It is no secret that app builders appear to pay extra consideration to Apple platforms than Android or Home windows. The record of iPhone-only apps that I lengthy for on Android is brief, however notable. If I needed to slender it down to simply two iOS apps I would love to make use of on my Android units, note-taking app Notability and journey app Flighty could be on the high of my record. It may get shorter in April, as a result of Notability is lastly getting an Android model.
Notability acquired a serious improve simply final week that helped it inch nearer to turning into a very cross-platform notes app. It gained an internet consumer, which means that you would be able to entry Notability notes on any gadget with a browser, together with on Android telephones. The net consumer helps each staple Notability function, reminiscent of dwell recordings and transcripts, file uploads and enhancing, and markup instruments. Utilizing the Notability Cloud sync perform, notes created within the iOS, iPadOS, or macOS apps will probably be out there on the net consumer, and vice versa.
It is the closest factor to true Android help Notability has ever had, however a real Google Play Retailer model is coming quickly. The corporate confirmed in a press launch final week that Notability will attain Android beta testers in April 2026, offering an early have a look at the app’s person interface and options. Crucially, the upcoming app is not simply an iOS clone — it would have Android-specific options, like lock display screen word shortcuts.
There is not an ideal note-taking app on Android
I discover primary apps like Google Preserve and Samsung Notes to be far too restricted for my wants, particularly on tablets. It is fantastic for typing out a fleeting thought in your Android telephone or sustaining a grocery record, however something greater than that may make you would like you used a fully-featured notes apps. On the opposite finish of the spectrum are apps like Notion, that are too highly effective and complicated for my use circumstances. I’ve at all times thought Notability struck an incredible steadiness between these two extremes.
I first bought Notability a decade in the past, and it helped me get by my highschool and school research. Since then, I’ve used Notability to take notes throughout press conferences and interviews. Sadly, the one-time buy possibility I used to purchase Notability within the first place is now not out there. Notability now makes use of a subscription mannequin, but it surely additionally added a free model for the primary time as a part of the swap.
Notability’s finest function is audio recording, transcription, and sync. When handwriting or typing in Notability, you possibly can file audio alongside the notes you are taking. The audio is synced to your actions within the Notability app. If you playback the audio recording, you possibly can faucet a phrase or drawing in your digital pocket book and listen to precisely what was stated whenever you wrote it. This is useful when revisiting notes from conferences or lectures, as you possibly can rehear what the speaker or professor stated within the second to refresh your reminiscence.
One other worthy function is form and handwriting recognition, which is fairly self explanatory. If you draw a form, the Notability software program can acknowledge and snap it into excellent kind. You probably have horrible sketching expertise or poor handwriting like me, this is useful. The app may acknowledge your handwriting and convert it into textual content whereas providing full help for a stylus, mouse, and keyboard. There’s doc import help, which I exploit as a substitute of different markup instruments like Adobe Acrobat.
You possibly can join the Notability for Android waitlist now
You possibly can join the beta model of Notability now on the app’s web site. The app will help all of the aforementioned options whereas in beta, however extra are on the way in which. Notability is teasing a basic launch with “new AI-powered options by Notability Be taught, notes export, help for the Notability Gallery, a phone-optimized model, and extra superior drawing instruments.”
When you love productiveness apps or note-taking instruments, it is price signing up for the Notability for Android beta. If you would like an early have a look at the expertise, you possibly can strive the Notability net consumer totally free at this time. It is among the finest iOS, iPadOS, and macOS apps ever made, and it is nice that Android customers will quickly get to strive it.
