Member-only story
Which is Best for Handwritten Notes? GoodNotes, Notability, or Apple Notes?
Replacing pen and paper with an iPad? I try taking notes using two top iPad apps and Apple Notes on a video about making brownies
Note-taking apps are breeding like rabbits and most now support handwriting. Which one offers the best experience? Rather than simply compare features, I use each app with an Apple Pencil to take notes on a YouTube video about making chocolate brownies. Someone has to do it!
What was I looking for?
- The experience should be as frustration-free as using a paper notebook.
- I shouldn’t have to think about how I was taking notes.
- It should be easy to navigate around my notes.
- I should be able to rearrange and resize writing and drawings easily.
The results surprised me. Two apps shone and the other was painfully far behind. If it were simply down to taking handwritten notes, the weakest link, as you’ll see, would be easy to spot.
Note: I have no links with any of the app developers.
Test set-up — Fudgy Chocolate Brownies
I chose a video on making chocolate brownies because I like chocolate brownies, and I knew I’d have to watch the same video quite a few times. I left a gap between note-making sessions to try to minimise bias due to familiarity with the material.
Each app ran on a 2018 iPad Pro 11”. I used an Apple Pencil 2, but no keyboard.
Chocolate fudge brownies using GoodNotes 5
Taking hand-written notes with GoodNotes 5
GoodNotes 5 collects pages into notebooks, which are filed in a hierarchy of folders. The folders look a bit like the Files app, but it doesn’t seem to use the Files app.
