Maximize Your Use of Apple Notes on iOS 18

Apple Notes has evolved from a simple note-taking app into a powerful productivity tool, especially with the latest updates in iOS 18. Whether you’re jotting down quick ideas, organizing complex projects, or capturing audio on the go, Apple Notes offers a range of features—both new and lesser-known—that can supercharge your workflow. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to maximize Apple Notes, spotlighting iOS 18’s newest additions and uncovering some hidden gems, complete with step-by-step instructions to get you started.

New Features in iOS 18

Audio Recordings with Live Transcription

What It Does: iOS 18 introduces built-in audio recording directly in Notes, complete with real-time transcription. This is a game-changer for students, professionals, or anyone who needs to capture spoken content—like lectures, meetings, or interviews—and turn it into searchable text.

How to Use It:

• Open the Notes app on your iPhone (running iOS 18 or later).
• Tap the New Note button (a square with a pencil) at the bottom right.
• Tap the Attachment icon (paperclip) in the toolbar above the keyboard.
• Select Record Audio from the menu.
• Hit the red Record button to start capturing audio. You’ll see a waveform as it records.
• To view the live transcription, tap the Transcript button (a quotation mark icon) while recording or after stopping. The text appears alongside the audio, updating in real time (requires iPhone 12 or later).
• Tap Done when finished. The recording embeds in your note, and you can tap it to play back or read the transcript.

Pro Tip: Tap and hold the audio file to share it separately, or copy the transcript text to paste elsewhere. Perfect for reviewing key points without relistening to an hour-long meeting!

Math Notes for Instant Calculations

What It Does: With Math Notes, you can type or write equations, and the app solves them instantly—ideal for budgeting, splitting bills, or even tackling homework. It’s integrated with the Calculator app but shines in Notes for quick, inline math.

How to Use It:

• Start a new note or open an existing one.
• Type a simple equation, like 5 + 3 = or a variable setup like x = 10 followed by x + 5 =.
• As soon as you type the equals sign (=), Notes calculates and displays the result (e.g., 8 or 15).
• For handwritten equations (on iPad with Apple Pencil or iPhone with your finger):
  • Tap the Attachment icon, then Insert Drawing.
  • Write something like 2 + 2 = and watch it solve as you finish the equals sign.
• Bonus: Change a number in the equation (e.g., 2 + 3 = to 2 + 4 =), and the result updates automatically.

Pro Tip: Use variables across multiple lines—like groceries = 50, gas = 30, then groceries + gas =—for dynamic totals that adjust as you tweak values.

Collapsible Sections for Better Organization

What It Does: Long notes can get unwieldy, but iOS 18 lets you collapse sections under headings or subheadings, making them easier to navigate.

How to Use It:

• In a note, format a line as a Title, Heading, or Subheading:
  • Highlight the text, tap the Aa button in the toolbar, and choose your style from the dropdown.
• Once formatted, a small downward arrow (v) appears next to the heading.
• Tap the arrow to collapse everything below it (text, images, etc.) into a tidy, hidden section.
• Tap again to expand it when needed.

Pro Tip: Use this for project outlines, study notes, or journals—collapse old sections to keep your current focus front and center.

Text Highlighting with Colors

What It Does: Finally, you can highlight text in five vibrant colors (purple, pink, orange, mint, blue) to make key points pop. It’s not just a background highlight—the text color changes too, creating a bold, two-tone effect.

How to Use It:

• Open a note and type or select the text you want to highlight.
• Tap the Aa button in the toolbar.
• Tap the Highlighter icon (a pen with a line under it) to enable highlighting.
• Tap the colored dot next to it and pick from the five options.
• Your selected text now sports a colored background and matching text color.
• To remove, select the text, tap Aa, and toggle the highlighter off.

Pro Tip: Assign colors to categories (e.g., orange for urgent tasks, blue for ideas) to visually organize your notes at a glance.

Simplified File Attachments

What It Does: Attaching files—like PDFs or Word docs—from the Files app is now a breeze, streamlining how you bundle related content into notes.

How to Use It:

• In a note, tap the Attachment icon (paperclip) in the toolbar.
• Select Add File from the menu.
• Browse the Files app to locate your document (e.g., a PDF from iCloud Drive).
• Tap the file to attach it—it embeds directly in the note.
• Alternatively, long-press a note in the list view, choose Add Attachment, and pick your file without opening the note.

Pro Tip: Tap the attached file to view it inline, or long-press to share it with others—great for keeping project docs handy.

Little-Known Features You Might’ve Missed

Scan Documents Directly into Notes

What It Does: Skip the scanner—Notes can digitize paper documents, receipts, or handwritten lists with your iPhone’s camera, saving them as searchable PDFs.

How to Use It:

• Open a note and tap the Attachment icon (paperclip).
• Choose Scan Documents.
• Position your iPhone over the document; it auto-detects edges and snaps a photo (or tap the shutter manually).
• Adjust the corners if needed, then tap Keep Scan.
• Add more pages or tap Save to embed the PDF in your note.
• Bonus: Tap the scan, then the Markup icon (a pen) to annotate with drawings or notes.

Pro Tip: Use this for expense tracking—scan receipts and let Notes’ search (via OCR) find them later by text content.

Link Between Notes

What It Does: Introduced in iOS 17 but still underused, this feature lets you create a web of interconnected notes, perfect for research or brainstorming.

How to Use It:

• In a note, type some text (e.g., “See project details”).
• Highlight it, then tap the forward arrow (>) in the pop-up menu.
• Select Add Link.
• Type the title of another note (e.g., “Project Plan”) and select it from the suggestions.
• Tap Done. The text becomes a clickable link to the other note.
• To jump back, the linked note shows a back arrow in the top left.

Pro Tip: Build a “hub” note with links to related topics—like a table of contents for your personal wiki.

Tags and Smart Folders for Effortless Organization

What It Does: Tags let you label notes with custom keywords (e.g., #work, #recipes), while Smart Folders automatically group notes with specific tags or criteria. It’s a lightweight, flexible way to keep everything sorted without manual folder juggling.

How to Use Tags:

• In a note, type a hashtag followed by a word (e.g., #travel) anywhere in the text—title, body, or end.
• Hit space or enter; it turns into a clickable yellow tag.
• To find tagged notes, go to the main Notes screen, scroll down to the Tags section, and tap a tag (e.g., #travel) to see all matching notes.

How to Create Smart Folders:

• From the main Notes screen, tap the New Folder button (bottom left).
• Choose New Smart Folder.
• Name it (e.g., “Work Tasks”), then select filters:
  • Tap Tags, pick one or more (e.g., #work, #urgent), or combine with other criteria like “Locked Notes” or “Notes with Attachments.”
• Tap Done. The folder auto-populates with notes matching your filters and updates as you add new ones.

Pro Tip: Tag dynamically—use #todo for tasks, then create a Smart Folder to catch all #todo notes across projects. Change a tag (e.g., #todo to #done), and it vanishes from the folder instantly.

Quick Note from Control Center

What It Does: Capture ideas instantly without opening the app, thanks to a customizable Control Center shortcut.

How to Use It:

• Go to Settings > Control Center.
• Scroll to More Controls, find Notes, and tap the green + to add it.
• Swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to open Control Center.
• Tap the Notes icon (a pencil and paper).
• A new note opens—type away, then tap Done to save it.

Pro Tip: On iPhone 15 Pro or 16 models, assign this to the Action Button via Settings > Action Button > Notes for one-tap access.

Lock Notes with Face ID or a Password

What It Does: Keep sensitive info secure with a lock that uses your device’s passcode, Face ID, or a custom password—no extra apps needed.

How to Use It:

• Open a note, tap the More button (three dots) at the top right.
• Select Lock.
• Choose Use iPhone Passcode for Face ID convenience, or set a custom password.
• Tap Done. The note locks immediately.
• To unlock, tap View Note and authenticate with Face ID or your password.

Pro Tip: Locked notes stay unlocked for 3 minutes after opening—tap the padlock icon to relock instantly if you step away.

Recent Notes Switcher

What It Does: Jump between your last few notes without digging through folders, a subtle iOS 18 addition that saves time.

How to Use It:

• While in a note, tap the More button (three dots) at the top right.
• Select Recent Notes.
• A list of up to 10 recently opened notes appears (works for iCloud and “On My iPhone” accounts).
• Tap one to switch instantly.

Pro Tip: Use this when bouncing between related notes—like a meeting agenda and its action items.

Putting It All Together

To truly maximize Apple Notes, combine these features into a workflow:

• Capture: Use Quick Note or audio recordings to snag ideas on the fly.
• Organize: Add headings with collapsible sections, link related notes, tag with #keywords, and set up Smart Folders.
• Enhance: Attach files, scan docs, or crunch numbers with Math Notes.
• Secure: Lock sensitive notes for peace of mind.

With iOS 18, Apple Notes isn’t just a scratchpad—it’s a hub for managing your life. Dive in, experiment with these tricks, and watch your productivity soar. What’s your favorite Notes hack? Let us know!