Apple Freeform vs Notability

October 06, 2024 | Author: Adam Levine
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Apple Freeform
Freeform is a great place to bring your ideas to life. Sketch out a project, design a mood board, or start a brainstorming session on a flexible canvas that supports almost any kind of file. And with iCloud, all your boards stay in sync, whether you’re on your Mac, your iPad, or on your iPhone.
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Notability
With Notability and iCloud, your office travels with you. All of your notes, sketches, plans, and forms are available to mark up, review, or send to a client anytime, anywhere. Allows PDF annotation for editing and marking up documents.

Apple Freeform and Notability are both note taking apps that allow users to use various input methods, including text, handwriting, sketches and images. Both offer options to organize notes and documents into folders or categories and support real-time collaboration, allowing several users to work on the same document simultaneously.

But Apple Freeform (introduced in 2022) is designed primarily for creative brainstorming. It includes a freeform canvas that supports flexible block arrangement. You can select from the wide library of customizable shapes, templates and diagrams. Freeform comes pre-installed on newer Apple devices and integrates with the Apple's services (iCloud, iNotes) and hardware (Apple Pencil). Clearly it is not available on Android and Windows.

Notability (2010) is widely used for academic purposes, such as lecture note-taking, annotating PDFs and organizing educational materials. It includes an audio recording feature, useful for lectures or meetings. Unlike Freeform, Notability is a paid app. It also has a free plan but with in-app purchases.

See also: Top 10 Visual Collaboration software
Author: Adam Levine
Adam is an expert in project management, collaboration and productivity technologies, team management, and motivation. With an extensive background working at prestigious companies such as Microsoft and Accenture, Adam's in-depth knowledge and experience in the field make him a sought-after professional. Currently, he has ventured into entrepreneurship, owning a thriving consulting and training agency where he imparts invaluable insights and practical strategies to individuals and organizations, empowering them to achieve their goals and maximize their potential. You can contact Adam via email adam@liventerprise.com