If you're a fan of taking handwritten notes, the new AI-powered Goodnotes 6 adds new features that you may like. It can spellcheck handwriting, use AI to check your math, and lasso anything on your notes to move them around. But it's not perfect, it sometimes fails to detect my handwriting, and the free version is limited. But the subscription is just S$15 a year, which isn't too bad.
Quick notes
- Lots of note templates to pick from
- AI-powered text replacement isn't perfect
- The Marketplace will feature localised practice exams in the future
The AI-powered handwriting feature with the Apple Pencil is pretty magical — when it works. I've purposely tried misspelling my words, and the AI would sometimes detect the errors. But watching your typos turn into the correct words with your handwriting is awesome. Thankfully, this feature is free, so you don't have to subscribe for it. Another AI feature is text replacement. If you would rather type your notes, this feature helps you rewrite or summarise. Like handwriting spellcheck though, it's not perfect. Sometimes, it just gives me back the same text. But like everything AI, it will probably get better over time.
Other features include using the Apple Pencil to lasso out stuff to move around, and of course, you can sketch and draw. I do want to note that there has to be a better way to change your notebook's cover. Right now, I have to add the new template, then delete the old cover. There's also no way to password protect your notebooks for now, but that may be coming in the future. Improvements that I can think of: Include a pencil tool (you can only use a pen for now) and the ability to link between pages. These features are, honestly, pretty handy to have and have been requested, but are unavailable for now.
Now, while you can use the Goodnotes app for free, if you want more than three notebooks, unlimited audio recordings, and cloud sync, then you will need to pay for the subscription. You also get free templates, and access to free educational materials in the marketplace. Alternatively, you can pay a one-time fee for the same features, but you can only use it on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. There's no access to the Windows, Web and Android versions. If you get the math exam practice materials as a subscriber, you can try the AI math assistance, which helps you check your sums. Now, I'm terrible at math, so I can't tell you how good it is.
Goodnotes 6 is a pretty decent note-taking app, and while I prefer typing my notes out, there's a certain pleasure in writing you just can't get by banging the keyboard. But if you don't need Goodnotes 6's handwriting and AI features, there's always Apple's own Notes app, which is great on its own. Download Goodnotes 6 here.
Note: A one-year subscription to Goodnotes 6 was provided by Goodnotes for testing and review purposes.
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