What’s New in Apple Notes in iOS 18?

Apple Notes is getting some fantastic new features in iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, including voice memos with transcription, math support, and an easier way to attach files to notes.
TIMESTAMPS
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00:00 Introduction
00:42 Do Math Inside Notes
02:07 Record & Transcribe Voice Notes
03:17 Attaching Files
03:59 Apple Intelligence (“AI”) Features
06:02 Highlighting Text
06:26 Apple Pencil Handwriting Improvements
06:59 New Ways to Quickly Take Notes
07:47 My #1 Wish for Apple Notes…
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[@PeterAkkies]

Download my FREE Apple Notes Cheat Sheet: peterakkies.ck.page/notes-cheat-sheet

[@arthurantonio7824]

These features are making me consider leaving other apps behind for apple notes. And you're right, typography should get a revision

[@alexandrdanchenko5454]

🎉🎉🎉 I was waiting highlighting in Notes for years 😅

[@jamestheredd]

Couldn't agree more about line width. It has driven me nuts for a long time. I'll add that images (especially ones in portrait orientation are MASSIVE in large mode and tiny in small mode). I think it would make sense to add a line width slider.

[@issiewizzie]

The transcribe would only be useful if it can recognise that there are two people or more on the recording. This is what Microsoft does very well in word

[@PeterAkkies]

I think it can do that but cannot test it myself yet

[@jimgrant1776]

Peter, another excellent video. Much better than the news articles I've been reading on these subjects/

[@tonysilva2654]

Apple stock apps are taking a pretty good leap forward in the new iOS/iPadOS/MacOS. Thanks for the walk through and the cheat-sheet!!!!! Great video👍🏽

[@PeterAkkies]

Thanks Tony!

[@JasperMeurs]

Great video Peter, thank you for summarizing this for us! 🙏🏻

[@IbrahimBashir]

Great vide and thanks for sharing

[@macpretorians]

We strive for a situation like from the movie "Her" and we are getting closer.

[@infinitychaserx]

Can you pinch zoom on the new Apple Notes? A drawing app that you can't zoom in, is crazy.

[@JeffPom]

It’s not specifically a drawing note app. Freeeform would be a better app for this.

[@Padygy]

Can you record with voice memo separately then insert the recording after? Will it be transcribed? Also can you take notes whiles its recording?

[@abhi1ism]

Peter fantastic video! You literally said out loud, what i’ve been wanting for sometime, viz., some control over things like line length, better typography. I would’ve loved markdown too (i know it’s probably never going to happen) , but atleast some way to enhance the note taking experience.

[@PeterAkkies]

Muchas gracias! I agree that Markdown is unlikely to happen. Better line length and typography… maybe. I have hope. Even if we can’t change the settings, just give us better defaults!

[@batscamp]

Hello Peter, Thanks for the amazing content as always! You did not review the collapsible sections. Maybe it has not been implemented yet? I hope you’ll review Apple reminders in calendar anytime soon. Take care

[@PeterAkkies]

Yes, I only just learned of them, after recording the video. But that’s another great new feature. Reminders video is hopefully also coming this week.

[@batscamp]

@@PeterAkkiesthanks for getting back to me so fast. I’m glad to know that we’ll see you again very soon. I totally agree with your request to Apple regarding readability. I would also beg them for a webclipper, a good research (it is currently unable to return a folder as a result, only notes’ titles or contents), and an easy way to tune up notes’ aspects. I’m a happy capacities user but I still need Apple notes for specific tasks

[@bennnnnnnnnn18]

How’s Things 3 working on the Beta so far, Peter? Loving the videos! Can’t wait to see your new iOS/iPadOS18 videos!

[@PeterAkkies]

Thank you! I’m already working on the next video. Things 3 on the beta works but it’s buggy-probably more because of iPadOS than because of Things though.

[@MannyFernandez]

Do you know if we can write notes while recording the voice in Notes? I do this today in Notability and I know that Good added it recently.

[@jawjuh1005]

Great review! I’m wondering if besides highlighting words in color on iOS can I change the actual word or sentence color? Also not sore if you have been able to check reminders. Did they include Due Upon Completion like Things has?

[@PeterAkkies]

Thank you! No, you cannot change the actual word or sentence color on iOS. You can on macOS, in a convoluted way, but I don't recommend it because it's kinda hacky. I recorded a Reminders video today so that should be coming out in the next few days. Are you referring to repetition schedules based on completion? No, Reminders still doesn't support that.

[@jawjuh1005]

@@PeterAkkies so the color in iOS is just for highlighting? I definitely can on macOS. I was hoping for iOS too. Bummer.

[@LorenzoSpearmanSrhelpsthepoor]

With the new transcription feature in IOS 18 i guess my Plaud note device is now obsolete. 😀

[@richardrosenblum728]

I'm an older senior and loved your video. I struggle with the apple pencil because I write left-handed (like a drunken chicken running across the keys) do you see any help coming for left handed writers? Thank you.

[@PeterAkkies]

Thanks Richard! I am not left-handed so don't really know enough about the difficulties to be able to judge…

[@TQ.followeyes]

I love you Peter so much 💌. Your honest, direct and engaging content really make differanc. Keep the good work.

[@PeterAkkies]

I really appreciate that! Thank you.

[@PeNGuiNZoMbiEUYA]

Will math notes tally up the numbers inside of charts??

[@RobertRodriguezMusic]

Star Trek!!! 🙌

[@talesofnox]

The only thing that held me back from using apple notes for college was the inability to highlight text Well here we are now

[@LongDaysAndPleasantNights]

That’s awesome. Glad your notes app works on ipados18. Mine crashes every time I open it.

[@PeterAkkies]

That sucks, hopefully that gets fixed in beta 2

[@LongDaysAndPleasantNights]

@@PeterAkkies I’m site it will, I was so excited for the new notes features. I LOVE the long overdue calendar/reminders integration!

[@puna_hanma4091]

Hi Peter! Thank you for the video. Are you able to collapse the title yet in the beta? Thank you for your reply.

[@PeterAkkies]

No I can't do that yet in the beta unfortunately

[@puna_hanma4091]

@@PeterAkkies Thank you Peter. I decided to install the beta and checked. Apparently, we are able to. We have to hover over the heading and it shows a collapsible icon on the left side. Cheers!

[@PeterAkkies]

@@puna_hanma4091 Yes I had also figured it out in the meantime. Thanks for getting back to me!

[@puna_hanma4091]

@@PeterAkkies No worries. Like your videos a lot!

[@Esho_777]

It would make sense if apple would include into ai's capabilities to organise all notes by voice, each according to specific themes, titles or concepts, rather manually organising them. This would be immensely helpful and timesaving.

[@PeterAkkies]

I agree! That would be amazing.

[@PinAda92]

I mean, they could have allowed us to highlight text with the pencil :( Would have been a bit better, but that is ok too

[@jimgrant1776]

Please ask every Apply employee you encounter to add a "Financial" mode to the new calculator app in addition to the Basic, Scientific, and Math Notes app. A "Financial" mode would handle PV, FV, PMT, N, & I.

[@scottspiro4876]

Peter, does it not seem as though Apple is continually iterating on the Reminders app, making it better while Culture Code (aside from new widgets, font sizes etc.) is not innovating?

[@PeterAkkies]

Well, I wouldn't put it that way, but Apple is definitely improving Reminders. Not at a huge pace, but there are Reminders improvements every year. I am not sure what Cultured Code are working on. I doubt they're doing nothing but I too feel that they haven't introduced a lot of new features recently. I will say that the "font sizes" were a huge update for them-it perhaps doesn't look that way from the front end, but they had to do a lot of work to make that happen. Still, I'd love to see location-based reminders and attachment support in Things, at a minimum. They're just such no-brainers that would immediately draw in a lot more users for them. But why that's not happening (at least not yet)… I know just as much or little as we all do.

[@johngraves8561]

Have they fixed the following Notes, Link feature scenario? Using iPhone iOS, Notes App, How do you get back to the original Note you linked from? There should a be Link Back/Return button to get you back to the originating link.

[@PeterAkkies]

No it just jumps to the other note-there is no "back"

[@johngraves8561]

@@PeterAkkies seems this should be a natural part of the link feature like browsers have.

[@Shiva_1719]

Hi. What is the calendar widget on your ipad called?

[@PeterAkkies]

Fantastical

[@Shiva_1719]

Cheers for the reply.👍🏾

[@mrwriter86]

I’ve installed iPad OS 18 on to my iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) and while I can record a voice note within Notes, there’s no sign of transcription. I suspect this might be a feature for the M1 models. Anyone else been able to try?

[@PeterAkkies]

I'm seeing the same on my M1 iPad Pro. Not sure if it's related to M1 or whether it just doesn't work on iPads (vs. iPhones) yet.

[@mrwriter86]

@@PeterAkkies Thank you, I appreciate the response. Maybe not activated for iPad OS as yet then.

[@Simsim6ix9ine]

I was expecting The new integration of calendar and reminders

[@PeterAkkies]

I recorded a video on that today, it's coming soon

[@jawjuh1005]

Ability to nest tags in notes?

[@PeterAkkies]

No, you can't nest tags in Notes

[@hnn87]

and yet, still no bulk export as pdf in 2024 :D

[@PeterAkkies]

🙃 Apple likes to keep you in their ecosystem, of course

[@mancerrss]

2:13 Wait so the Apple Notes have Voice Transcription now? But Voice Notes don’t?

[@PeterAkkies]

Yes, voice notes in Notes now have transcription. In the Voice Memos app on iPad, I don't see a transcription option yet. Maybe it'll appear in a future beta version.

[@mancerrss]

@@PeterAkkies That is some bull. Did they even brought Voice Transcription in the iOS as well? Not just iPadOS?

[@AaronAngusRubinstein]

What's wonder, is that Apple has no translation function in action from language 1 to language 2.

[@PeterAkkies]

Well there is the Translate app

[@TFR50]

You can collapse sections in Notes now

[@PeterAkkies]

Can you? You're supposed to be able to but I cannot.

[@gaxrav]

@@PeterAkkies hover the cursor to the left of the heading (only works with headings) and you'll see it.

[@PeterAkkies]

@@gaxrav I don't have a mouse or trackpad connected to my iPad, but I was able to tap the heading to collapse it. Thanks. :)

[@mweijmar]

No transcript for the Dutch language :\

[@PeterAkkies]

Nog niet maar dat komt op een gegeven moment vast wel.