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Like Apple and Google, Samsung has its own note-taking app for Galaxy device users. Coupled with the S Pen, Samsung Notes can be a powerful tool for writing down important information quickly. Here, we’ll discuss why I use it every day.
You Can Write Without Unlocking Your Phone
I like the idea of carrying around a moleskin notebook with me. I’ve bought several of them over the years, but I tend to forget them at home. That means they aren’t there when I want to take a quick note. However, I always have my phone with me, and that’s when Samsung Notes comes in handy.
With Samsung Notes, I don’t even have to unlock my phone and open an app. I can just pull out my S Pen and start writing on my screen while my phone is still locked. The note will join my other notes when I unlock my phone. This is the fastest, most dependable way to jot something down, and it satisfies my desire to carry around a notebook.
Samsung Notes is definitely one of thebest apps to use with an S Pen, but do remember that the S Pen is only compatible with select Samsung Galaxy devices. Additionally, if you have a Galaxy Z Fold 5, you need to buy theS Pen Fold Editionseparately.
You Can Convert Handwriting to Text
I like to write, but nowadays, most things need to be typed. If I want to write by hand the words you’re reading right now, I have to first get all of that writing converted into text. That could mean sitting there and typing up everything I wrote.
There arequite a few OCR appsyou can use to take a picture of your handwritten words and convert them into on-screen text, but this still involves taking the perfect shot, scanning what you’ve written, making edits, and a lot of copying and pasting.
Samsung Notes skips most of these steps. You write directly on the screen and tap a button to convert your scribbles into text. You still need to go back and double-check the accuracy, but it’s no longer so much work that it’s not feasible.
View Handwritten and Typed Notes in a Single App
If you prefer to type, you may dismiss Samsung Notes, assuming it is an app better suited for an S Pen. But no, Samsung Notes is good for both. There’s little difference between a typed note and a handwritten one. So, if you don’t want to take your S Pen out, Samsung Notes is still a good app for tapping up a quick reminder or to-do list.
Not every note-taking app handles both types of notes well. IA Writer and Obsidian both focus on text, so even though I like these apps, I still need to open something else to use my S Pen. Samsung Notes does it all in one place. It can even handle doodles, though it’s better todownload a dedicated drawing app for Android.
Keep Your Notes Organized
Creating notes is one thing. Finding them is another. While there are instances when the search feature is useful, I’m glad Samsung Notes has its own file manager. You can organize your notes into folders and sub-folders, so it’s easy to know what goes where.
Each of these folders can have its own color. Plus, to add to thelist of cool Galaxy AI features, you’re able to also generate covers for your notes. These little touches help you find a system that works for you, one that’s easier than scrolling through an endless grid of similar-looking rectangles.
Integration With the Rest of Your Phone
Samsung phones are absolutely stacked with features. For example, when I pull out my S Pen and bring it close to my screen, I can pull up the Air Command menu and create a new note in Samsung Notes at any time.
I can create a note directly from my phone’s Edge panel, a dock you can swipe in from the side of the screen. I can long-press on an image in Samsung Gallery to automatically crop out the subject and paste that image directly into Samsung Notes.
The Samsung Notes interface is also very adaptable. I use a foldable phone, so I get a tablet-like interface when my phone is unfolded and a phone interface when I use two apps side-by-side. Samsung Notes also works well as a small pop-up window on my phone or asa windowed app in Samsung DeX.
It Has All the Formatting Tools You’ll Need
Samsung Notes has the basics covered. You can type, bold, or italicize text, change font size, and create lists. You can also center text and indent paragraphs for block quotes. It’s not as much power as you would get from Office 365, but it’s enough to cover most of what I need.
Really, the biggest missing feature is the ability to change the font. That alone would make Samsung Notes begin to feel like a word processor that you can use to type up papers. Thankfully, that isn’t a deal breaker for me.
The text in Samsung Notes matches your phone or tablet’s system font, so technically, you can change text throughout an entire note by opening the Settings app and going toDisplay > Font size and style.
You Can Export to Useful Formats
A big downside of Samsung Notes for me is that my notes are locked inside the app. You can’t navigate to their location in a file manager app. Fortunately, the app can export any note into a bunch of useful formats.
That means you’re able to send your notes to others even if they don’t use Samsung Notes. You can send them a DOCX or PDF file, and they will have no clue which program you used to create them. You can also export your notes in any of these formats for cloud backups.
No Account or Subscription Required
Creating a Samsung account is an optional add-on when using Samsung Notes. It’s there to back up your files and sync your notes across multiple Samsung devices.
Samsung Notes is a surprisingly capable app. It works great with other Samsung apps, utilizes your S Pen, and integrates various Galaxy AI features to provide a one-of-a-kind note-taking experience. It may be one of the many reasons that stop you from switching to a Google Pixel or an iPhone.
