It is no secret that app builders appear to pay extra consideration to Apple platforms than Android or Home windows. The listing of iPhone-only apps that I lengthy for on Android is brief, however notable. If I needed to slender 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 prime of my listing. It should get shorter in April, as a result of Notability is lastly getting an Android model.
Notability acquired a significant improve simply final week that helped it inch nearer to changing into a really cross-platform notes app. It gained an online shopper, that means which you can entry Notability notes on any system with a browser, together with on Android telephones. The net shopper helps each staple Notability function, equivalent to reside recordings and transcripts, file uploads and enhancing, and markup instruments. Utilizing the Notability Cloud sync operate, notes created within the iOS, iPadOS, or macOS apps might be accessible on the internet shopper, and vice versa.
It is the closest factor to true Android assist 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 should have Android-specific options, like lock display notice shortcuts.
There is not an ideal note-taking app on Android
I discover fundamental apps like Google Maintain 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 cellphone or sustaining a grocery listing, 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 instances. I’ve all the time thought Notability struck an ideal stability between these two extremes.
I first bought Notability a decade in the past, and it helped me get by way of my highschool and school research. Since then, I’ve used Notability to take notes throughout press conferences and interviews. Sadly, the one-time buy choice I used to purchase Notability within the first place is now 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 finest function is audio recording, transcription, and sync. When handwriting or typing in Notability, you possibly can file audio alongside the notes you take. The audio is synced to your actions within the Notability app. While you playback the audio recording, you possibly can faucet a phrase or drawing in your digital pocket book and listen to precisely what was mentioned while you wrote it. This turns out to be useful when revisiting notes from conferences or lectures, as you possibly can 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 kind. If in case you have horrible sketching expertise or poor handwriting like me, this turns out to be useful. The app may acknowledge your handwriting and convert it into textual content whereas providing full assist for a stylus, mouse, and keyboard. There’s doc import assist, which I take advantage of 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 assist all of the aforementioned options whereas in beta, however extra are on the best way. Notability is teasing a basic launch with “new AI-powered options by way of Notability Be taught, notes export, assist for the Notability Gallery, a phone-optimized model, and extra superior drawing instruments.”
For those who love productiveness apps or note-taking instruments, it is price signing up for the Notability for Android beta. If you’d like an early have a look at the expertise, you possibly can attempt the Notability internet shopper without spending a dime at this time. It is among the best iOS, iPadOS, and macOS apps ever made, and it is nice that Android customers will quickly get to attempt it.
