By the tiswa editorial team, from the official sources listed at the end of this guide. How we write our guides
The best note taking app for iPad turns the tablet into a notebook and a textbook in one. You download your lecturer's slides as a PDF, write on them with a pencil and find any word you wrote by hand with search. The question is not which app is strongest. It is what you need: writing on files, recording audio, or something simple and free.
Comparison
| App | Strongest at | Suits | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| GoodNotes | Natural handwriting, PDF annotation and search across handwriting and sketches | Students who study from PDF slides and notes | Start free, with paid plans |
| Notability | Recording lecture audio with notes, live transcription, summaries and AI quizzes and flashcards | Long lectures and fast talkers | Free download, with paid features |
| Apple Notes | Free and built in, pencil writing and document scanning | Getting started and quick notes | Free with the iPad |
GoodNotes: if you study from PDFs
GoodNotes is built for handwriting. Open any PDF and mark it up with the pencil, and work across several documents without leaving the app. One notebook can hold handwriting, sketches, images, audio and typed text, and search finds a word whether you typed it, wrote it or drew it inside a sketch.
It suits medicine, engineering and science students who study from lecture slides, because you solve problems and write the explanation on the same slide.
Notability: if you want the lecture recorded
Notability's strength is audio. Record the lecture while you write, get live transcription and summaries, and have it build quizzes and flashcards from your notes with AI. It fits courses where the lecturer talks faster than you write.
Apple Notes: start here before you buy
Notes comes on every iPad and is free. You write and draw with the pencil, scan documents, record audio and add photos, and your notes sync with your iPhone and Mac. If this is your first term on an iPad, try it for two weeks. If you find you need tidy notebooks and heavy PDF markup, move to GoodNotes or Notability.
Organise a whole term
- A folder per term
Make a folder named after the term, and inside it a notebook or folder for each course with the same name and code as your timetable.
- Download slides as you go
From your university learning system, open the file and share it to the app before the lecture so you can write on it in class.
- Name files by week
For example "Week 03 Circulation". Numbered names save search time before the exam.
- A colour per kind
One colour for definitions, one for examples and one for questions to ask the lecturer.
- A question page after each lecture
Write 3 questions about the lecture without looking. That is your quick revision before the exam.
- Back up
Turn on backup in the app or iCloud. Losing a term's notebook before the final is a disaster.
iPad settings that help you study
- A Focus mode: create a "Study" Focus in Settings that silences notifications except from apps and people you choose, and set it to turn on when you open your notes app.
- Windows side by side: put the slides on one side and your notebook on the other, or a PDF textbook next to your working page, so you stop switching apps.
- Handwriting in text fields: writing with the pencil in search and text fields lets you search and type without a keyboard.
- Pencil screenshots: swipe the pencil up from a bottom corner to take a screenshot and mark it up, handy for saving a question from the screen.
- A paper-feel screen protector: many students find writing more precise with one. Try it before deciding, as it affects screen clarity.
Keep the iPad for studying during study time. If other apps pull you in, move them off the home screen or set limits in Screen Time. Details are in time management apps for students.
Turn notes into revision
After the lecture, snap or export your notes and have an AI assistant quiz you on them:
These are my handwritten notes from a [course name] lecture: [attach the image or paste the text]. Read them and write 10 multiple choice questions at university exam level, with the correct answer and one line explaining why. If you cannot read a word in my handwriting, ask me instead of guessing.
The iPad itself at a student price
If you do not have an iPad yet, Apple has an education price for university students in Saudi Arabia. Current prices and the percentage saved are in iPad and laptop student prices, and the laptop comparison is in the best laptop for students.
How to take notes that help at exam time
The app matters, but how you write matters more. Pages of fast, unorganised notes do not help the night before an exam. This simple method works in all three apps:
- Open the slides before the lecture
If your professor shares slides, import them and write on top instead of copying everything. Your lecture time goes to understanding, not copying.
- Leave a margin for questions
Keep part of the page empty and, after class, write one or two questions about each idea there. Those questions become your revision.
- Use two colours only
One for normal notes and one for what the professor called important or likely on the exam. Too many colours hide what matters.
- Sum up the page in three lines
At the end of each lecture, write a short summary in your own words. If you cannot, there is a part you missed and need to revisit.
Pen or keyboard?
| Situation | Better choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Equations and diagrams | Pen | Arrows and symbols are far quicker to draw than to type |
| Fast theory lecture | Keyboard, if you type fast | You keep up and can search the text later |
| Solving problems | Pen | You write steps, cross out and fix them like on paper |
| Revision summaries | Both | Write by hand and let the app turn it into text if it supports that |
Try each method for a week and compare how much you remember. Shopping for a device? See the iPad for studying and student prices on iPads and laptops.
Mistakes that cost you a term of notes
- Keeping every course in one notebook: after a few weeks it is hard to search, and the lecture you need on exam night gets lost.
- Skipping backup: if the iPad is lost or breaks, the term's notes go with it. Turn on cloud sync in the app settings from day one.
- Writing tiny: small handwriting saves space but is hard to read at revision time. Zoom in with two fingers and write comfortably.
- Copying slides word for word: if you already have the slides, write only what the professor said that is not on them.
More study tools are in study apps for students.
