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Apple 9.7-inch iPad (6th generation)on Apple
Download Writing Pad and enjoy it on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Make notes, with the iPad! The MagicInk-Technology is finally available on the iPad and allows smooth lines, almost like writing on a real notepad. Apr 6, 2016 - The thing that I noticed very early on in my time with the Apple Pencil though, was how crazy good the palm rejection is. Writing with an Apple.
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With the new 9.7-inch iPad, the Apple Pencil at last comes to the masses. Apple’s recent push to get its scrappy tablet back in schools means you no longer how to shell out mountains of cash if you want to use the iPad like a digital legal pad, and that’s good news for all of us regardless of whether we’re in boardrooms or third-grade history class.
Even better for Apple Pencil newcomers, the App Store is already stuffed with note-taking apps that use it to its full potential. Here are our favorites, chosen after years of enthusiastic experimentation. (We've updated this article with a video demonstration. We've also included Cardflow+, which is a different type of note-taking app than the others we've discussed, but it's no less effective.)
Apple Notes: The best free app
If you want a head start on writing on an iPad with an Apple Pencil, then there’s no better place to start than Apple’s own Notes app. It’s not exactly packed with features: You can’t even adjust the stroke width for the included pen, highlighter, and pencil tools. In fact, true to Apple form, customization feels forbidden. All you can really do is choose between blank, lined, or gridded paper and write in black, blue, green, yellow, or red.
But Notes sometimes makes up for that lack of variety through convenience. Apple built Notes compatibility into the design of the iPad itself, so you can scribble a new handwritten note at any time by simply tapping the Apple Pencil on your iPad’s locked home screen. The selection tool is also impressive; more so than any other app I’ve used, Notes precisely selects the line of script you want to select, even when it’s piled on top of another jumble of squiggles. It’s kind of magical.
The iCloud syncing across all iOS devices is nice, too, but if we’re being blunt, Apple basically did the bare minimum here. To truly see what the Apple Pencil is capable of, you have to look elsewhere (and likely spend a little cash).
Ginger Labs Notability: The best all-purpose app
Notability, fittingly enough, is by far the most notable app that supports the Apple Pencil, and for good reason. If you’re going to spend money on any handwriting-compatible app, consider spending $10 on this one. Not only does Notability lets you do everything from annotating PDFs to making shapes, but it also captures the experience of writing with a pen or pencil better than any of its competitors. The strokes are fluid and precise, allowing you to forget about trying to get the stylus to work properly and simply focus on your writing.
The appeal doesn’t end there, though. Notability also excels by letting you choose between nine styles of lined and unlined paper, and it gives you 15 choices for paper color as well. (Weirdly, none of those choices mimic the sulphuric yellow of a legal pad.) It’s easy to import PDFs and webpages and mark them up as though they were paper. You can record audio while you’re writing by hand, and you can hear exactly what was being said when you wrote a note.
Notability’s iCloud support works like a dream, so you can easily write out notes from your iPad and consult them on your (separately sold) Mac app within seconds. You’ll find that feature in traditional note-taking apps like iA Writer, but the ability to call up your handwritten scrawl on your phone at any time counts as a major plus.
Time Base Technology GoodNotes 4: The best for organizers
GoodNotes 4 lives up to its name. It’s not quite as intuitive as Notability and so it falls short of “great,” but it offers many of the same options found in its notable rival and even a couple of better ones for good measure. (You can’t record audio, though.)
For one, you can easily create shapes such as triangles, circles, or rectangles. Simply click on the appropriate menu item, doodle the shape on the screen with your Apple Pencil, and GoodNotes automatically converts it into the perfectly formed circle or triangle you had in mind. It doesn’t fully convert your handwritten notes to typewritten text as some apps do, but its handwriting recognition is good enough that you can search all of your notes for specific words.
Need to scribble in a few notes between lines? Just use the magnifying tool, which boxes off a rectangular “window” into a smaller part of the page without the need to pinch in. GoodNotes even does a slightly better job of organizing notes by subject than Notability, as it lets you keep separate notebooks for each class or project, each with their own covers.
In some ways, this similarity to print works against it. GoodNotes remains committed to the idea of writing on digital paper as though it were real paper, so it’s not as easy to scroll through multiple sheets of paper, moving the sheet down as you write in one continuous motion. Much as with a regular sheet of paper, you’re stuck with whatever dimensions the page gives you until you flip over on a new one, resulting in the same scrunched-up notes in corners you might recall in school. This design may help with the ton of exports GoodNotes offers for printable paper sizes, but such restrictions feel especially limiting on a 9.7-inch iPad.
MyScript Nebo: The best for handwriting recognition
We’re still a long way from the days when technology can translate your doctor’s scrawl into a crisp line of 12-point Arial, but MyScript Nebo reminds us that we’re getting much closer. It’s our current favorite pick for handwriting recognition, as it takes carefully written longhand script and —with little more than a tap of the line—transforms it into something you can email. It even gives you a “preview” of how it’s “reading” the line so you know what to correct before a full conversion.
Combine that with a smooth Pencil experience that’s reminiscent of Notability and textual interaction that resembles Notes Plus, and you’ll find it makes a good overall notebook. Just keep in mind that its handwriting recognition isn’t going to magically keep you from doing any transcription. I find that getting the best results out of Nebo requires writing slowly and deliberately, which for me nixes the appeal of writing by hand in the first place.
Microsoft OneNote: The best for collaboration
Much of the bad blood that formerly existed between Apple and Microsoft is yesterday’s news, and in fact, Microsoft supports Office on iOS with such devotion that you’d think it was Microsoft’s own operating system. You’ll find that same kind of attention and support in its OneNote app, which offers a wide selection of features as well as support for the Apple Pencil.
You’ll need a Microsoft account to use it, but there’s a good chance you’ll have one anyway if your workplace or school is heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem. It’s a little like Apple’s own Notes in that it’s mainly there so you can have a place to collect all the little notes you scribble out, but Microsoft goes further than Apple by allowing variations in stroke width and a few extra colors to choose from.
I also admire OneNote for the sheer size of the canvas it offers. Pinch on the page to zoom out, and you’ll find that you have an absolutely massive amount of room to work with, which makes OneNote ideal for mind maps and similar brainstorming exercises.
Unfortunately, that’s probably also why it doesn’t let you export documents to easily sharable files like PDFs like almost every other app listed here. That said, it’s a handy space for note collection, and it offers quite a few more features than Apple it does. As a bonus, OneNote’s Office integration makes it easy to collaborate on projects with friends and colleagues who have Microsoft accounts.
WriteOn Notes Plus: The best use of 'digital paper'
Notes Plus offers the least pleasing writing experience out of all the apps listed here, but it makes the cut because no other “understands” writing on an iPad quite so well. GoodNotes 4 may do a lot of features Notes Plus offers better these days, but Notes Plus continues to have a few tricks up its sleeve.
Here (as in Notability), there’s no flipping to a new page to start writing on another sheet; instead, you can just keep scrolling the pages down, comfortably keeping your wrist in one spot. Need to erase something? Don’t bother with an eraser tool—instead, just scratch out the word and it’ll disappear. You don’t even need a selection tool, as Notes Plus automatically selects script when you draw a circle around it. Much like GoodNotes, it lets you make a box for squeezing in a few liner notes. It’s even got an impressive handwriting-to-text tool. It’s not anywhere near as smart as the tool you’ll find in MyScript Nebo, but it usually gets the job done.
It’d probably be perfect if it weren’t for the writing performance. The strokes the Pencil lays down feel “sticky,” especially while using the fountain pen and calligraphy tools. Most of the time I found myself sticking with the ballpoint pen and wet brush settings, but even after tinkering with the viscosity and thickness settings, Notes Plus still doesn’t offer as satisfying a writing experience as virtually every other app.
Even so, I still find myself returning to it, mainly out of admiration for how well its other pieces fit together.
Qrayon Cardflow+: The best index card app
Screenwriters and novelists will often tell you that index cards make organizing scenes and general themes so much more intuitive than regular outlines. Vladimir Nabokov, for a bit of trivia, even wrote the entirety of some of his novels on index cards, as they allowed him to easily rearrange paragraphs as needed.
Normally, though, using index cards feels like slaughtering a forest just for the sheer thrill of it. Thank goodness for the digital age, and thank Qrayon for Cardflow+. This app mimics the act of spreading a bunch of index cards on a table and arranging them as needed, and no other corkboard, mind-map, or storyboard app 'gets it' quite like this.
Just tap anywhere on the gray background and a new card will pop up, and you can write notes on it with either the Apple Pencil or a keyboard. You can rearrange the cards singly with the Pencil or your finger, or you can group them together and have the app itself align them more neatly.
There's a wonderful free version, but I gladly paid the $10 for the full version for the ability to sync saves to iCloud, draw on the board, change ink colors, insert photos and hyperlinks, and more. As a drawback, sometimes the app will crash when too many cards litter the screen (although the iCloud-syncing feature ensures that I've never lost a project), Even so, it's a fantastic way to outline articles, and I frankly wish it was on the Mac as well.
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When it comes to digital drawing on the iPad, everyone who does it has fairly specific requirements and preferences for their work. Pretty much everyone wants low latency, smart pressure control, and a comfortable stylus. Beyond that, however, you wade into the world of specific shortcuts, drawing tethered, app choices, gestures, keyboard support, line prediction, and lots more. It's not surprising; art is a personal experience. It's only sensible that people have personal preferences for creating it digitally.
The iPad has become a fantastic tool for those digital artists in part because of its flexibility — different apps give you different drawing tools, ideas, and experiences, and you need only find one that fits your needs to be happy.
When it comes to hooking your iPad up to your Mac to create a Wacom Cintiq-like experience, however, your artistic options are far more limited. There are really only four solid options for people interested in using their iPad in this manner: Duet Display and Astropad, along with their two advanced subscription services, Duet Pro and Astropad Studio.
Which one is right for your needs? Let's break each app (and its services) down.
Wait, what is a second-screen or 'Wacom Cintiq-like' drawing tablet anyway?
Duet Pro mirroring the iMac's display, connected via USB.
You can draw directly on your iPad with many, many great programs; while the iPad Pro and Pencil now offer professional artists more opportunity to create print-quality work, most still finish their projects on the Mac.
To keep your iPad useful while working on your Mac, you can use a second-screen app to effectively 'take over' your iPad's screen and either make it a second monitor or mirror your Mac's display outright. These apps connect to your computer using a (usually paid) app on your iPad and a free 'helper' app on your Mac. From there, you can use touch commands on your iPad to directly control your Mac and even use your Apple Pencil for pressure-sensitive drawing inside certain apps. It's often referred to as a Cintiq-like experience in homage to the Wacom Cintiq, one of the first and best pressure-sensitive external displays for the Mac.
Duet Display
Duet Display, connected to my iMac via USB, resting on ElevationLab's Draft Table.
Though not the first second-screen app for iPad, Duet Display was one of the first to truly offer a usable second-screen experience. After connecting iPad to Mac via USB, it delivered users a Retina-quality second display at 60 frames per second, with minimal to no lag.
For those who wanted to view extra information — Twitter or work apps from their Mac on a second screen, for example — Duet was an excellent choice, and remains so today.
Unfortunately, where Duet initially lagged was with the art community — users who wanted that second screen for drawing on a digital Photoshop canvas (or mirroring the Mac's display to draw upon it): The otherwise speedy 60FPS screen had issues displaying Photoshop documents and vast-delayed strokes, making the drawing experience uninspired as a whole.
In the years since, Duet has improved its original app with options like a digital Touch Bar (for Macs without access to Apple's own hardware version), even faster rendering, and iPhone support — but no drawing capabilities, despite competition from newcomer Astropad.
In late May, Duet at last offered a solution: an in-app Duet Pro subscription, which enables pressure sensitivity and line prediction for artists, among other tools. (We'll talk about Duet Pro in just a little bit.) Duet Display's standard version still offers no drawing tools or pressure sensitivity, however.
Astropad Standard
Astropad was the first app that offered iPad users a truly great drawing tablet for their Mac: It was built specifically for working in certain Mac programs, like Photoshop, and offered ultra-low latency for drawing through smart hardware optimizations.
Unlike Duet Display, Astropad focuses solely on mirroring your Mac's screen — you can't use it as a true second monitor. But in mirroring the screen, it offers a host of different drawing features for artists.
For one, Astropad displays a dismissible Function bar that holds oft-used drawing shortcuts like Undo, along with Line Preview, which eliminates further latency issues by 'previewing' your drawing line (if your Mac hasn't yet caught up with your iPad's brush stroke).
Better yet, it takes advantage of pressure-sensitivity hooks in Mac apps to offer pressure-sensitive drawing for any number of third-party styluses — not only the Apple Pencil.
But perhaps the coolest thing about Astropad is that it can go wireless: You can draw tethered via USB for the best experience; if you don't mind suffering a minor drop in latency, however, you can sit elsewhere in your immediate Wi-Fi surroundings and continue to draw. (For instance, you can perch on your couch and continue to work on a project on your iMac or Mac Pro.)
Astropad has remained one of the best apps around for basic iPad drawing on your Mac, especially if you don't yet own an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, since it works with many iPads and styluses. It is a little pricier than the standard Duet Display app, however — $29.99 to Duet's $19.99 one-time fee.
Duet Pro
Launched in May of 2017, Duet Pro is Duet Display's venture into the iPad-as-pressure-sensitive-drawing-tablet world. Launching five months after the debut of Astropad Studio, Duet Pro offers many of the same perks as Astropad's high-end software — with a few extra wrinkles.
Like Astropad Studio, Duet Pro is a subscription service: For $20/year, users get access to Duet Display's new drawing features, including Apple Pencil-optimized pressure sensitivity, tilt and hover support, palm rejection, and touch-based shortcuts.
When setting up Duet Pro, users can customize pressure sensitivity with a personalized curve, adjusting based on how they draw and use the Apple Pencil, along with Line Lead (similar to Astropad's feature, though lacking in any sort of color customization).
Duet's big advantage over Astropad is its true second-screen nature for iPad Pro users: You can have a drawing tablet that also acts as a second monitor, eliminating the need to take up your Mac's main screen with a giant Photoshop canvas. (It's still USB-tethered, however — there's currently no Wi-Fi option.) In lieu of customizable digital shortcuts, Duet Pro offers a digital version of Apple's Touch Bar — if the app supports it, you'll be able to view (and change, if applicable) Touch Bar shortcuts along the bottom of the screen.
Currently, Duet only offers support for about 20 drawing apps, though big players like Adobe, Microsoft, Autodesk, and Pixelmator are all included.
One thing to note about Duet Pro: It's built as an in-app purchase inside Duet Display; to access Duet Pro, you'll first have to purchase Duet Display, effectively making your first year's costs $39.99, with subsequent years at $19.99.
Astropad Studio
The most expensive drawing tablet option for professional artists, Astropad Studio is also arguably the most full-featured. It takes all the goodies present in Astropad Standard and makes them faster and more customizable.
As with Astropad, the Studio option offers you pressure-sensitive drawing with palm rejection and lightning-quick drawing; it also continues to offer a Wi-Fi option, with improved latency over Astropad Standard.
Where Studio zooms away is on customization for pro users. Unlike Standard, it's limited to iPad Pro and Pencil users, which allows the app to provide an even speedier drawing experience. Both drawing pressure and smoothing can be adjusted, and users have full control over shortcuts buttons on a per-app basis, allowing them to tweak the tools they want for each individual program. Studio's Line Preview can also be altered to shorten or lengthen the amount of virtual line, change its color, or turn it off entirely.
Studio also offers what may be the coolest touch implementation for iPad and Mac in the form of Magic Gestures: These touch- and Pencil-based gestures let you use your fingers and stylus together to activate a Right-Click, Eraser, Hover, or Modification Keys, depending on your choice.
Which is best for casual artists?
For those who want to tool around with an iPad on their Mac every so often, it's a tight spec competition between Astropad Standard and Duet Pro. Both offer great options for pressure sensitivity, though Duet provides more customization on the pressure curve and offers a digital Touch Bar. In contrast, Astropad Standard offers more limited options, but it can connect to any app on your Mac with full pressure support, and on non-iPad Pro models with third-party styluses. It's also cheaper in the long run ($29.99 one-time vs $19.99/year), and offers wireless drawing.
Astropad has the seniority edge in the iPad-as-drawing-tablet game, and for that reason alone, it gets my vote for best casual artist tool. In my tests with Duet Pro, I frequently ran into minor bugs — a black screen when switching between second screen and mirrored mode, a non-functional Touch Bar — along with occasionally-spotty latency on the iPad Pro's Line Lead. Astropad, in contrast, has had several years to settle into a rock solid program, and that stability shows in everyday use.
Astropad Standard has had more years of development behind it, and can withstand recropping or moving displays with no lag or problems; I ran into a few bugs with Duet Pro.
That said, the advantage to a subscription model is that Duet's development team is likely hard at work making Duet Pro even better for its users; I wouldn't be surprised to see the app evolve and grow as more 'prosumer' and professional artists weigh in on their hopes and desires for the software.
Duet Pro might also be worth considering if you'd prefer to use your drawing tablet as a second display, rather than a mirrored option — neither Astropad Standard nor Studio currently offer this option.
Which is best for professional artists?
Duet Pro, despite its name, can't currently compete with the juggernaut that is Astropad Studio. There's a reason Astropad's developers charge such an elevated yearly fee for its software in comparison to Duet Pro: its features are reliable, endlessly customizable, and they simply feel like the right way to do professional drawing on the Mac.
As nice as a digital Touch Bar is, years of Wacom work have conditioned me for big shortcuts on the left or right of my drawing surface; Astropad's customizable shortcuts are easy to see when I need them, and vanish into the background when I don't. It's also very easy to quickly adjust line pressure and various settings while connected to my Mac; Duet currently requires you to bring up its settings menu with a four-finger tap or disconnect to adjust accordingly.
Some of Astropad's Line Preview and Magic Gestures customization options.
The same goes for Astropad's Magic Gestures and touch shortcuts: I can easily refresh my memory on a given shortcut or trick via the shortcuts bar, whereas I have to return to Duet's 'Connecting' screen to get a refresher course.
But in all honesty, the difference I keep coming back to is the wireless advantage: Astropad Studio has perfected a latency-light drawing experience without being tethered to your Mac, and once you get used to working wirelessly, it's very hard to convince yourself to go back to a wired connection — especially when Astropad Studio's implementation is so good.
Open Duet Pro or Duet Display without a USB connection to your Mac, and you'll see this sad screen.
Of course, the nicest thing both of these apps using the subscription model is that anyone can take them for a spin: Both Duet Pro and Astropad Studio offer a free trial before your subscription kicks in, and whatever my personal feelings on each app, I highly recommend pro artists download both and take them for a spin. After all, when it comes to iPad art, you never know what your own personal preferences will end up being.