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GoodNotes 6 Brings AI-Powered Handwriting Spellcheck and Autocomplete Features

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Popular note-taking app and PDF editor GoodNotes has received its first major update in four years, introducing new AI-powered handwriting recognition features, a marketplace for digital stationery, new pen gestures, and more.

GoodNotes-6-feat.jpg

The sixth version builds on Goodnotes 5's iPad handwriting recognition by adding AI-powered Spellcheck, which draws heavily on the neural engine in Apple silicon to recognize mistakes in writing and suggest a correction or rewrite the word in the user's handwriting style.

Currently, the spellcheck feature supports English, Spanish, German and Dutch. GoodNotes 6 also introduces an experimental word autocomplete feature for handwriting in English.

Elsewhere, GoodNotes 6 brings new pen gestures include Scribble to Erase and Circle to Lasso, while a new in-app marketplace allows users to download new templates, stickers, and digital stationery directly within the app.

There are additional options to customize folders and dynamic templates that allow users to customize the size and color of the digital paper in their notebooks. The app also introduces AI-driven writing features, enabling users to extend or condense text, modify its tone, or paraphrase content.

Lastly, this version includes interactive exam prep materials for SAT and other standardized tests, with built-in hints and AI Math Assistance to identify errors.

goodnotes-6.jpg

Goodnotes 6 is free to download on iOS, iPadOS and macOS, and free to use for up to three notebooks. The full suite of features can be unlocked with unlimited notebooks for $9.99 per year or $29.99 as a one-time purchase.

Existing paid GoodNotes 5 users can continue using GoodNotes 5, or upgrade to Goodnotes 6 at a discount. Goodnotes 6 will continue to be free for educational institutions through Apple School Manager.

Article Link: GoodNotes 6 Brings AI-Powered Handwriting Spellcheck and Autocomplete Features
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/08/09/goodnotes-6-ai-powered-handwriting-spellcheck/
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MuppetGate said:
Yup, and that’s what happens if you don’t want to pay for a subscription and you don’t want the developers to starve.
Click to expand...
I’m not complaining particularly- more commenting on the comment that was made regarding people still complaining even though it’s not a sub only deal.

I have cycled through multiple notes apps, leaving a residue of notes I can’t be bothered to move over within each. That’s why I’m glad GN 5 still works. Now I just use apple notes because to be frank, it’s excellent these days. I use macs and iPads and iPhones almost exclusively so it’s fine. For my Qubes workstation I use offline notes and it’s generally a separate affair anyway, working on that.

Good notes is very good though, this update seems excellent and I’ll certainly take a look.
 
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Upgraded without even researching. I use stock apps as much as possible, mainly to keep my digital life as streamlined and decision-less as possible. So if I use a paid app it is really really useful for my needs. For me, Things 3 and GoodNotes are so useful and powerful for me as a full-time pastor and (most semesters) a full-time graduate student (second set of twins coming in a few months this semester :0).

But… I'm also old enough to remember when a simple OS upgrade was a one hour drive and $129.
 
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I use both GoodNotes & Notability extensively on my iPad. There's a lot to be said, neurologically, about writing notes versus typing, so I do both. Also, I find typing in a meeting to be rude...alas, I'm showing my age (I also capitalize and punctuate my texts...Gen X'ers unite!).

Anyway, I've had more performance issues with Notability in the past year (ironically, since they switched to subscription) than all the previous years combined.

There's only one remaining feature on Notability that prevents me from switching everything over to GoodNotes. I still like the continuous/seemless page paradigm of Notability because I do a lot of lasso-select-move and GoodNotes won't let me drag content to the next page (this feature is also known as Spanning objects across pages). But that's about it.

That said, I'm glad both companies (and Apple) are investing. And I hope to see more differentiation, which is probably healthy for the market. I used to spend $40-50 a year, just on spiral notebooks. These apps are such a leap forward.
 
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Has anyone tried it yet?
Can it run side by side with V5?
Some of the features might seem to get in the way, I'd like to try it first.
 
there is no option to create a goodnotes account other than by using your google, apple or ms credentials... at least not on ipad as of yet. just checked
so if I don't want to use one of those credentials, I can't create an account... that is... not good...

I hope that gets resolved, as convenient as it might be, I just don't like using them on platforms etc other than those where they originate...
 
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Very happy to see this! My wife has always been a GoodNotes fan while I've preferred Notability. Always preferred the way the Apple Pencil felt in Notability. But GoodNotes has a lot of great features too - glad to see them moving forward, was really hoping they wouldn't just disappear. Will be supporting them.

Yes, like others mentioned, one can easily spend $100+ in paper notebooks / pens / etc a year without even thinking. This is much cheaper, easier to search for data, and available on all your devices the moment you write it. I'm a huge fan of GoodNotes/Notability.
 
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dgdosen said:
Has anyone tried it yet?
Can it run side by side with V5?
Some of the features might seem to get in the way, I'd like to try it first.
Click to expand...
Edit: See ***** below.

Nope, it upgrades V5 to V6. Just did it now. I was a bit confused at first because GoodNotes 5 showed up as GoodNotes 6 in the App Store, and it had "Open" as an option until I clicked on GoodNotes and then saw the "Update" option.

Also, as others stated, it forces you to create an account - I chose Hide My Email option with iCloud but I don't like that I had to create an account.

I'm now being presented with a 1 week free trial and the option of doing Yearly for $9.99 or $29.99 One Time. (Skip for Now is an option after selecting 1 week free trial).

Notability went to $11.99/year so $9.99/year is pretty good. (Does not look like it can be shared with family members).

After selecting the free trial, GoodNotes will go through an Upgrade process where it asks you not to turn off your device. It then takes you to a website, which then asks you to open in GoodNotes and you get the GoodNotes 6 intro screen with a small : "Looking for GoodNotes 5?" option on the bottom middle. This gives you the option to downgrade to GoodNotes 5. ******
 
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The writing is bout the same as GoodNotes 5. However, I noticed some of my words were underlined - as in incorrect spelling (despite being spelled correctly). I clicked it and it re-wrote my word "near" in neater writing: near.

Please excuse my horrible handwriting and my opinion that the Apple Pencil feels better in Notability.
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I am not too comfortable having AI scan everything I write... lol. I'm sure that's an option to turn off.
Setting --> Writing Aids --> "Enable Spellcheck for New Documents" (Default On).

I like the new UI design. :D
 
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Has anyone else noticed the following phenomenon — I was a paid user of Goodnotes 5 (full version/one time payment), today I updated to 6 via method @BigMcGuire mentioned above in post #20 however it was offering me full version/one time much cheaper than what is quoted above (I can’t remember price now), then I pay via ApplePay, I now have access to full version of 6, but can’t find any charges anywhere. Not sure what to make of this.
 
zinacef said:
Has anyone else noticed the following phenomenon — I was a paid user of Goodnotes 5 (full version/one time payment), today I updated to 6 via method @BigMcGuire mentioned above in post #20 however it was offering me full version/one time much cheaper than what is quoted above (I can’t remember price now), then I pay via ApplePay, I now have access to full version of 6, but can’t find any charges anywhere. Not sure what to make of this.
Click to expand...
My guess is that it gave you a week free trial so you probably won't see the charge for a week.

Does it show in Settings --> iCloud --> Subscriptions?

I was a paid user of GoodNotes 5 but I think because I didn't restore old purchases it thought I had not so I had the $9.99/year or $29.99 one time option.
 
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BigMcGuire said:
My guess is that it gave you a week free trial so you probably won't see the charge for a week.

Does it show in Settings --> iCloud --> Subscriptions?

I was a paid user of GoodNotes 5 but I think because I didn't restore old purchases it thought I had not so I had the $9.99/year or $29.99 one time option.
Click to expand...
It was one of the first places I looked after checking Wallet for the charges and nothing. Baffling!
 
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