All Apple Notes tools are also available in Instant Notes.
If you want to create new notes almost instantly in the Apple Notes app, you can do it on your iPad using Apple Pencil. Here’s how:
The iPad’s Instant Notes feature allows users to create notes incredibly quickly in the Apple Notes app. Instant Notes gives you access to all of the program’s features, including new features added in iPadOS 18.
To use the Instant Notes feature, you must be running at least iPadOS 15. Whether you’re late for class and the lecture has already started, someone is on the phone with important information, or you have a great idea, you can write it down right away.
To start Instant Notes, your iPad must be turned on, but you don’t need to authenticate using Face ID or Touch ID. Just tap your Apple Pencil on the screen and a new blank note will appear.
Then, if you prefer, you can start writing using Pencil, the on-screen keyboard, or the included or Bluetooth keyboard. iOS 18 added a much shorter “timeout” between starting a note and starting writing, so don’t launch Instant Notes if you’re not ready to write.
When you’re done, swipe up to close the note. Notes are automatically saved. The title uses the words you type in the first line of the note.
New features with iPadOS 18
With the release of iPadOS 18, you can now use the Math Notes feature in Instant Notes. Just write the equation, add an equal sign at the end, and the solution will appear.
Math Notes is a feature that allows you to solve equations using your Apple Pencil.
Other iPadOS 18 features available for Apple Notes include the ability to record audio along with audio transcription. The Smart Scripts feature allows you to optionally easily “clean up” your Apple Pencil handwriting.
Some of these new features require modern hardware, such as live transcription. To use this feature on your iPhone, you must have an iPhone 12 or later, or iPhone SE (3rd generation).
For iPad, all iPad Pro models can be used. Other iPad requirements are 4th generation iPad Air or later, 8th generation iPad or later, or 6th generation iPad mini or later.
For Mac, you need a MacBook 2017 or later, MacBook Air 2018 or later, or MacBook Pro 2017 or later. Requires a 2017 iMac, iMac Pro, 2018 Mac mini, or 2019 Mac Pro.
If you’re creating an outline, you also have the ability to collapse and expand its subsections, and the option to highlight sections of text using new marker-like colors. The entire Notes app will also inherit more Apple Intelligence features as it evolves, including the option to create summaries of long notes and suggest tone corrections.
New features available this year, and new features arriving in iPadOS 18 in early 2025, should help Apple’s Notes app compete with more sophisticated notes apps like Microsoft’s OneNote. Aside from more private journaling apps, Notes will be the best, and arguably fastest, way to quickly get information on the go.
If your iPad is already unlocked and you’re using the Magic Keyboard to work in Instant Notes, hold down the Globe key and tap the Q key to minimize existing notes but still can remain available. If there are no notes currently on the screen, the keyboard combination will display the most recent notes.
Note that you can also select off Use the iPad’s Instant Notes feature if needed. Just go to the Settings app, scroll down, tap Notes settings, and turn off “Access notes from lock screen.”
