The iOS 18 iPhone update could bring with it two big upgrades to the good old Notes app, according to reporting by AppleInsider.
The first of these is in-app audio recording, similar to the existing Voice Notes app. However, the Notes version apparently lets you make and play recordings in specific notes, rather than having to switch between Notes and Voice Notes every time you need to swap between writing and listening.
In-note recordings should apparently be available in macOS 15 and iPadOS 18 too, with iCloud syncing between them. So, assuming your Mac and iPad are as up-to-date as your iPhone is, you can make the most of the feature on whichever platform you want to work on at a given time.
Voices and numbers
The other big feature being added to Notes is something called "Math Notes," which will let Notes work with the Calculator app.
AppleInsider had less to report on this one, but from the name we'd imagine it'll allow Notes to better display equations, graphs and more. Although you could add these elements to an extent in the current Notes app (or handwrite them), this would make the app far more robust for students or professionals who work with sums and problems of all kinds.
If these two new features do indeed get added, it could help the Apple Notes app secure a spot on our best notes app guide, where several of the entries can already record voice notes in-app or properly display math. Adding these capabilities would mark Apple as taking a quite different direction from what we see in the Galaxy AI-enhanced note-taking experience of the Galaxy S24 series, although iOS 18 is itself tipped for some new system-wide AI features, which if true would presumably mean the Notes app can use them too to a certain extent.
The truth about the Notes app and its rumored features will be revealed as part of Apple's iOS 18 announcement, which is expected to come on June 10 as part of the WWDC 2024 keynote. Once the beta's available, we'll be testing out everything iOS 18 has to offer, so check back for our opinion and how-to guides soon.
