Apple Notes is loaded with hidden tricks

Apple Notes has long been the go-to app for iPhone users who need a quick place to store everyday text. Whether you’re ranting, brainstorming ideas, or writing a speech, the built-in app lets you start typing instantly.

Although basic text entry is often sufficient, Apple Notes can do much more than that. To get the most out of Notes, here are 10 lesser-known features worth mastering.

1. Quick access

Locating, launching, and then starting a new note (or finding the correct existing note) can take a long time, which is not ideal when you’re transcribing someone’s speech or attending a class. For this reason, Apple offers several shortcuts that allow you to efficiently start a new note.

You can add dedicated buttons to the lock screen and Control Center, as well as an easy-to-spot widget on the home screen. To access Apple Notes from anywhere, you can assign the appropriate option to the iPhone’s action button instead of navigating the software’s menus. Likewise, you can share text and compatible attachment types directly from first-party and third-party apps to Notes to quickly add or reference a given topic.

2. Audio recording

Speaking of transcription, Apple Notes on newer iPhones can save you from manually typing live speeches. With the device’s built-in Neural Engine, you can start an audio recording session in a note and view a transcription in real time, even when you’re offline. If you have Apple Intelligence enabled on your iPhone, you can even view a transcript summary, distilling long lectures into brief takeaways.

3. Generative AI

The AI ​​capabilities built into Notes extend beyond transcription summaries. For example, you can select the text you have typed and use the different writing tools to refine or modify it. These include proofreading, rewriting, adjusting tone, creating lists or tables, and much more. If you’re not sure where to start, you can even opt for the Compose tool, which lets you invite ChatGPT to type on your behalf.

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In addition to text, the Notes app supports generating native images using Apple’s Image Playground extension. You can choose between several styles, including Animation, Illustration and Sketch, and describe the image you are interested in. You can also scribble on a note and use the Image Wand tool to have the AI ​​generate a more refined version of your sketch.

4. Protections

Many iPhone users rely on the Notes app to store sensitive information. Luckily, you can lock individual notes using a password or Face ID authentication. Once you configure the feature in the Notes app settings, you can find the Lock option under each note’s three-dot menu.

But what if you want to lock all your grades? Well, you don’t need to go through them individually. Instead, you can hold the Notes app icon on the home screen and lock the app itself. This will completely prevent your nosy roommates from accessing the app.

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5. Organization

Some users have been actively storing notes on their iPhone for years, making the all-time archive a bit difficult to manage and navigate. Apple Notes offers several features to help you organize your content and quickly locate specific items.

To get started, you can create folders dedicated to your different projects and place the associated notes in the same place. You can also insert hashtags (#topic) into notes to sort them based on their relevant topics. Do you access a particular note frequently? You can pin it to the top of the list.

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You can also create a knowledge base and link notes together by adding a link as an attachment and typing the name of the desired note. These tools, along with the reliable search feature (which even works with handwritten notes), make it easy to find a specific note, no matter how old it is.

6. Personalization

While many iOS users rely on Apple Notes for plain text storage, the app supports a wide range of formatting and customization tools. You can add lines or grids as a background using a note’s three-dot menu, or select text to customize its appearance. Some of the formatting options include bold text, italics, underlining, colored highlights, bullets, indexing, etc. You can also insert tables to visualize the data in a simple form.

7. Scanning

Entering text in Apple Notes is more than just typing and transcribing audio. You can rely on the text scanner found under attachments to insert printed text onto an actual object or document. Alternatively, you can choose the document scanner, which scans the paper and adds it as an attachment (rather than plain text) to your note. If you find the document size extremely large, you can switch to a smaller thumbnail using the Show Attachments option located in the note’s three-dot menu.

8. Smart Benefits

In addition to Apple Intelligence tools, the Notes app offers a few smart features that students will particularly appreciate. If you’re taking handwritten notes using the Annotation feature, you can long-press your scribbles and tap the Refine button to make your writing more readable. Otherwise, if you type math equations in a note, the built-in iOS keyboard will offer you inline solutions.

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9. Collaboration

You have long been able to share notes as static files with others. However, this is not practical when you are waiting for edits or comments from the recipient. Fortunately, Apple Notes offers a collaboration feature that allows multiple users to view and edit notes simultaneously. Simply tap the Share button on a note and select Collaborate from the drop-down menu before sending it via an app of your choice. Once the recipient accepts your invitation, you can review together, identify each other, and work more efficiently.

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10. Data transfer

Although Notes is a powerful tool for text-related tasks, it still lacks many advanced features found in dedicated document editors. If you’re ready to take your project to the next level, you can tap the Share button on a note and open it in Pages or another document editor to unlock even more tools and customizations, including Apple Creator Studio exclusives. You can also export it as a Markdown file and proceed accordingly using a compatible application.