The Apple Notes app is a cultural fixture and essential tool, and it looks like Apple is going to supercharge the iconic app in iOS 18, the next major update for Apple’s flagship mobile operating system.
iOS 18 is expected to be previewed alongside the latest versions of its other platform operating systems at WWDC 2024, Apple’s software-focused conference aimed primarily at developers, which begins on June 8.
Reports from AppleInsider indicate that two impressive features are expected to be revealed. First, there is support for audio recordings directly within the app, similar to the Voice Memos app, but better integrated.
This feature is currently being developed for iOS 18 and macOS 15, and a release for the latest version of iPadOS is expected soon.
The feature will provide users with basic playback functions for audio recordings, allowing them to record, play, and save entries directly in the Notes app.
Recordings will be embedded into specific notes that users choose, which can also include text and images along with the recording.
Creatives will undoubtedly find it useful for creating multimedia entries, and more casual users might find it a great way to create digital scrapbooks. It will also allow users to make more complex entries to detail the audio they save, being able to add extensive descriptions or context entries.
The app’s user interface will be visually similar to the existing Voice Memos app, and the new audio recording feature will be presented with similar graphical representations of the captured audio. These new in-app audio note recordings will be available on all devices connected to iCloud and running at least iOS 18 or macOS 15.
Preview versions of the operating systems due to be unveiled at WWDC 2024 also apparently reference a new ‘Math Notes’ feature that will allow the Notes app to interact with the Calculator app. Presumably, this will allow the Notes app to include the Calculator app to perform calculations as users enter them in Notes, although there’s no indication of how complex these calculations might be.
More such features are expected to follow the Math Notes feature, and the introduction of the Math Notes feature is timed to coincide with Apple’s debut of a redesigned macOS Calculator app. Users will likely be able to activate the Math Notes feature from the Calculator app using a designated button or option, but we’ll have to wait a little longer to see the exact plans Apple has in store for Math Notes.
Apple steals a note from Microsoft
These features have been part of OneNote, Microsoft’s proprietary note-taking application, a favorite among many who use lesson plans and educational materials, and among those working in mathematical notation. It also ranks high in terms of popularity in both the iOS App Store and the macOS App Store; the former is highly appreciated in user reviews and the latter has received Apple’s Editors’ Choice award. It’s the group of people who find OneNote so useful and crucial to their work that Apple could hope to attract them with its Math Notes feature.
The Notes app may have started as a humble confidant for shopping lists and late-night thoughts, but it looks like it’s growing into a more app capable of helping users in more ways. It remains very popular as a native note-taking app for Apple products, and, understandably, Apple is taking steps to maintain its entry-level status.
Again, both the built-in audio recording feature and the Math Notes feature are expected to debut at WWDC 2024, but Apple has canceled or delayed features that were rumored to be in the works before. We won’t know for sure until we hear it on stage at WWDC in June.
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