How to Use Quick Notes on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Apple updates default apps once a year with major operating system updates. This is also the case with the Notes application. With the macOS Monterey and iPadOS 15 updates, the company added the Quick Notes feature to allow users to take notes without opening the app. Here’s how to use Quick Notes on Mac, iPad, and even iPhone.

Have you ever been in a situation where you want to quickly jot down a thought or a mobile phone number but you don’t have the right app for it? Of course, you can always open your favorite note-taking app and create a new note. But that is not the subject here. You might miss this moment when you open an app to write a note.

Apple’s Quick Notes can save you from such situations. With macOS Monterey and iPadOS 15, users can quickly take notes in the default Notes app without opening the app. Here’s how.

Use Quick Notes on Mac

The Quick Notes feature is only available for Mac computers running macOS Monterey or higher. Here is how to use it.

Step 1: You can hover the cursor in the lower right corner.

2nd step: You will see a Quick Note pop-up window.

Step 3: Click on it and macOS will open a small Notes window to take a note.

Step 4: Add a title, take a note, and hit the close button at the top.

Quick Notes on Mac is not an easy solution. You can use all of the text editing functions available in the main Notes application. You can edit the text with multiple text styles, create a list, a table, and even add a web link.

Every time you open Quick Notes on Mac, the same note you created some time ago opens. What if you wanted to take another quick note?

In this case, you need to open the Notes app on Mac. You will see the Quick Notes section in the left sidebar. Right click on the note and drag it to your iCloud account.

Quick Notes will now offer a clean note for writing notes. Plus, iCloud will sync all your Quick Notes across connected devices.

Use Quick Notes on iPhone

There is no direct way to use Quick Notes on iPhone. Apple added a Notes toggle in Control Center to let users create a quick note on the go.

By default, it is disabled. You must activate it in the Settings menu. Here’s how.

Step 1: s Open the Settings app on iPhone.

2nd step: Go to Control Center> More Controls.

Step 3: Tap the + icon next to the notes.

Step 4: It will be included in the Control Center menu.

You can now swipe up from the top right corner and reveal Control Center on iPhone. Tap the Note toggle, and it will take you to the note writing section. Create a note with rich text editing options and return to the home screen.

Added notes will not be stored in the Quick Notes section. This is the perfect example of Apple’s default apps taking advantage of OS-level integration. Apple does not allow any other note-taking app to add a toggle in Control Center.

Use Quick Notes on iPad

The Quick Notes feature makes the most sense on the iPad. Those who use iPad with iPadOS 15 can use Apple Pencil to take quick notes on the go.

Step 1: Take the Apple pencil and hover it over the lower right corner.

2nd step: A pop-up window indicating a quick note will appear.

Step 3: Click on it and it will open a quick note window to take a note.

Use your Apple Pencil and create a handwritten note on the iPad. Open the Notes app on iPad and access your quick notes from the left sidebar. You can move these notes to a folder in Apple Notes.

Take notes on the go

Apple has also included support for tags in the Notes app on all hardware. So, for example, you can create a #quicknote tag and add it with all the notes composed through Quick Notes. This way you can easily identify and manage these notes with tags.

We hope to see a similar implementation on iPhone to create a quick note. The Control Center is fine, but something like a quick note gesture in the lower right corner of the iPhone can come in handy for users.