Apple Notes is packed with hidden tricks

Apple Notes has long been a favorite app for iPhone users who need a quick place to store their daily text. Whether you’re babbling, inventing or drafting a speech, the built-in app lets you start writing instantly.

While basic text input is often enough, Apple Notes can do much more. To get the most out of Notes, here are 10 lesser-known features worth mastering.

1. Quick access

Finding, launching, and then launching a new note (or finding the right existing one) can be time-consuming, which isn’t ideal when you’re transcribing someone’s speech or taking a class. For this reason, Apple offers several shortcuts that allow you to efficiently start a new note.

You can add dedicated toggles to the lock screen and control center, as well as an easy-to-recognize widget on the home screen. To access Apple Notes from anywhere, you can assign the appropriate option to the Actions button on your iPhone instead of navigating through the software menus. Similarly, you can share text and compatible attachment types directly from first- and third-party apps to Notes to quickly add a bookmark or link to a particular matter.

2. Sound recording

Speaking of transcribing, Apple Notes on newer iPhones can save you from manually typing out live speeches. With the Neural Engine on the device, you can start an audio recording session in a note and it will display the transcription in real time – even when you’re offline. If you’ve enabled Apple Intelligence on your iPhone, you can even view transcript summaries and break long lectures into short notes.

3. Generative AI

Notes’ built-in AI features go beyond transcript summaries. For example, you can select the text you have written and use different writing tools to refine or edit it. These include proofreading, rewriting, tone tuning, creating lists or tables, and more. If you’re not sure where to start, you can even opt for the Compose tool, which lets you prompt ChatGPT to write on your behalf.

In addition to text, Notes supports native image generation using the Apple Image Playground extension. You can choose from multiple styles, including Animation, Illustration, and Sketch, to describe the image you’re interested in. Alternatively, you can scribble in a note and use the Image Wand tool to have the AI ​​generate a more perfect version of your sketch.

4. Protection

Many iPhone users rely on the Notes app to store sensitive data. Fortunately, you can lock individual notes using a password or Face ID authentication. After setting up the feature in the Notes app settings, you’ll find the Lock option under the three-dot menu of each note.

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

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5. Organization

Some users have been actively saving notes on their iPhones for years, so managing and searching through an archive of all time is a bit overwhelming. Apple Notes offers several features to help you organize your content and quickly find specific items.

For starters, you can create folders dedicated to your different projects and put related notes in the same place. You can also add hashtags (#topic) to your notes and sort them by relevant topics. Do you access a particular note often? You can pin it to the top of the list.

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You can also create a knowledge base and link notes to each other by adding a link attachment and entering the name of the note you want. These tools, combined with a robust search feature (which also 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 storing plain text, the app supports a wide range of formatting and customization tools. You can add lines or grids as a background using the note’s three-dot menu, or select the text to adjust its appearance. Some of the formatting options include bold, italics, underlining, color highlighting, bullets, indexing, and more. You can also insert tables to visualize the data in a simple form.

7. Scanning

Text input in Apple Notes is not limited to typing and transcribing audio. When pasting text printed on an actual object or document, you can rely on the text scanner found under attachments. Alternatively, you can choose a document scanner that will digitize the paper and add it as an attachment (rather than plain text) to your note. If the size of the document seems overwhelming, you can switch to a smaller thumbnail using the View attachment option located below the note’s three-dot menu.

8. Smart benefits

In addition to Apple Intelligence tools, the Notes app offers several smart features that students will especially appreciate. If you’re taking handwritten notes using the Markup feature, you can tap and hold on a scribble and press the Refine button to make your handwriting more legible. Otherwise, if you’re typing math equations into a note, the built-in iOS keyboard will suggest the solution on the line.

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9. Cooperation

You’ve long been able to share notes as static files with others. However, this is not practical when you expect edits or feedback from the recipient. Fortunately, Apple Notes offers a collaboration feature that allows multiple users to view and edit notes simultaneously. Simply press the Share button on the note and select Collaborate from the drop-down menu before sending it through the app of your choice. Once the recipient accepts your invitation, you’ll be able to edit, tag, and work together more efficiently.

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10. Data Transfer

While Notes is a powerful tool for text-related tasks, it still lacks many of the advanced features found in dedicated document editors. When you’re ready to take your project to the next level, you can hit 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. Alternatively, you can export it as a Markdown file and follow along with a compatible application.