How to get the most from the Notes app

Apple’s Notes app has matured into a very useful tool for making and sharing notes, and in Monterey it’s even better

APPLE’S NOTES APP has had something of a chequered history. It started out as a very basic tool for taking notes on an iPhone or iPad, arriving on the Mac with Mountain Lion, but offered very little in comparison to third–party notes apps. Then it went through a phase where Apple seemed more concerned with making it look like a paper notebook than making it useful.

In recent versions, however, it’s really grown up and is now a serious rival to third–party tools. The ability to add images to notes, scan documents directly from the app, and collaborate on Notes with others has made it increasingly useful. And in Monterey, Apple has taken Notes even further by adding support for tags, custom smart folders, and improved collaboration features such as an activity view and “@” mentions.

The biggest new feature is Quick Note. You can create Quick Notes in macOS Monterey and in iPadOS 15 and view them in a Quick Notes folder in the Notes app on iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and Monterey.

Quick Notes allows you to create notes by using a keyboard shortcut or hot corner. When you activate the feature, a new note appears, ready for you to add content, without you having to go and launch Notes.