Top 8 Note Taking Apps iPhone

As someone with a terrible memory, I can attest that note taking apps regularly act out the role of savior in my daily life, whether used in a personal or professional capacity. There’s a convenience about being able to quickly note things down and then have access to those notes across a range of different platforms, though each note taking app for the iPhone offers something slightly different. The success of apps like Evernote and OneNote has also spawned another generation of similar apps that might not touch these earlier efforts in terms of versatility and features, but bring something new to the table that will make potential users turn their heads. We recently decided to test the current crop of iPhone note taking apps by downloading and trying each one for a week, just to weed out the good from the bad. This countdown list will therefore feature one or two well known names, but also hopefully some apps that you’d not yet heard of but promise to increase productivity, whether used for work or at home.

8. Paper (Free)

We did mention Evernote’s Penultimate recently, which is a nice note taking app with more of a pen and paper experience. That one misses out here, though Paper by FiftyThree is a slightly better alternative that is also great for designers and artists alike. The idea, and indeed the reason why Evernote diversified in the first place, is born from the fact that note taking apps are really limited to using the keypad to jot things down, whereas it’s actually quicker to write someting with a pen – if you have that ability. Paper offers users a variety of different input methods, the main one being the use of a Stylus to either make notes or sketches in class, for example. FiftyThree has their own one available that can be paired with the app, though it was designed specifically for the iPad. – Download from iTunes

7. Vesper ($9.99)

I thought I’d mention Vesper here since it is by far the best looking note taking app out there on the iPhone at present. The UI is beautifully designed and animated, and the whole navigation process just feels satisfying and organic. It is similar in a minimalist sense to something like Simplenote, though does fall down slightly when it comes to cross platform support. If there’s one area that Evernote really excels in but that users tend to take for granted it’s the fact that you can access and edit your notes on a huge range of different platforms and devices, just as you should be able to. Vesper isn’t quite at that stage yet, but what we’ve seen so far is very promising. – Download from iTunes

6. Drafts 4 ($9.99)

Drafts 4 is on the expensive side when you consider that benchmark note taking apps like Evernote are free, though it is worth noting (no pun intended, honest) for its ability to connect with other apps that you may be using. Convenience in terms of note taking is of course only part of the battle, for what is the use of an app that allows you to jot stuff down, if you can’t then easily use this information in other apps. Drafts 4 is one of the best out there for the iPhone when it comes to shifting these notes around, so to speak, and pushing tet on to any service you like – whether that be social media apps such as Facebook or Twitter, messaging apps such as WhatsApp or even email clients like Gmail. – Download from iTunes

5. Awesome Note 2 ($3.99)

Awesome Note is worth mentioning here as it is primarily a note taking app, hence the name, though brings a lot more to the table in terms of features and functionlity. It blends the note taking with stff like to do lists, diaries, recipe books and a calendar system that attempts to be your one stop shop, so to speak, in personal and professional productivity. Unfortunately, while the app does all of these things fairly well, it fails to truly excel in one area making it a useful and versatile app to own but one that you won’t rely on quite as much as others. – Download from iTunes

4. OneNote (Free)

For someone that uses MS Office, OneNote is a very useful app and really excels when it comes to sharing and maintaining your notes across different platforms. You can even access your notes on the OneNote website, which is a nice backup if your smartphone runs out of battery at the crucial moment. OneNote is also great when it comes to importing stuff, which is an area where some competitor apps fall down. You can import just about everything from documents and images to PDF files; these can be then integrated into your notes for future reference, and filed away in specific notebooks under different categories. – Download from iTunes

3. Letterspace ($4.99)

We love Letterspace partly for the way it looks, but it does have something of an innovation up its sleeve that does set it apart from other note taking apps. Okay, so this isn’t really an innovation but it is something slightly different: the app basically allows you to apply hashtags to things, which makes categorizing and searching for stuff a whole lot easier. You can add both hashtags and mentions, which aren’t original ideas but are an excellent way to keep things organized without an annoying folder system that takes time to set up and maintain.- Download from iTunes

2. Simplenote (Free)

By far the most minimal note taking app out there at present, Simplenote really does exactly what it says on the tin. That is, give users a note taking experience that is stripped of needless features and just focuses on the text itself. The features that something like Evernote boasts are of course very much appreciated, though there are many users who would much prefer to keep things simple. This is the same concept if you consider Notepad on a Windows computer: you might question why you would use Notepad when you have Word, but many still do. Simplenote is easy enough to navigate, and there’s no clutter in the way of menus or features meaning that your notes will take up the entire screen and reading them is a more comfortable process. – Download from iTunes

1. Evernote (Free)

We are fans of OneNote and have used and written about it extensively in the past, though I think it’s fair to say that the app hasn’t kept pace with the likes of Evernote and has been upstaged by other more innovative apps coming through that offer much more in terms of exciting features. Of course, not list would be complete without mentioning Evernote and despite all these new apps, the old elephant remains our favorite when it comes to jotting down notes and making checklists on the go. The best thing about Evernote is its convenience, and part of this is down to its presence across different platforms. You can create reminders on your iPhone, then access them immediately on the web wherever you are, or even on other devices such as an Android tablet or a Windows Phone. – Download from iTunes