All iPads Any Other Disappointed Notability Users?

[BigMcGuire]

I have been a long long time user of Notability. I took several college classes in this app and journaled in it for years. It is the only app that I can write comfortably (slanted/fast) and it captures it perfectly.

But ... ever since they came out with their pro AI subscription - they've been pushing us classic / annual users to Pro subscriptions more and more. The constant popups when opening the app about upgrading was getting old. These pop up EVERY TIME you close the app and re-open it.

And ... the last straw... this evening I closed 2 popups when I opened the app, then opened a note and BAM a massive popup in the top middle of my screen that only had the option of "maybe later" about upgrading to Pro - couldn't click off of it - had to click: "Maybe later." And to clarify I pay $20/year already...

Talk about extremely obnoxious. Wonder who thought that was a good idea.

Unsubscribed and moving on. :/ Sad for what I considered to be a solid note taking application for many many years. I'll gladly write in Apple Notes to avoid this.

 

[hristob]

There are so many alternatives out there. You don't need to even stress about it. Apple Notes, for me, is the simplest and most reliable of them all. It comes built-in and has come a long way. I can share my notes between all my devices, share my shopping list with my girlfriend. What more do you need?

 

[Digitalguy]

I bought Notability when it was not a subscription yet and... I have not updated it precisely in order to avoid all the ******tification I have heard about, it still works...

 

[FeliApple]

I bought Notability when it was not a subscription yet and... I have not updated it precisely in order to avoid all the ******tification I have heard about, it still works...

This! I’m running Notability version 11.6 on my Air 5. Just checked and it’s the latest version that was available back in August 2022, when I bought the iPad. It says that they changed it with version 11.0 but I’m grandfathered in as I “bought” the app earlier (I didn’t buy it, I got it for free in one of those “free for 24 hours” promos).

My Air 5 is running iPadOS 15.6 so I can’t update it anymore, anyway. The current version requires iPadOS 17.0.

Which version are you running? You have a million iPads, on which device?

 

[ScanTheNavian]

Nowadays when I see that an app has incorporated AI I just think "oh no... 😦"

 

[BigMcGuire]

There are so many alternatives out there. You don't need to even stress about it. Apple Notes, for me, is the simplest and most reliable of them all. It comes built-in and has come a long way. I can share my notes between all my devices, share my shopping list with my girlfriend. What more do you need?

Yeah, I've moved to Apple Notes and it's not bad - it's a LOT better than it was before. But the feel of the pencil on Notability is unrivaled for me - I write rapidly and slanted (not cursive) which results in a lot of dashes in Apple Notes. But I'm adapting to Apple Notes - my family (wife) uses it heavily.

I bought Notability when it was not a subscription yet and... I have not updated it precisely in order to avoid all the ******tification I have heard about, it still works...

You're smarter than me.

Sad to see an app I loved for so long - and got so many people to use - end up like this.

 

[Abazigal]

There are so many alternatives out there. You don't need to even stress about it. Apple Notes, for me, is the simplest and most reliable of them all. It comes built-in and has come a long way. I can share my notes between all my devices, share my shopping list with my girlfriend. What more do you need?

I have been using notability since 2012 to present pdf documents to my class, where I can directly annotate on. Notes doesn’t do that, preview inks over the original copies in OneDrive, and other pdf apps feel too fiddly for my needs.

Notability has met my specific needs for well over a decade, and I guess I am content to continue paying them $20 a year for this.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I have been a long long time user of Notability. I took several college classes in this app and journaled in it for years. It is the only app that I can write comfortably (slanted/fast) and it captures it perfectly.

But ... ever since they came out with their pro AI subscription - they've been pushing us classic / annual users to Pro subscriptions more and more. The constant popups when opening the app about upgrading was getting old. These pop up EVERY TIME you close the app and re-open it.

And ... the last straw... this evening I closed 2 popups when I opened the app, then opened a note and BAM a massive popup in the top middle of my screen that only had the option of "maybe later" about upgrading to Pro - couldn't click off of it - had to click: "Maybe later." And to clarify I pay $20/year already...

Talk about extremely obnoxious. Wonder who thought that was a good idea.

Unsubscribed and moving on. :/ Sad for what I considered to be a solid note taking application for many many years. I'll gladly write in Apple Notes to avoid this.

Writing on the Nano screen is pretty good. Have you tried using Apple Notes?

 

[BigMcGuire]

Writing on the Nano screen is pretty good. Have you tried using Apple Notes?

Yep - I've been using it for a few days now and it's a lot better than I remember - and it doesn't have a subscription so I'm happy. No popups begging me to update every time open it either

I've got almost 518 notes over the years (all typed).

 

[Apple_Robert]

Yep - I've been using it for a few days now and it's a lot better than I remember - and it doesn't have a subscription so I'm happy. No popups begging me to update every time open it either

I've got almost 518 notes over the years (all typed).

Also take a look at Goodnotes. It s excellent as well and offers a one time payment for GN 6 or you can also pay yearly ($35?)

 

[BigMcGuire]

I have been using notability since 2012 to present pdf documents to my class, where I can directly annotate on. Notes doesn’t do that, preview inks over the original copies in OneDrive, and other pdf apps feel too fiddly for my needs.

Notability has met my specific needs for well over a decade, and I guess I am content to continue paying them $20 a year for this.

Are you getting constant popups on the bottom left of your note selection screen about upgrading to pro? Did you also get the massive half screen popup when opening a note too?

Just curious if it was just me or not. (As a fellow $20/year subscriber).

Notability was my most favorite iPad note taking app for a long time. Its annotation abilities and how the writing feels is unparalleled imo.

Also take a look at Goodnotes. It s excellent as well and offers a one time payment for GN 6 or you can also pay yearly ($35?)

My wife is a Good Notes and Apple Notes user (she couldn't stand Notability, lol). I haven't tried it for many years - will give it a try Thank you.