What you are articulating here is the power of Apple Notes is unparalleled in the industry. I too have tried all the note apps, but I just keep coming back to the seamless integrated experience of the Apple Note.
@jaiudotnet Exactly. When you're using the native app, you get benefits that other third party apps can't deliver. Yes, Notes does have some shortcomings but, if you're okay with that, it's really powerful. Thanks for watching!
I think I have tried them all. Bear and Apple Notes are the ones that stick around. If Notes were to develop a decent web clipper and allow more export formats, I’d probably go all in.
I was an original Bear convert back in 2016. Used it through 2021 when I switched to Obsidian because I got tired of waiting for actual backlinks. Used a combination of Obsidian and Apple Notes through 2024, but am now moving away from Obsidian in favor of Bear+Apple Notes. Both are great apps and I really just use Bear now (with Backlinks! yay!) for longer writing tasks and instances where I need Markdown. Bear just works so nicely on Mac, iPad and iPhone. I loved a lot of things about Obsidian, but found that I was tinkering with it too much to get it to do what I needed it to do. And its sync is so slow on iPhone and iPad. Obsidian has a lot of friction whereas Apple Notes and Bear just work.
I use Apple Notes to collect all of my notes on a subject. For writing notes, I am experimenting with e-ink devices such as Scribe and SuperNote and then copying those notes to my Apple Notes. I have also experimented with Notability and similar offerings. Each has its pluses and minuses, but given my needs Apple Notes offers this simplest and complete approach given my needs, Great review, by the way.
@Bruceneuman Thanks for the comment! How are you liking e-ink so far? I tried a Scribe but found the software to not be quite there yet. I'm sure it's improved since I last tried it. Have you thought about a Rock, Paper, Pencil from Astropad for your iPad? I've got a couple videos on m channel about it. It's so nice taking handwritten notes on my iPad with it. Have you thought about using a Shortcut to import your handwritten notes into Apple Notes? You might be doing that already but just something that went through my head as you were describing your workflow.
Brandon, once Notes released the ability to link to other notes, I haven't look backed. Yeah, I've tried a few other applications, but when you're in a place where every dollar counts, as most of us are, I'm trying to reduce the amount of subscriptions to third-party apps. Seeing as I only operate on my iPhone or my iPad, there really isn't a need for me to have to rely on third-part apps when I can achieve pretty much everything I need in the native app. In addition, I'm truly stoked to see what iOS 18 will bring to notes and from the rumors I've heard, integration to both reminds and the calendar are in the works, which means a person will have access to a full productivity suite of tools and could even develop their own CRM and ditch some of those costs as well. Great overview of the native app!
@elevateyourcreativeness Well said! Yeah, I'm really looking forward to iOS 18. I'll be trying out the beta on day one so look for upcoming videos going through all the changes! Thanks again for watching!
@robkenley6143 Great question! I’m using the Astropad Rock Paper Pencil which is a screen protector that comes with a special tip to make it feel like pen on paper. I really like the product and have done a couple of videos on it. Check ‘em out!
I never used notes before, but recently I decided to give it a go and so far I am finding a lot of uses. Since I just joined today, do you have other videos that talk about setting them up etc? We are talking a 75 year old here, so nothing complicated. Thanks! ws
@wowlance Thanks for watching! Glad to hear you got some value out of this video. I do have a few others on my channel around note taking so be sure to check those out! I'm also going to be rolling out some shorts and videos on the upcoming iOS 18 software so be sure to subscribe for that!
I recently did an experiment where I used all Apple productivity apps. Prior to this, I think we were probably similar. I used Spark, Calendar (+some others), Things3, and Bear. I am continuing on with Apple Mail and I always used Calendar, so that stays. I missed a few things in Bear and I am running parallel notes at the moment to see which I prefer. I definitely prefer Things3 to Apple Reminders, because I missed start and due dates, and some other aspects. I have tried apple Notes off and on and for years, we have used them as family shared notes. I just never used them for work, and my daily logs before. I was very impressed and it didn’t take long to adjust to keyboard commands over markdown. I liked the ability to use colors (which I used to differentiate work and home content in my daily note), and I really like the share options.
@STWHA_ Thanks for watching and the comment! Sounds like we were very similar! I've never dived into Apple Mail because I like how Spark can color coordinate my different email accounts in the preview. Fantastical has always been my go-to but maybe I should check Calendar again? Bear is a fantastic app as well. It's so easy to share reminders and notes with my wife using the default apps. She's been a good sport though when I've tried Things and Todoist haha I'm hoping for some good things with Apple apps and iOS 18!
i love being able to quiclky handwrite notes in my own shortcut language, and, being an artist, i love being able to sketch, draw some pretty awesome digital drawings to go along with my notes,. I've even done some that i later cut out and exported to other apps or to photos. Plus, i really like how i can organize my art business, my gallery plus the other galleries and events where i show/sell, into so many different folders and sub and sub-sub folders. feel much more organized than other note-type apps i have used. can keep copies of receipts, drawings or schematics of show locations to plan layouts.... i often write my rough drafts of business correspondence in a note file where i can play around with it easily -- usually hand write it first. if i want, then can do a split screen and type it into mail, or just type into notes and then c-p into mail....can do research using split screen, using notes to take notes and to keep urls that i can refer back to easily.... ok, ok, i'll stop, but there is so so much....
@frankiesimsart Thanks for the comment and well said! Great use case for Apple Notes! Love that you use it for drawings too. Do you use any other drawing apps? Have you tried the Astropad Rock Paper Pencil or some other screen protector to get a more paper feel on your iPad?
@Morschri Thanks for the comment! Are you doing this with an x-callback URL? I didn't think about that but it'd be nice to have integration where you didn't have to call a URL and maybe just had like a drag and drop of the note into the reminder
I think the amount of stimulus we all have coming at us makes me just use default apps less to think about and less confusion. I love notes and reminders they work well together along with mail.
So far, I like Apple Notes and Obsidian. Obsidian is my fave for book notes, due to the linking and tagging features. Everything else is better on Apple. Once AI is incorporated to Apple Notes, it will be a game changer.
@joshuaesquivel5721 I'd love to see Apple Intelligence hit Apple Notes. That and markdown! I've tried Obsidian but it just doesn't work for me. I know a lot of people that use it though. Have you tried Bear?
I used to go back and forth between Goodnotes and Notability but once I figured out a system of organization with Apple Notes, there really is nothing that beats it because it seamlessly works across all of my devices.
@-ThatGuyVal- Thanks for the comment! Yes, the sync between all devices is amazing. I'm back looking at note apps again cause I just started a new job and the preference is to use a PC, not a Mac. So, more reviews coming on how that's all going!
@brianwestbrook2113 I actually love Bear! Great app! I was using it for awhile and then I felt like the development on it slowed down. Best bare bones note app though and it is way more versatile than Apple Notes. But, I think Notes has the slight edge in terms of syncing notes. And, the wake up from a power off state on the iPad to start writing a note is huge. Of course, that's all controlled by Apple. And, with my new job, I actually need something cross platform now so both Bear and Notes are out for me. I'm using Supernotes right now and really liking it. Have you tried that one?
The only thing that keeps me from using apple notes exclusively is the graph (mindmap) feature that Anytype (and obsidian and capacities ) app has . The graph view of how your notes and thoughts link together really helps me develop my note making and pkm / second brain . If apple notes offered a graph view . I’m first party apps exclusively
@hoboesque_ Thanks for the comment! Yeah, that's a good point on the mindmap feature. I haven't used Anytype but have tried Obsidian. Never really got into mindmaps but know a lot of people who love them. That kind of feature would definitely take Apple Notes to another level! Sounds like you're using Anytype exclusively now? I'll have to check that app out!
While I like Apple Notes, I started using Obsidian a few months ago. It is so easy to build links between notes and track everything in my life, tie my personal life with my work life (where helpful), I don't think I can go back to Apple Notes again.
@eightwheels Thanks for the comment! Obsidian is a great app but I just couldn't get into it. I actually preferred Notion over Obsidian at the time. There are some great features apps like Obsidian, Notion and others bring to the table. Glad to hear Obsidian is working out for you! Have you tried Notion or any others before settling on Obsidian?
@callmeNeno I've been disappointed with Evernote for awhile now. I think that was my first note taking app and I loved it. Then it just got bloated and the fees went crazy. Thanks for the comment!
@kevanmcnay3079 Totally get it! I started out with a shortcut I found online and then broke it apart to understand it more. I've got a couple of shortcut videos on my channel that might help. Thanks for watching!
@Omar-zq4wx Good point! I don't need to track versions of notes but it's worth pointing out if you do need that feature. I don't think a lot of note taking apps have it. Obsidian? Craft? Notion maybe?
@@brandonontech Notability has it. I mean I agree with you, apple notes is great, but once you modify your notes or delete it's done. Once I lost a very important note and unless you can still do undo, that's it, you lost it
@Omar-zq4wx I hear ya. Yeah, there’s nothing worse than losing valuable info with no easy way to recover that data. I mean, maybe something like Time Machine could help but that’s a lot to go through just to get a note back. If that would even work
@marcrjacobs Ah, yes, tables. Yeah, not being able to adjust the width is a pain. It hasn't been a dealbreaker for me...yet haha But, something they should definitely enhance with tables. Thanks for the comment!
@@brandonontech I think Apple is still testing the water on Notes, they obviously don't take the product very seriously as the slow simple incremental updates get added just to appease the masses. Another issue I have with it is based upon this premise... what if they dump the product?
@marcrjacobs I'd be really surprised if they just dumped it all together but if they did, I'd probably go back to Bear. I already bounce between them but have settled on Notes...for now haha
@@brandonontech I like Bear too, but remember Apple dumped Aperture and they made a lot of money on it, it was a very expensive app in it's day but they sold the heck out of it. For me, tables are absolutely critical and I've been in OneNote for years now, because my family wants the Microsoft Office 365 suite and OneNote is free and works well in the Mac and iOS world (not to mention is has useful tables). I tried Obsidian, but don't like how the photos, etc, are stored separate from the markdown. On the other hand Bear does hold them together, but I wonder if that will be a problem if you ever need to get out of it. Tried Craft and WAY too proprietary of a structure, and would never pay the current price for Evernote. Just can't find a good way out of OneNote with great tables and a clean non-proprietary structure. The longer I'm in OneNote the hard it will be to get out, because it's a manual process as none of the importers work properly.
@robhuff46 Ahh, good point! Kinda makes me think of an earlier comment about Notes being a pet project for Apple. You'd think they'd have an Apple Watch app to at least sync voice notes. I tried Notebook when it first came out but it didn't have much at the time. Might be worth checking that one out again!
@shaunmccarthy5449 Thanks for the comment! Yeah, I’ve got a Samsung phone and did a video about using notes on it. It does work really well and has a lot of the same features but I found collaboration to not be as good as Apple Notes. It is one of the better Android note apps though!
What you are articulating here is the power of Apple Notes is unparalleled in the industry. I too have tried all the note apps, but I just keep coming back to the seamless integrated experience of the Apple Note.
@jaiudotnet Exactly. When you're using the native app, you get benefits that other third party apps can't deliver. Yes, Notes does have some shortcomings but, if you're okay with that, it's really powerful. Thanks for watching!
I think I have tried them all. Bear and Apple Notes are the ones that stick around. If Notes were to develop a decent web clipper and allow more export formats, I’d probably go all in.
@jeffreypatterson552 Agreed! Bear is the only other app that sways me from Notes these days. Good callouts on web clipper and export formats!
100% this
Safari (My preferred web browser) has a "Share" button that saves to Apple Notes.
I was an original Bear convert back in 2016. Used it through 2021 when I switched to Obsidian because I got tired of waiting for actual backlinks. Used a combination of Obsidian and Apple Notes through 2024, but am now moving away from Obsidian in favor of Bear+Apple Notes. Both are great apps and I really just use Bear now (with Backlinks! yay!) for longer writing tasks and instances where I need Markdown. Bear just works so nicely on Mac, iPad and iPhone. I loved a lot of things about Obsidian, but found that I was tinkering with it too much to get it to do what I needed it to do. And its sync is so slow on iPhone and iPad. Obsidian has a lot of friction whereas Apple Notes and Bear just work.
I use Apple Notes to collect all of my notes on a subject. For writing notes, I am experimenting with e-ink devices such as Scribe and SuperNote and then copying those notes to my Apple Notes. I have also experimented with Notability and similar offerings. Each has its pluses and minuses, but given my needs Apple Notes offers this simplest and complete approach given my needs, Great review, by the way.
@Bruceneuman Thanks for the comment! How are you liking e-ink so far? I tried a Scribe but found the software to not be quite there yet. I'm sure it's improved since I last tried it. Have you thought about a Rock, Paper, Pencil from Astropad for your iPad? I've got a couple videos on m channel about it. It's so nice taking handwritten notes on my iPad with it. Have you thought about using a Shortcut to import your handwritten notes into Apple Notes? You might be doing that already but just something that went through my head as you were describing your workflow.
Brandon, once Notes released the ability to link to other notes, I haven't look backed. Yeah, I've tried a few other applications, but when you're in a place where every dollar counts, as most of us are, I'm trying to reduce the amount of subscriptions to third-party apps. Seeing as I only operate on my iPhone or my iPad, there really isn't a need for me to have to rely on third-part apps when I can achieve pretty much everything I need in the native app. In addition, I'm truly stoked to see what iOS 18 will bring to notes and from the rumors I've heard, integration to both reminds and the calendar are in the works, which means a person will have access to a full productivity suite of tools and could even develop their own CRM and ditch some of those costs as well. Great overview of the native app!
@elevateyourcreativeness Well said! Yeah, I'm really looking forward to iOS 18. I'll be trying out the beta on day one so look for upcoming videos going through all the changes! Thanks again for watching!
Brandon, what brand of fine tip are you using on your Apple Pencil? Do you like it?
@robkenley6143 Great question! I’m using the Astropad Rock Paper Pencil which is a screen protector that comes with a special tip to make it feel like pen on paper. I really like the product and have done a couple of videos on it. Check ‘em out!
I never used notes before, but recently I decided to give it a go and so far I am finding a lot of uses. Since I just joined today, do you have other videos that talk about setting them up etc? We are talking a 75 year old here, so nothing complicated. Thanks! ws
@wowlance Thanks for watching! Glad to hear you got some value out of this video. I do have a few others on my channel around note taking so be sure to check those out! I'm also going to be rolling out some shorts and videos on the upcoming iOS 18 software so be sure to subscribe for that!
I recently did an experiment where I used all Apple productivity apps. Prior to this, I think we were probably similar. I used Spark, Calendar (+some others), Things3, and Bear. I am continuing on with Apple Mail and I always used Calendar, so that stays. I missed a few things in Bear and I am running parallel notes at the moment to see which I prefer. I definitely prefer Things3 to Apple Reminders, because I missed start and due dates, and some other aspects. I have tried apple Notes off and on and for years, we have used them as family shared notes. I just never used them for work, and my daily logs before. I was very impressed and it didn’t take long to adjust to keyboard commands over markdown. I liked the ability to use colors (which I used to differentiate work and home content in my daily note), and I really like the share options.
@STWHA_ Thanks for watching and the comment! Sounds like we were very similar! I've never dived into Apple Mail because I like how Spark can color coordinate my different email accounts in the preview. Fantastical has always been my go-to but maybe I should check Calendar again? Bear is a fantastic app as well. It's so easy to share reminders and notes with my wife using the default apps. She's been a good sport though when I've tried Things and Todoist haha I'm hoping for some good things with Apple apps and iOS 18!
Notes and Reminders so amazing!
@thewebstylist Agreed! I think we just need a little more integration between the two to make them better.
i love being able to quiclky handwrite notes in my own shortcut language, and, being an artist, i love being able to sketch, draw some pretty awesome digital drawings to go along with my notes,. I've even done some that i later cut out and exported to other apps or to photos. Plus, i really like how i can organize my art business, my gallery plus the other galleries and events where i show/sell, into so many different folders and sub and sub-sub folders. feel much more organized than other note-type apps i have used. can keep copies of receipts, drawings or schematics of show locations to plan layouts.... i often write my rough drafts of business correspondence in a note file where i can play around with it easily -- usually hand write it first. if i want, then can do a split screen and type it into mail, or just type into notes and then c-p into mail....can do research using split screen, using notes to take notes and to keep urls that i can refer back to easily.... ok, ok, i'll stop, but there is so so much....
@frankiesimsart Thanks for the comment and well said! Great use case for Apple Notes! Love that you use it for drawings too. Do you use any other drawing apps? Have you tried the Astropad Rock Paper Pencil or some other screen protector to get a more paper feel on your iPad?
You can link notes with reminders. thats part of my work flow
@Morschri Thanks for the comment! Are you doing this with an x-callback URL? I didn't think about that but it'd be nice to have integration where you didn't have to call a URL and maybe just had like a drag and drop of the note into the reminder
I think the amount of stimulus we all have coming at us makes me just use default apps less to think about and less confusion. I love notes and reminders they work well together along with mail.
@maikaimakena9424 Thanks for the comment! Yes, sometimes the stock apps just simplify everything and don't require heavy setup
So far, I like Apple Notes and Obsidian. Obsidian is my fave for book notes, due to the linking and tagging features. Everything else is better on Apple. Once AI is incorporated to Apple Notes, it will be a game changer.
@joshuaesquivel5721 I'd love to see Apple Intelligence hit Apple Notes. That and markdown! I've tried Obsidian but it just doesn't work for me. I know a lot of people that use it though. Have you tried Bear?
Is there a possibility to change the page size?
@robgroc7661 You mean, create a new note and define a page size? No way to do that. You can choose from different lines and grids though
I used to go back and forth between Goodnotes and Notability but once I figured out a system of organization with Apple Notes, there really is nothing that beats it because it seamlessly works across all of my devices.
@-ThatGuyVal- Thanks for the comment! Yes, the sync between all devices is amazing. I'm back looking at note apps again cause I just started a new job and the preference is to use a PC, not a Mac. So, more reviews coming on how that's all going!
Good day. Have you ever tried Bear? It is more versitile. My opinion. 🎉
@brianwestbrook2113 I actually love Bear! Great app! I was using it for awhile and then I felt like the development on it slowed down. Best bare bones note app though and it is way more versatile than Apple Notes. But, I think Notes has the slight edge in terms of syncing notes. And, the wake up from a power off state on the iPad to start writing a note is huge. Of course, that's all controlled by Apple. And, with my new job, I actually need something cross platform now so both Bear and Notes are out for me. I'm using Supernotes right now and really liking it. Have you tried that one?
The only thing that keeps me from using apple notes exclusively is the graph (mindmap) feature that Anytype (and obsidian and capacities ) app has . The graph view of how your notes and thoughts link together really helps me develop my note making and pkm / second brain . If apple notes offered a graph view . I’m first party apps exclusively
@hoboesque_ Thanks for the comment! Yeah, that's a good point on the mindmap feature. I haven't used Anytype but have tried Obsidian. Never really got into mindmaps but know a lot of people who love them. That kind of feature would definitely take Apple Notes to another level! Sounds like you're using Anytype exclusively now? I'll have to check that app out!
I can't stop thinking about Millennial Falcon...
@danilrudakovskiy Haha...I love that thing! She's the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy!
While I like Apple Notes, I started using Obsidian a few months ago. It is so easy to build links between notes and track everything in my life, tie my personal life with my work life (where helpful), I don't think I can go back to Apple Notes again.
@eightwheels Thanks for the comment! Obsidian is a great app but I just couldn't get into it. I actually preferred Notion over Obsidian at the time. There are some great features apps like Obsidian, Notion and others bring to the table. Glad to hear Obsidian is working out for you! Have you tried Notion or any others before settling on Obsidian?
I transitioned from Evernote Premium to Apple Notes and have not looked back.
@callmeNeno I've been disappointed with Evernote for awhile now. I think that was my first note taking app and I loved it. Then it just got bloated and the fees went crazy. Thanks for the comment!
I save all my business invoices in a folder in Apple Notes , I can carry all the info I need in my pocket should the tax man ever request a chat …..
@kevanmcnay3079 Love it! Let's hope the tax man never comes calling! Scanning is another great feature on Notes. Thanks for pointing that out!
@@brandonontech ….invoices come via email , simply upload direct to any file in notes or create a new one .
Shortcuts are like spreadsheets to me ….. no matter how many times , or how slowly they are explained , I have no idea how to use them !
@kevanmcnay3079 Totally get it! I started out with a shortcut I found online and then broke it apart to understand it more. I've got a couple of shortcut videos on my channel that might help. Thanks for watching!
The biggest problem is that it does not exist any kind of versioning of notes
@Omar-zq4wx Good point! I don't need to track versions of notes but it's worth pointing out if you do need that feature. I don't think a lot of note taking apps have it. Obsidian? Craft? Notion maybe?
@@brandonontech Notability has it. I mean I agree with you, apple notes is great, but once you modify your notes or delete it's done. Once I lost a very important note and unless you can still do undo, that's it, you lost it
@Omar-zq4wx I hear ya. Yeah, there’s nothing worse than losing valuable info with no easy way to recover that data. I mean, maybe something like Time Machine could help but that’s a lot to go through just to get a note back. If that would even work
I like everything about Apple Notes, except tables and not being able to adjust the column width. That single issue alone keeps me from using it.
@marcrjacobs Ah, yes, tables. Yeah, not being able to adjust the width is a pain. It hasn't been a dealbreaker for me...yet haha But, something they should definitely enhance with tables. Thanks for the comment!
@@brandonontech I think Apple is still testing the water on Notes, they obviously don't take the product very seriously as the slow simple incremental updates get added just to appease the masses. Another issue I have with it is based upon this premise... what if they dump the product?
@marcrjacobs I'd be really surprised if they just dumped it all together but if they did, I'd probably go back to Bear. I already bounce between them but have settled on Notes...for now haha
@@brandonontech I like Bear too, but remember Apple dumped Aperture and they made a lot of money on it, it was a very expensive app in it's day but they sold the heck out of it. For me, tables are absolutely critical and I've been in OneNote for years now, because my family wants the Microsoft Office 365 suite and OneNote is free and works well in the Mac and iOS world (not to mention is has useful tables). I tried Obsidian, but don't like how the photos, etc, are stored separate from the markdown. On the other hand Bear does hold them together, but I wonder if that will be a problem if you ever need to get out of it. Tried Craft and WAY too proprietary of a structure, and would never pay the current price for Evernote. Just can't find a good way out of OneNote with great tables and a clean non-proprietary structure. The longer I'm in OneNote the hard it will be to get out, because it's a manual process as none of the importers work properly.
I don't like Apple Notes because it doesn't sync with Apple Watch. I use Notebook.
@robhuff46 Ahh, good point! Kinda makes me think of an earlier comment about Notes being a pet project for Apple. You'd think they'd have an Apple Watch app to at least sync voice notes. I tried Notebook when it first came out but it didn't have much at the time. Might be worth checking that one out again!
Samsung notes do the same thing
@shaunmccarthy5449 Thanks for the comment! Yeah, I’ve got a Samsung phone and did a video about using notes on it. It does work really well and has a lot of the same features but I found collaboration to not be as good as Apple Notes. It is one of the better Android note apps though!