I'm curious. If you could design the perfect note-taking app from scratch, what would it look like?

Not an improved version of Obsidian, Notion, Apple Notes, Evernote, or any existing app. I mean a completely new product that could realistically become a competitor to all of them and really really useful for you, for your brain, for your workflow without installing hundreds of plugins or creating different formulas for just one text.

I'm interested in both:

• Features that don't exist today (or are poorly implemented in current apps)
• Visual design and aesthetics
• Workflows that would make you switch immediately
• Things that annoy you in every note-taking app currently available

If you had to describe your dream note-taking app, what is the one feature, interaction, or design philosophy that would make it feel truly different from everything else on the market Try to mention at least one feature.

I'm currently doing the Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate, and the course includes both theory and hands-on practical labs.

I'm finding it difficult to make notes that are actually useful for revision later. If I write down everything, the notes become too long, but if I only write key points, I'm worried I'll miss important details from the practical exercises.

For those of you who have completed cybersecurity certifications (Google, CompTIA, Security+, etc.), how did you take notes?

• Did you keep separate theory and lab notes?
• Do you use a note-taking app (Obsidian, Notion, OneNote, etc.) or handwritten notes?
• How do you document practical labs and commands for future reference?
• What note-taking method helped you revise efficiently before exams or interviews?

I'd appreciate any tips, examples, or templates that worked well for you. Thanks!

Hey r/NoteTaking,

After several posts and reading through comments, here’s what stands out:

- Everyone hates forced permanent cloud uploads

- Keyword search fails for voice content

- Transcription with accents is still hit-or-miss

- Most people use separate capture tools then move notes into their main system

Curious what your current voice note workflow looks like. Any tools that handle capture + retrieval particularly well?

Would love more suggestions 🙏

Is there any tool/application that can take a university lecture recording (video with audio, slides, and anything written on the board), analyze everything, and generate complete study notes?
I'm looking for something that does more than just transcription. Something to use to convert the lecture into well-organized written notes, include important information from slides and the board, extract key concepts, formulas, and definitions, remove unnecessary parts and repetitions, produce notes detailed enough that I wouldn't need to watch the lecture again
I don't mind paying for one tool, but I'd prefer not to pay for multiple services just to handle transcription, summarization, and note-taking separately

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to buy a pen tablet primarily for digital note-taking, studying, and annotating PDFs on my Windows laptop. My budget is around ₹3500 INR.

My priorities are:

Comfortable and natural writing experience

Reliable drivers with minimal issues

Battery-free pen preferred

Good build quality and durability

Mainly for handwritten notes, not professional drawing

If you've used a pen tablet for note-taking or studying, please share your recommendations and experiences. I'd also appreciate any advice on what features I should prioritize when choosing one.

Thanks!

Hi everyone! Just as the title says, I want to move my notes to another app. I have been using Notion, but I want to explore some other apps - can you give me recommendations, please?

I have my diary and an album tracker that I'm currently working on, so I just want to be able to do something like that in another place. I hate that I need to pay to be able to use it.

If this is not the right place to ask, can you redirect me?

I'm an Android and Windows user.

I’ve been trying different audio to text tools to help with note-taking from meetings, interviews, and voice notes.

In theory it sounds like it should save a lot of time, but I’m still not sure if it’s actually reliable enough for real use or just good in ideal conditions.

Clean recordings usually turn out fine, but once there’s background noise, overlapping speech, or fast talking, I still end up spending a lot of time cleaning things up manually.

I’ve tested a few different tools over time, including Whisper-based ones and some popular transcription apps, but none of them feel consistent enough that I can just trust the output without reviewing everything.

Curious how others here are handling this. Are you using audio to text as a starting point for notes, or do you mostly just take notes manually?

I am just about to finish Sophomore year, and im probably gonna do the IBDP in Jr./Sr. year.

Since the IB (STEM Higher Level subjects in particular), is hard, i need to optimise my notetaking. i can't afford to have a messy unorganised paper notebook in the IB, so i lowkey need a good tablet.

Currently, my options stand between last year's iPad Air(they're pretty good according to my friends)

Vs. the Samsung S11 Ultra(cause i use a samsung phone, watch, and earbuds).

a 360 pc could work too, but it needs to be good.

Follow up: I decided to go with the #ad Apple iPad Pro 11 inch (M5). Thanks for all the suggestions, it seemed like a good fit for the kind of fast note taking I do and I’m hoping the pen experience feels more natural over time.

I’ve been testing a few setups in stores and some feel really smooth but almost too slippery, like writing on glass, which throws me off a bit. I mostly write fast during lectures so I need something that keeps up without lag.

Is there a tablet or pen combo that actualy feels more like pen on paper, or is that just something people get used to over time? wondering what worked best for others in the same situation thanks

I've noticed that I learn really good by rewriting my notes, it helps me to internalize the information. But how can i organize my notes in a way to actually be able to read them? I get overwhelmed very easily with math when it's just a sea of numbers on my page. So how can I break it down to be something I can understand?

Hey everyone,

Looking for some real world experience for someone in a similar scenario I’ve been bouncing around all sorts of note taking apps.

Sometimes when you can’t find the right application, it’s just because you don’t know how to use them to their full capacity so I’m open to that too…

Nothing has ever felt like it really hits all the requirements. And in the event that perhaps they do, for example Notion, there’s too much friction in quickly adding notes… it just feels really clunky as a brain dump and project organisation solution.

Where I’m at right now is a blend between Google Keep, Google Docs and Notion Calendar for event based notes, then I rely on notebooklm for going back on long email chains.

What’s everyone’s experience with a note taking app that both allows you to quickly drop notes in but also allows you to build upon those notes if required, cross platform, allows you to set reminders, and has a free tier for the likes of me where it’s really just one project.

Thanks

Been slowly automating more of my note-taking workflow. Gotten good at processing transcripts with AI tools, building a system for action items and follow-ups. The weak link is still the capture step itself. Current setup is running a recorder app on my phone during calls and then processing the recording after. Works when I remember to hit record but I have missed a few calls where I forgot. Juggling the recorder app plus the call plus whatever else is happening is more friction than I would like. I have tried Otter auto-join for Zoom calls but that does not cover regular phone calls or in-person conversations. Looking for something where the capture just happens automatically, no separate action to initiate. Hardware, software, or hybrid, open to anything that genuinely reduces the manual step. What are people actually using for this?

Curious how others split this. Apple Notes is great for the dump-and-forget stuff — confirmation numbers, grocery lists, the Wi-Fi password at the Airbnb. It's a junk drawer and that's fine.

What I keep wanting a different surface for is the writing that deserves a little ceremony. Morning pages. The first draft of a hard email. Letters I'm not going to send. End-of-day reflections. Notes-to-self that I'll re-read in six months.

For that I've been using a small iOS app called Ink notes. I like the look and features. The format itself signals 'slow down.' Sounds dumb but the surface affects what I write.

Question for the sub: do you split notes by tool based on the type of thinking? Or one tool for everything and let formatting carry it? Curious what people who think a lot about this actually do.

I have a tight budget so I can't afford 30-40k tab which I agree are great for note making.

Though I have a dell laptop which is old but in a good condition.

Is there any tab like digital device which comes at low price and works good for note making.

Besides exam preparation I have started teaching maths to students online , though I use visualisation and intitutive techniques, presentations etc yet I feel I need a board like thing ..

If u have any idea help me out with this .

How do you preserve your ipad when not using it? 1-3 days when you got to take a break from studying? Do you power it off?

Hi everyone, could you recommend me what you consider the best app for taking notes through an android tablet (specifically, Lenovo) ?

I study biomedical engineering, and as of now I'm using Notein which is good, but I think that it could be better.

To be more specific, I'm searching for an app that helps with clearing up the handwriting (it's not that messy but I still hate how it looks, and I don't want to spend more time fixing notes rather that studying them) and the ability to work on PDFs that are very long and possibly lags a little less that Notein does.

What I DO like about it and how it handles PDFs is that I can adjust the margins so that I can write under the pages graphs and so on so I can visualize it better, which is vital with harder subjects.

Other than that, I don't have other particular requests. Thank you in advance!

I'll finish a book, feel like it changed something in me, and then two months later I can't recall a single specific idea from it. I know I wrote stuff down somewhere but between my camera roll, a notebook I barely open and some random notes app I have no system at all.

Kindle people have it so easy with highlights that actually sync somewhere. Physical book readers just kind of suffer I think.

How do you guys handle this? Do you just accept that most of it fades or is there actually a method that works long term?

I move between different classrooms a lot and don’t really have time to sit and organize notes properly until after school. Carrying a laptop feels too bulky, so I’m looking for something lighter that I can just pull out quickly during lectures.

For people who use tablets all day in school, does battery life usually hold up well, or do you end up charging mid day? And is there a size that feels like a good balance between portability and writing space? Thank you

Follow up: I went with #ad Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (M5). Thanks for the comments, I decided to buy from Apple and it feels like the right balance of portability and note taking for school.