Apple Notes
The note app that ships on every Mac, iPhone and iPad, synced through iCloud
Notes ships on every Mac, iPhone and iPad. Sync runs through iCloud at no cost. It holds text, checklists, tables, scanned documents, handwriting, photos and links between notes, all filed into folders, tags and smart folders. Shipping with the system counts for more than any single feature: the app sits in the share sheet, answers to Siri and Shortcuts, and turns up in Spotlight results. For plenty of people it is the default place a thought lands before it goes anywhere else.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- David SparksDoes it
Apple productivity writer · MacSparky
Months inside Apple Notes while preparing a Field Guide on the Apple productivity apps changed his mind. He calls it fast, reliable and more capable than most people realize, and says he is all in on it for general note-taking, with a linked Markdown app expected to carry the longer MacSparky thinking.
Source: MacSparky: Sparky's Tech Stack for 2026 - Stephen HackettDoes it
Technology writer · 512 Pixels and Relay
Apple's Notes app takes just about everything he writes down digitally, with Tot kept alongside it for quick scratch work.
Source: 512 Pixels: My Gear
Aimed at the same thing
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App entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.