I dropped Evernote as soon as they went all in with the subscription service.
What a shock!
How did that sub plan work out for you?
What a shock!
How did that sub plan work out for you?
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Evernote Slashes Premium Subscription Rate Amid Reports of Company 'Death Spiral'
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I'd love it if Apple had the TextEdit app on iOS so I could open and actually edit my .txt files in iCloud. I wouldn't need the Notes app at all then.
Someone forgot to tell them from the get go that there’s no money to be made (profits, not talking about revenue) from consumer software. Consumers expect to pay $0, get free updates for life and 24x7 support. If you’re a software vendor the path to survival and eventually profitability is from enterprise software. VCs who invested in this should’ve known better.
I'm shocked
(not really, called this when they went to the SaaS model)
(to be fair they've outlived what I thought they would already)
edit: Adding some background on my original take. Not every app can automatically support a SaaS model. Providing continually expanding content (Netflix, Apple Music) is an easy case for calling yourself a service. Providing access to server side/cloud resources (processing off device or large libraries of on-demand data or storage, in the latter is needs to be significant amounts and needed for the purpose of the app and even then should generally be provided as an optional service). If you're a software company selling largely to individuals running your app on customer hardware and without a major feature set it's risky to go SaaS otherwise as your audience will ask "why?" and look at alternatives. I expect the vast majority of Evernote users use (used?) just pretty standard note taking features which are available for free in Apple Notes and OneNote, trying to extract $7/month or whatever out of those users is just asking to fail. They could have provided a lite app with no cross device synchronization and then had a one time purchase paid app without that restriction and provided compelling enough upgrades that people would want to continue to buy the next version. Instead they got lazy and greedy and now all the execs are bailing. Further, the artificial synchronization limit of two devices was just insulting, it takes no further resources to allow three or more and was just a way to hobble the service for a large portion of their audience and try to force conversion to SaaS. Just bad decisions all around on their business model.
If they go belly up I'm more worried that Skitch will be a casualty. I still use it regularly (even though it took them months to fix a pretty significant bug after MacOS 10.13 was released).
(not really, called this when they went to the SaaS model)
(to be fair they've outlived what I thought they would already)
edit: Adding some background on my original take. Not every app can automatically support a SaaS model. Providing continually expanding content (Netflix, Apple Music) is an easy case for calling yourself a service. Providing access to server side/cloud resources (processing off device or large libraries of on-demand data or storage, in the latter is needs to be significant amounts and needed for the purpose of the app and even then should generally be provided as an optional service). If you're a software company selling largely to individuals running your app on customer hardware and without a major feature set it's risky to go SaaS otherwise as your audience will ask "why?" and look at alternatives. I expect the vast majority of Evernote users use (used?) just pretty standard note taking features which are available for free in Apple Notes and OneNote, trying to extract $7/month or whatever out of those users is just asking to fail. They could have provided a lite app with no cross device synchronization and then had a one time purchase paid app without that restriction and provided compelling enough upgrades that people would want to continue to buy the next version. Instead they got lazy and greedy and now all the execs are bailing. Further, the artificial synchronization limit of two devices was just insulting, it takes no further resources to allow three or more and was just a way to hobble the service for a large portion of their audience and try to force conversion to SaaS. Just bad decisions all around on their business model.
If they go belly up I'm more worried that Skitch will be a casualty. I still use it regularly (even though it took them months to fix a pretty significant bug after MacOS 10.13 was released).
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Premium user for years.. I can't find another app that I can scan documents and email them directly to EN and have them be searchable.. there is none.. until then I have no choice all this other simple stuff for $14/yr or free simply does not do that
I hope that they can regroup
I hope that they can regroup
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How did you convert to Apple Notes? Did you lose your tags?
Subscription models don't work in the main. Evernote will fail and die soon. Ulysses will follow.
I left Evernote getting sick of their refusal to support syntax highlighting. Hell they refused to even support code tags.
Their lowering free accounts to only 2 devices was the icing on the cake.
Their lowering free accounts to only 2 devices was the icing on the cake.
They need to remove (or at the very least, hide by default) half of the features. I quit using Evernote because it became waaay too complex for what I needed it to do. Now using SimpleNote instead.
I was considering Bear - it has a nice UI and some really nice features - but, Evernote is still, AFAIK, the only one that can search within images and PDFs. This is a huge feature for me and WELL worth the money.
To be fair, Evernote isn’t just a note taking app. It’s really more of a catch-all for everything that you might need to archive, including the tools and integrations to capture, edit, and annotate that material.
It’s a really solid product and I’m sorry to see them struggling. Tough business to be in.
It’s a really solid product and I’m sorry to see them struggling. Tough business to be in.
I've used Evernote since the beginning and continue to use many times a day. I save documents and notes to it, love the searchable pdfs, and mostly clip web pages that I wish to keep. No other product comes near its capabilities. The simple scan and save then search capabilities would be tremendously missed and, if they pull the plug, there better be "a pathway to capture" historical data for all of their loyal customers.
I've been "premium" subscriber for years because there was inherent value in keeping my project notes organized.
their OCR search was INCREDIBLE for combing through technical documents. Scanning / emailing directly to evernote was a godsend.
It kept my iPad / desktop / laptop synched at a time that mobile me and apple "sharing" were nascent, and kept me sane.
My mailbox can't find what I'm looking for, but if it's in Evernote I will find it . .. . eventually.
Agree that the UI has infuriated me over the years, and functionality hasn't really changed that much.
I hate the subscription model, but I have no issue in paying a fair price for software that works!!!!
Hopefully it's just a leadership change . . .I've got a bunch of notes I'll have to export otherwise.
I exported my notes using the Evernote export function. I went into each notebook and selected all notes and then exported them into one file. Then I used the Apple Notes import function to bring them over. Yes, tags were lost, but it wasn't a feature I used very much so it wasn't an issue for me.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205793
How is Bear's file attachment support these days? Attaching PDFs to my notes and seeing them right there (as opposed to a separate floating preview) is the main thing I do with Evernote. Being able to search through all my notes and all the attachments within them is very important, too.
For switching from Everynote to OneNote, I have used this tool before, but it doesn't work that great.
https://www.onenote.com/import-evernote-to-onenote
I'd love to consolidate all my notes into one easily-openable file that I can archive in some backup drive.
It's a bit crazy - I never ever look at my old notes anymore, but they take up less than 500MB total for 8 years of college and grad, so I also see no reason to erase them. What is the best format to archive them in, such that I would be able to open them again easily in like 2030?
I used OneNote (the old non-free version that came with my Windows XP Tablet PC) to take notes in undergrad engineering school, and it worked super well. Seriously. Hand wrote most math/physics, and types most other classes. The handwriting recognition, even back then, OCRed and understood equations surprisingly well. It worked great - it was too bad Tablet PCs pretty much disappeared and there were no good options between 2008ish and when the iPad Pro finally launched and people started caring about pen input again.
I used Evernote to type all my notes in law school. At least once per semester, some student that typed all their noted in Word would have their computer crash and they would lose months of notes and outlines. Evernotes automatic sync and backup was solid insurance policy against it. Also being able to easily share notes or view my notes from a web browser was a huge plus. The few days my computer was being repaired, I used a loaner school laptop to take notes in the web browser without missing a beat.
https://www.onenote.com/import-evernote-to-onenote
I'd love to consolidate all my notes into one easily-openable file that I can archive in some backup drive.
It's a bit crazy - I never ever look at my old notes anymore, but they take up less than 500MB total for 8 years of college and grad, so I also see no reason to erase them. What is the best format to archive them in, such that I would be able to open them again easily in like 2030?
I used OneNote (the old non-free version that came with my Windows XP Tablet PC) to take notes in undergrad engineering school, and it worked super well. Seriously. Hand wrote most math/physics, and types most other classes. The handwriting recognition, even back then, OCRed and understood equations surprisingly well. It worked great - it was too bad Tablet PCs pretty much disappeared and there were no good options between 2008ish and when the iPad Pro finally launched and people started caring about pen input again.
I used Evernote to type all my notes in law school. At least once per semester, some student that typed all their noted in Word would have their computer crash and they would lose months of notes and outlines. Evernotes automatic sync and backup was solid insurance policy against it. Also being able to easily share notes or view my notes from a web browser was a huge plus. The few days my computer was being repaired, I used a loaner school laptop to take notes in the web browser without missing a beat.
I started using Evernote close to when it was still new. Before a big vacation, I wrote down a bunch of important stuff in it. I was leaving the country, and I wanted to make sure I had all the stuff I needed (addresses, phone numbers, directions, names of places, etc.).
When I got to my destination, Evernote refused to display ANY of those notes. Why? I was offline, and offline viewing cost $$$. The notes were already on my device, but it was like they were being held for ransom. I had to enable roaming data to get to them. I quickly copied them to another app and turned data back off.
I've also been in situations way out in the middle of nowhere (where there was no cellular coverage) where being offline again kept me from looking up notes.
As soon as Evernote restricted things even more by limiting the devices you can use, I finally exported all its data to OneNote, then deleted it from all my devices.
I don't mind paying. In fact, I feel more comfortable paying for something, because it makes me feel like the support will actually keep the program around. But to jump from $0 straight to $8 a month or whatever was a big kick in the stomach.
For simple notes, I use Simplenote. For stuff that needs organization or formatting, I use OneNote.
When I got to my destination, Evernote refused to display ANY of those notes. Why? I was offline, and offline viewing cost $$$. The notes were already on my device, but it was like they were being held for ransom. I had to enable roaming data to get to them. I quickly copied them to another app and turned data back off.
I've also been in situations way out in the middle of nowhere (where there was no cellular coverage) where being offline again kept me from looking up notes.
As soon as Evernote restricted things even more by limiting the devices you can use, I finally exported all its data to OneNote, then deleted it from all my devices.
I don't mind paying. In fact, I feel more comfortable paying for something, because it makes me feel like the support will actually keep the program around. But to jump from $0 straight to $8 a month or whatever was a big kick in the stomach.
For simple notes, I use Simplenote. For stuff that needs organization or formatting, I use OneNote.
I know that companies need to make money, but for an app that basically is like Windows NotePad $7 is too much. Maybe I can pay a 1 time fee of $30 and use it with another cloud storage service, but seriously I have used free apps that are way more complex than this including VLC, Firefox, Handbrake, and ImgBurn.
Not sure how "PROs" use it but for me it just stores few kbs of notes and syncs them... thats it.
Apple Notes GUI is horrible for me and Microsoft OneNote although very capable is also very slow, and not sure if its meant for simple notes/reminders or big research projects.
Not sure how "PROs" use it but for me it just stores few kbs of notes and syncs them... thats it.
Apple Notes GUI is horrible for me and Microsoft OneNote although very capable is also very slow, and not sure if its meant for simple notes/reminders or big research projects.
A couple of years ago I switched from Evernote to Noteability for both my note taking and document storage. Using an Apple Pencil on an iPad works so much better with Noteability. Like Evernote, it automatically syncs across all of my devices.
The only reason I still use Evernote is the tags system. No other cloud service implements tags the way Evernote does. I guarantee if any other service eg google drive or a new service created tag organisation and explained its benefits they would profit