It is no secret that app builders appear to pay extra consideration to Apple platforms than Android or Home windows. The checklist of iPhone-only apps that I lengthy for on Android is brief, however notable. If I needed to slim it down to only two iOS apps I might love to make use of on my Android units, note-taking app Notability and journey app Flighty can be on the high of my checklist. It should get shorter in April, as a result of Notability is lastly getting an Android model.
Notability received a significant improve simply final week that helped it inch nearer to changing into a very cross-platform notes app. It gained an online shopper, that means you could entry Notability notes on any machine with a browser, together with on Android telephones. The net shopper helps each staple Notability function, reminiscent of stay recordings and transcripts, file uploads and modifying, and markup instruments. Utilizing the Notability Cloud sync perform, notes created within the iOS, iPadOS, or macOS apps shall be accessible on the net shopper, 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 consumer interface and options. Crucially, the upcoming app is not simply an iOS clone — it can have Android-specific options, like lock display word shortcuts.
There is not an ideal note-taking app on Android
I discover fundamental apps like Google Preserve and Samsung Notes to be far too restricted for my wants, particularly on tablets. It is tremendous for typing out a fleeting thought in your Android telephone or sustaining a grocery checklist, however something greater than that can 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 a terrific stability between these two extremes.
I first bought Notability a decade in the past, and it helped me get via 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 not accessible. Notability now makes use of a subscription mannequin, nevertheless it additionally added a free model for the primary time as a part of the swap.
Notability’s greatest function is audio recording, transcription, and sync. When handwriting or typing in Notability, you’ll be able to report audio alongside the notes you take. The audio is synced to your actions within the Notability app. While you playback the audio recording, you’ll be able to faucet a phrase or drawing in your digital pocket book and listen to precisely what was mentioned once you wrote it. This turns out to be useful when revisiting notes from conferences or lectures, as you’ll be able to rehear what the speaker or professor mentioned within the second to refresh your reminiscence.
One other worthy function is form and handwriting recognition, which is fairly self explanatory. While you draw a form, the Notability software program can acknowledge and snap it into excellent type. If in case you have horrible sketching abilities or poor handwriting like me, this turns out to be useful. The app can even 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 an alternative of different markup instruments like Adobe Acrobat.
You’ll be able to join the Notability for Android waitlist now
You’ll be able to 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 common launch with “new AI-powered options via Notability Study, notes export, help for the Notability Gallery, a phone-optimized model, and extra superior drawing instruments.”
Should you love productiveness apps or note-taking instruments, it is value signing up for the Notability for Android beta. In order for you an early have a look at the expertise, you’ll be able to attempt the Notability net shopper totally free as we speak. It is the most effective iOS, iPadOS, and macOS apps ever made, and it is nice that Android customers will quickly get to attempt it.
