it's a nice app, but it has serious flaws. like it is too difficult to combine elements. apple should take a look at obsidian.
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iOS 18 and macOS 15 to Include Updated Freeform App With 'Scenes' Feature
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It's for people who create and collaborate on projects of various kinds. It's not interesting for people who don't.
Yeah, I switched over recently on my Mac. For many years I was relying on multiple desktops though Mission Control. It was pretty good, but I always found myself hunting things down. I still do more shuffling than I'd like with Stage Manager, but it's been an improvement for me. (I also found out the hard way that multiple desktops start dragging down the window graphics if you have a second user account running.)
The one thing that drives me a little crazy is when I have a group of windows open related to one project, and then I open a new app or document -- and then the group I was just working on minimizes. I really wish there was a modifier key I could hold down to add something to the current group.
never use Clip, and reluctant to upgrade this native app as it is getting much bigger in recent IOS updates.
freeform is good and useful becos ios has been lacking a vector drawing app. before, i would use google drawing instead.
It's 2024 and Apple is still connecting apps to the actual OS. Has apple ever talked about why they do that? As someone who uses Apple Music, I would love to see an app update for Apple Music without the need to update the entire software. It seems like it should be easy to do that and still be an "Apple App".
I use Freeform App and hope for more features like Visio / UML things. Still a basic app, we need more features like Draw.io, Mural, Miro, …
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Meh. I tried to use Freeform for student collab and for planning at work but it wasn't an improvement over Goodnotes or plain old paper.
After using Goodnotes, then trying this, I've actually gone back to hand drawing my slides with gel pens on A4 paper and just scanning the things like I did a decade ago. A decent gel pen costs me £2, a refill £0.75 and a sheet of decent quality paper £0.03. Think it actually tipped me to shovel my iPad Pro onto eBay and bugger off on holiday somewhere with the money.
- It doesn't have any constrained page sizes or paging so you can't send stuff to people in a PDF later easily.
- Not everyone has a Mac so you can't work with anyone else and as above you can't send it to them easily.
- It doesn't have enough structure so can't even touch draw.io.
- Unless you have a 12.9" iPad the paper is too small.
- If you want it to look nice you need to use something else anyway.
- You can't back it up outside of iCloud in any other format.
After using Goodnotes, then trying this, I've actually gone back to hand drawing my slides with gel pens on A4 paper and just scanning the things like I did a decade ago. A decent gel pen costs me £2, a refill £0.75 and a sheet of decent quality paper £0.03. Think it actually tipped me to shovel my iPad Pro onto eBay and bugger off on holiday somewhere with the money.
It's a nice app conceptually. But I hesitate to use these side-project type apps that Apple puts out on iPads and iPhones occasionally, because I have doubts about how long they will be supported going forward. These days I also prefer programs that are available cross-platform or web-based, to stay flexible with my choice of hardware and OS.
I'm still baffled by this. After all, what are real white boards mostly used for? Scribble and drawing!
On the iPad with a pen, it works exactly how you would expect. A free drawing tool seems one of the most basic things you would include in such an app. It doesn't even work using the iPad via Continuity with a Mac.
I would love to use Freeform more, but without pen support, it is hardly useful to me, no matter how many features they will add in the next update.
That makes a little more sense actually. I'm not sure Apple actually has any Mac app developers left. They designed this thing for iPad/VisionOS and then just tossed it on the Mac via Catalyst and called it a day. Like they seem to be doing with all their apps lately.
I‘m using it for photo editing or merging because the iPhone doesn‘t have the simple ability to copy one photo (or marked area) and paste it onto another one in 2024.
With iOS 18 and macOS 15, Apple intends to introduce a plethora of new features and enhancements affecting system applications and settings. Through industry sources, MacRumors has received details about the updated version of the Freeform app, which is set to include an interesting addition.
Known as "Freeform Scenes," the new feature will give users the option to select specific sections or "Scenes" within their boards for easier navigation. Once selected and named, users will have the ability to easily return to them after viewing other areas of the board. Users will have the option to edit scenes after the fact as well, and will even be able to collaborate with others in doing so. Our sources claim that Freeform Scenes will be compatible with iCloud, allowing for easier sharing and editing.
The controls for the Freeform Scenes UI will be located near the zoom controls, towards the bottom left area within the app. Users will see a new sandwich-bar type icon with three vertical lines, and tapping or clicking the icon will show the Scenes UI. The Scenes UI includes a bar with individual arrow icons for easier navigation between Scenes, along with a square icon between the two arrows. Clicking or tapping the square icon will present the user with additional options to select or navigate between scenes.
Apple has also developed the following keyboard shortcuts for Freeform Scenes:
Save – Shift + Command + S
Next Scene - Option + Command + ]
Previous Scene – Option + Command + [
Although this feature is in testing, it is worth noting that not all features make it to release, and Apple also sometimes delays new additions until a later version of iOS. While Freeform Scenes is in development for iOS 18 and macOS 18, it could be pulled or introduced at a later date.
For more details on what to expect with Apple's upcoming operating systems, check out our rumor roundup page for iOS 18.
Article Link: iOS 18 and macOS 15 to Include Updated Freeform App With 'Scenes' Feature
Well, you asked for it…..
my co-workers use it as a silly drawing board when they have occasional gaps of time between helping customers.
I haven’t really used it, myself. Mostly because I already had apps I was using that do something similar and work well enough for me and never felt a need to explore its capabilities.
Incidentally, is it available on Vision Pro? I was watching YouTube videos the other day on math problems (it’s a weird rabbit hole that I’m not sure how I ended up on), so I grabbed a tablet and stylus and started doing some math. One thing I really appreciate using touchscreens for is that it’s super easy to move handwritten text around. It hit me that an infinite canvas 3D whiteboard would be really cool to use. You could select text and move it around, even put it behind other content. It would put the infinite in infinite canvas! So it seems like it would make a lot of sense on Vision Pro.
I’m a MindNode user, myself, have been since, I think, 2007. (How is it that 2007 is nearly 20 years ago?! The MacBook Air has been in Apple’s product range for 16 years now!) MindNode makes mind maps pretty easy and straightforward. I also use OmniGraffle for diagramming. Freeform seems like it fits somewhere between the two, maybe closer to OmniGraffle than MindNode. Sure, you can use it for mind mapping, but it’s a lot more, well, freeform than MindNode. MindNode lets you drag ideas in the map around, but it lacks any freeform drawing features or shape manipulation.
OmniGraffle is confuse and complex.. not simple not good UI / UX. Hope for a simple solution near Visio from Apple.
Yeah, MindNode has been invaluable for me too. I think the main reason I would want to try and switch is to save money on another subscription, but to be honest it’s already very good value for money. As you say, Freeform is more of a quickly get ideas down experience.
Lack of dynamic zoom made Freeform a non-starter for me. Preview suffers from the same limitation. It's like Apple purposely cripples the functionality of these apps.
With iOS 18 and macOS 15, Apple intends to introduce a plethora of new features and enhancements affecting system applications and settings. Through industry sources, MacRumors has received details about the updated version of the Freeform app, which is set to include an interesting addition.
Known as "Freeform Scenes," the new feature will give users the option to select specific sections or "Scenes" within their boards for easier navigation. Once selected and named, users will have the ability to easily return to them after viewing other areas of the board. Users will have the option to edit scenes after the fact as well, and will even be able to collaborate with others in doing so. Our sources claim that Freeform Scenes will be compatible with iCloud, allowing for easier sharing and editing.
The controls for the Freeform Scenes UI will be located near the zoom controls, towards the bottom left area within the app. Users will see a new sandwich-bar type icon with three vertical lines, and tapping or clicking the icon will show the Scenes UI. The Scenes UI includes a bar with individual arrow icons for easier navigation between Scenes, along with a square icon between the two arrows. Clicking or tapping the square icon will present the user with additional options to select or navigate between scenes.
Apple has also developed the following keyboard shortcuts for Freeform Scenes:
Save – Shift + Command + S
Next Scene - Option + Command + ]
Previous Scene – Option + Command + [
Although this feature is in testing, it is worth noting that not all features make it to release, and Apple also sometimes delays new additions until a later version of iOS. While Freeform Scenes is in development for iOS 18 and macOS 18, it could be pulled or introduced at a later date.
For more details on what to expect with Apple's upcoming operating systems, check out our rumor roundup page for iOS 18.
Article Link: iOS 18 and macOS 15 to Include Updated Freeform App With 'Scenes' Feature