emojis can be used to demarcate note hierarchy members
Note organization hierarchy (tags, folders) =>
Hierarchy can be moved
It's possible to drag-and-drop, or otherwise relocate a branch of the organization hierarchy to a new location
Pin to top
A note can be pinned to the top of the note list for easy access, and will stay there until unpinned
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Quick open note lookup
A hotkey is available that can be used to access an input box that searches notes, and a note can be selected from that list without using the mouse
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Archived section
Archived notes can be filtered & viewed
Cross-note linking
It's possible to create a link from one note to another note
Full text search =>
Filter on author
Full text search =>
Filter on date range
Full text search =>
Filter on hierarchy
Using whatever mechanism the app provides to organize notes (e.g., tags, folders), can that mechanism be used as a full text search filter?
Inline tags
It's possible to assign a hierarchy identifier (such as a tag) to a line of text, such that the line (not the note itself) can be discovered when browsing the note hierarchy
Lookup notes to link out =>
Link to content within notes
A dialog is provided to look up other specific headers/blocks as link targets while creating a new link in a note.
Lookup notes to link out => Link to content within notes =>
Global block linking
A dialog is provided to lookup and link to a block from any note, without having to type an identifier for the note.
Note organization hierarchy (tags, folders) =>
Allows 3+ levels deep hierarchy
Note organization hierarchy (tags, folders) =>
Can apply multiple hierarchies to one note
A note can be in multiple navigation hierarchies concurrently
Note organization hierarchy (tags, folders) =>
Hierarchy coloring
Nodes in the note hierarchy can be colored
Note organization hierarchy (tags, folders) =>
Hierarchy normalizes casing/spacing
Hierarchy members have capitalization and spacing normalized in order to avoid creation of duplicates
Note reminder
An alert time can be associated with a note
Quick open note lookup =>
Quick-open can filter on hierarchy
Shortcuts
Groups of notes can be accessed from a dedicated "Shortcuts" or "Favorites" area within the app
Slash command shortcut
The forward slash key can be used to call forth a dialogue with a list of editing & formatting options
Turn selected text into a note link
App exposes a hotkey or clickable icon to create a link to a new or existing note where selected text will be extracted to.
Sharing/Collaboration
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What features exist to share notes with the world?
Sharable with individual
It is possible to enable a specific user account to view/edit one's otherwise private note content
Sharable with individual =>
Allows configurable read or write access
Read provider description
Shareable with group
There exists a mechanism by which a group of recipients can be granted access to a note en masse (not by publishing note to URL)
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Embeddable in web pages
App provides means to embed note content in web pages outside the app
Locking
A note can be locked to prevent editing
Note view counter
A counter exists to see how many times a shared/published note has been viewed
Presentation mode
A set of notes can be presented as full screen slides
Publish to URL
Notes can be shared through a publicly-accessible link
Publish to URL =>
Customizable URL
Publish to URL =>
Expiration date can be set on published URL
Real-time collaboration
Multiple parties can edit a note concurrently + see where each editor's cursor resides
Share notes en masse
It's possible to define a group of notes to be shared through a single action.
User commenting
User commenting =>
On a note itself
User commenting =>
On text in a note
Workspace view
All documents shared by collaborators can be accessed on a consolidated page
Tables
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Does the app support formatting data in tables?
Apply formatting to entire row/column
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Table-formatted content
Basic support for formatting content as a table
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Cell background coloring
Column data types
Column data types (e.g., numeric, text, enumerated) can be defined such that they restrict the type of input that can be entered into a cell
Cross-document
A table's data can be viewed from different notes for a single source of truth
Formulas
Formulas =>
Crowd interactive
Possible to setup a formula such that other users with document access can vote or rate the contents of the table row
Formulas =>
Formula autosuggest
Formulas can be deduced by an inline autosuggest hint
Formulas =>
Math formulas
Search/filter
Table rows can be filtered based on an input query
Sortable rows
Rows can be sorted by the contents of a column
Tasks & Scheduling (Calendar)
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What to-do list and scheduling features does the app support?
Nesting/Sub-tasks =>
Draggable
Groups of task hierarchies can be dragged from one location to another
Read provider description
Two or less taps to add new task from mobile
When the mobile app is opened, no more than two taps are ever necessary to add a new task
Assignable
An option exists to designate who is expected to complete a task
Calendar integration
It's possible to configure a task to show up on a calendar when it's due
Calendar integration =>
Exports to external calendar
Calendar integration => Exports to external calendar =>
Google Calendar
Calendar integration => Exports to external calendar =>
Outlook
Calendar integration =>
Imports tasks from calendar
App will import existing events from an external calendar (e.g., Google Calendar) and show them within the app
Create from external sources
Create from external sources =>
Email
Create from external sources =>
Slack
Due date (aka "Start time")
A specific date and time at which a task is scheduled to be addressed
Embeddable content
Content can be contained in a task beyond standard markdown text/links
Embeddable content =>
Images
Embeddable content =>
PDFs
Embeddable content =>
Video
Global task view
There exists a means to view all tasks that have been created across a group of notes
Movable en masse
It's possible to move a batch of tasks from one note to another using drag and drop
Nesting/Sub-tasks
Nesting/Sub-tasks =>
Collapsible
It's possible to "fold" or "contract" a group of tasks so that sub-tasks are hidden
Priority
There exists a means by which one can designate a task as being "high priority"
Priority =>
Important
There exists the means to mark a task as "Important," implying the task should not be forgotten but needn't be done soon
Priority =>
Urgent
There exists a means to mark a task not only as "High priority," but "Urgent," which brings the additional implication that the task is to be completed soon.
Recurrence
Recurrence =>
Flexible recurrence
It's possible to set up tasks to recur at a chosen interval after the previous instance of the task is completed. For example, if you want to exercise every 2 days after you last exercised.
Reminders
An alert time can be associated with a task
Removed from list upon completion
Snooze
An option is provided to hide a task until a later date chosen
Stats
Stats are available on past completed tasks
Time estimate
It's possible to set a task duration estimate
Web Capture
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What functionality is offered to capture content discovered on the internet?
Annotate clipping
Capture URL
The URL of the web page from whence the capture occurred can be included among the content inserted into note
Choose note destination
Web clipper allows choosing a note to insert image into
Chrome extension
Clip content longer than one screen
The clipper can capture an entire web page, even when it is taller than their viewport
Clip partial page
A specific area on the page can be selected to capture
Clipped text pastable into note
Clipped text searchable
Firefox extension
Safari extension

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