Top 11 Apple Notes Tips and Tricks on iPhone

Critics often dismiss Apple’s proprietary apps as too basic and average compared to its wealthy App Store rivals. And that’s a fair observation for experienced users. But when it comes to the general public, they stick with whatever comes by default on their new iPhone. Credit to Apple, the company adds new features to the default iPhone apps with every major iOS update. Among them, Apple Notes is perhaps my most favorite out-of-the-box iOS apps on iPhone.

When it comes to other iOS apps like Apple Mail and Reminders, I generally ask readers to find an alternative. This is not the case with Apple Notes. The app is feature rich, offers solid synchronization, has tight integration with the iOS system (more on that later), and is more than enough for most users.

Let’s talk about Apple Notes tips and tricks so that you can get a clear picture of how good Apple’s note-taking app is on iPhone.

5. View the notes as a gallery or list

Apple offers several ways to customize the way notes are displayed in the app: you can either use the default list view or you can opt for the gallery view to show the notes.

Navigate to any folder and tap the three-dot menu at the top. Select the view as gallery / list from the bottom menu. I prefer a List view, what about you?

6. Add tables to Apple Notes

Many popular note-taking apps in the App Store do not have this feature. You can embed tables in any note. While editing, just tap the board icon and a 2×2 board in the note. You can even convert a table to text from the table menu.

7. Use dark mode

Do you take frequent notes at night? You may need to use iOS 13 dark theme to relax. Go to Control Center and long press the brightness menu. Turn on dark mode and start taking notes when the sun goes down.

8. Store notes on the device

By default, every note in Apple Notes is synced with the iCloud platform. The problem is, iCloud only offers 5GB of space to start with. It is quite easy to fill up space with photos, videos, iPhone backup, etc. In such cases, you can still store notes on the device.

Open the Settings app on the iPhone, go to Notes and activate the “ On my iPhone ” account. Remember, your notes will not be accessible on other Apple devices using the same Apple ID.

9. Add Notes widgets

You can use the Apple Notes widget to quickly view notes added in the app. The practice is even better with the iOS 14 update as iOS now allows you to choose from three different sizes for the widget and even lets you add these widgets at home.

Read our dedicated article on how to add iOS widgets to the home screen.

10. Siri integration

The latest tips relate to tight integration with other iOS services and systems. The first is Siri. You can just ask Siri, “Hey Siri, take a note.” Siri will ask you to record notes and view the transcript in real time. Stop talking for a few seconds and Siri will recognize that you’re done. It will add the note in the Notes app.