These iPadOS 18 Notes Features Will Be Amazing!
Notes gets some welcome improvements in iPadOS 18
Notes features were one of the main highlights of the iPadOS 18 announcement at WWDC24 this year. One of these features, Smart Script will automatically clean up handwriting in the Notes app. This will be very useful for those who enjoy handwriting their notes, but don’t have the cleanest handwriting. In other words, this feature will be perfect for me, so far it’s done a pretty good job of cleaning up my messy handwriting.
But one of the Notes features I’m most excited about is Math Notes. This is related to the Calculator app announcement, but it also is a feature built into the Notes app as well. And experimenting with it in the first betas, it looks very promising.
Handwritten Equations
One unique aspect of the implementation of Math Notes on iPadOS is its compatibility with the Apple Pencil. Technically you can write equations with fingers on the iPhone and get similar results (minus Smart Script enhancements), but the Apple Pencil of course feels much more natural for handwriting. In the Notes app, when I write a math equation and add an equals sign at the end, Notes will automatically calculate the result. This is very useful for complex equations that would traditionally require a Scientific Calculator (which the new Calculator also provides). The Notes app can even create graphs from equations.
This also makes using the Calculator app for scientific calculator operations like finding the square root of a number far simpler and more intuitive. Rather than having to figure out which button in your calculator is for square roots and knowing how to use it, you can simply handwrite the equation and write an equals sign. Something feels more natural about handwriting out equations in a calculator, it reminds me of the scrap pages I would use to solve equations in school, only it also acts as a calculator so it can automatically solve the equation.
Typed Equations
One of the ways of using math Notes I’m most excited about is for expense tracking and estimating. Math Notes includes a “programmatic” approach so that a user can create an equation similar to this:
Pet Food Expenses:
Dog = 35.00
Cat = 27.53
Fish = 12.76
Dog + Cat + Fish = 75.29
The values for Dog, Cat, and Fish can be updated or changed, and the change will automatically be reflected in the results. In the current iPadOS 18 developer beta, this works in standard notes in the Notes app, Math Notes in the Math Notes section of the Notes app, and the Math Notes section of the new Calculator app. That’s a lot of separate ways of accessing the feature, but it’s more intuitive and simple than it sounds due to the way the Calculator and Notes app have been integrated. Think of Math Notes as similar to Quick Notes. They’re even categorized in the same area at the top in the sidebar of the Notes app. This also makes the feature more accessible and discoverable by users, as you don’t specifically have to create a special kind of note to use this feature, at least not currently.
Outlook
These features will likely see some changes and improvements over the course of the beta cycle, but as they currently are implemented, I think they will revolutionize some of the workflows I use the Notes app for. Easier expense tracking and estimating is huge, as before, I would list things I had separately calculated in the calculator app (on my iPhone) in the Notes app. Now, I can list them and calculate them at the same time, which will save me a lot of time and effort. I currently even use the Notes app to draft my pieces here for ByteBits, and I can also conveniently collect research material in the same app. I love the simplicity of Notes for writing simple text, and the new features will further enhance Notes utility in my workflow. I’m excited to see how these features will continue to improve.