No matter whether or not you use an Android tablet for class while taking notes or you’re just looking to use your phone to remember what someone is telling you, we all need to take notes every now and then. With so many apps available in the Google Play Store it can be difficult to know where to look for note taking apps, but we’re here to help with 10 of the best note-taking apps for Android. In these top 10 lists we only choose the most updated – at the time of writing – apps to share with you to ensure you’re choosing from apps that are not just the best now, but will continue to be in the coming months.
INKredible – Handwriting Note
We’ll start write away (get it?) with something a little different from the usual note-taking apps out there. INKredible is a neat app that offers those that are more used to writing with their hands a way to do that on any Android device. Of course, you need a decent stylus to make this happen, but not everyone has a Galaxy Note device and this app even claims to have smart palm rejection. It might not be perfect, but for those looking to actually write with a pen-like experience without buying oodles of new hardware, this is one of the better options out there.
Simplenote
From the developers behind WordPress, Simplenote is an app that lives up to its name. It doesn’t care one bit how you format your notes and just lets you get on with what you want to do, which is refreshing in this day and age. The only problem people seem to have with it is the bizarre default font choice, but if you want a modern, well-supported note app that just works, this is not a bad option by any means.
Sticky Notes for Android Wear
Sticky notes are great for placing quick, important info on your desk or on a fridge, but what if you’re on the move and need the same sort of functionality. Well, unsurprisingly that’s exactly what Sticky Notes for Android Wear does. You write a small note in the phone app and send it to your watch, and then it’s there as a card to pull up when you’re in the store, in a meeting or even behind the wheel. It’s pretty simple in its approach but it works, and can be a simple and effective way of getting the same sort of flow as we did years ago.
OneNote
OneNote has been around for some time now, but more recently Microsoft has been pushing cross-platform work across their products. Now, OneNote syncs with your Windows PC, your Android phone, your iPad, your Mac and more. It feels like a digital notebook and refreshingly for a Microsoft product doesn’t care one bit how you format your notes or organize them, do whatever you want with them and they’ll still all be searchable. With support for drawing notes, inserting images and web clipping, OneNote does it all and is surprisingly quick to sync as well.
Notes by Cubeactive
Notes by Cubeactive is simple, yet good-looking thanks to some Material Design chops and good support for tablets and larger devices. It syncs through Google Drive and is a good option for those looking for an Android-only kind of app that hinges on Google services. It’s good-looking, simple and while the Pro version is needed to unlock more features, it does have everything you could need in such an app.
Google Keep – Notes and Lists
Speaking of Google, of course they have their own option available and it’s one that is as simple as it is versatile. If all you want to do is make colorful lists with checkboxes, you can do that and be content as you like forever, knowing that they’re all synced and going nowhere. Now, if you want to share notes, format content and embed pictures and audio clips, Keep can do all of that as well. A solid app from Google that works well, Keep is well worth trying out.
Better Diary (Journal, Notes)
Better Diary is a mix of everything and is more of a diary/journal than anything else, but it’s perfect for those that tend to write more lengthy notes and such. Drafts of articles, well-thought plans or just memories from trips and notes from class, Better Diary is for the lengthy writers out there. We reviewed it a little while ago, and loved the Material Design and extended features that are on offer for everyone, and it syncs as you’d expect, too.
Wear Notes
Wear Notes is similar to Sticky Notes for Android Wear, but it’s not quite as simple and is a little more polished in its approach overall. Plus, it also works with the Pebble line of watches thanks to their integration with Android Wear on the phone side of things. This allows Android Wear devices to input notes with their voice as well as take notes off of their phone with them, so it ticks a few more boxes as a result.
Evernote
Evernote has become a state of mind for many people out there, and it’s become a massive platform in its own right. More complex than Keep and more flexible than OneNote, Evernote is right up there with the best of them. It works on Android, your Android Wear watch, online and beyond. If you want to start collecting everything, everywhere then Evernote is a good option, but not if you don’t like the color green.
Well Notes
Well Notes is an Android app that’s all about text, different kinds of it, in fact. You can use handwriting or input with a keyboard with Well Notes and it blends together the options of having your notes and to-do lists all in one app. It’s not the best-looking out there and the UI might be a little cluttered, but it works well and syncs with other devices as you’d expect it to in this day and age. A good option for those focusing more on text than anything else, Well Notes gets the job done.