In some ways, this similarity to print works against it.

GoodNotes even does a slightly better job of organizing notes by subject than Notability, as it lets you keep separate notebooks for each class or project, each with their own covers. Need to scribble in a few notes between lines? Just use the magnifying tool, which boxes off a rectangular “window” into a smaller part of the page without the need to pinch in. I’m also not a fan of the way the page doesn’t fit the screen without adjustments when you quickly flip to landscape mode. The strokes are fluid and precise, allowing you to forget about trying to get the stylus to work properly and simply focus on your writing. Not only does Notability lets you do everything from annotating PDFs to making shapes, but it also captures the experience of writing with a pen or pencil better than any of its competitors. If you’re going to spend money on any handwriting-compatible app, consider spending $10 on this one. Notability, fittingly enough, is by far the most notable app that supports the Apple Pencil, and for good reason. Ginger Labs Notability: The best all-purpose app That can be a pain when you’re making mind maps or adding illustrations to your notes. Notes remains too stuck in the mindset of working with “real” paper for my tastes, though, so you won’t find features like the helpful “infinite canvas” that you’ll see elsewhere. It also remains the only app that’ll open a blank page when you tap the glass of a locked iPad with an Apple Pencil. So it’s better, and if you’re not looking for much more besides a robust writing experience, Notes will serve you well.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it syncs swiftly with your other devices through iCloud. No other app really comes close.Īs before, it’s got a killer selection tool, and you can even use Spotlight to hunt down handwritten phrases in Notes documents, provided you wrote them in something more legible than chicken scratch.

One of the most impressive features of Notes is that its “pencil” setting really looks like you’re writing with a pencil.

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