Designed as a scratch paper app for the iPad, Loose Leaf is a new quick note taking app that uses a simple, no frills design and incorporates both clever sketching tools and intuitive touch gestures for a unique idea planning experience.

Like many simple note taking/sketching apps, Loose Leaf includes a pen for basic writing and sketching, along with a tool for erasing. There are five different pen colors available, plus an undo/redo button for fixing mistakes, and an image insertion tool for adding photos or images from the camera roll.

In addition to these basic tools, there's a useful cutting tool that allows users to cut out a section of the page (or an image) by drawing an outline with a finger. The cutout can be dragged to a new location with a two finger drag, or resized with pinch gestures. Pulling on a cutout with two fingers on each side will duplicate it, while two fingers will rotate it and pinching will resize it.


Two finger swipes on the left and the right of the screen will switch between pages that have been created, and dragging a cutout to the right side of the screen will save it in a "scrap drawer" so that it can be added to any other page.

A two finger pinch on the main sketch will open an overview menu of all sketches, where they can be reorganized, and pulling a sketch all the way to the left at this screen will delete it.

Loose Leaf also includes a ruler tool that can be shaped to create perfect lines or circles, which is useful for mapping out designs. The ruler tool is used like a real ruler, with one hand holding the shape on the screen and a second hand tracing it onto the page.


Sketches can be sent instantly to contacts, emailed, messaged, saved to the camera roll, printed, sent to someone via AirDrop, or shared on Twitter and Facebook. There's even a tool to upload sketches directly to image sharing site Imgur, and sketches can be opened in a variety of different apps like Dropbox, Pixelmator, Evernote, and more.

Loose Leaf's drawing tools are very basic, but combined with the ruler tool and intuitive gestures that make duplication super quick, the app can be useful for sketching out ideas, mocking up projects, and more.

Loose Leaf can be downloaded from the App Store for $4.99. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

spackl Avatar
146 months ago
While I have a similar mindset, it seems that most don't have a problem paying that much for a cup of coffee pretty much on any given day without much thought about it and with barely much of a benefit from it that is very temporary at best.

Comparing apples to oranges there. The previous comment you refer to was where the poster wanted the ability to try before buy. The poster wasn't against the price fully, but without any knowledge if they may like it, $5 was a bit high in the world of .99cent apps.

Your reference to paying that much for coffee doesn't compare because before one pays the arguably high prices for coffee at chain stores, they do so because they have had coffee before. They know they like it. Thus paying for something they like is a choice they can make. Here the other poster is saying, he rather try before paying and that makes perfect sense. And I am sure if the poster likes the demo, they wouldn't mind $5 as the the amount really wasn't the real issue, just the inability to try without the $5 risk.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C DM Avatar
146 months ago
Was interested until I saw the price. Need to try a demo version of some sort before I give $5 for an app that may or may not work.
While I have a similar mindset, it seems that most don't have a problem paying that much for a cup of coffee pretty much on any given day without much thought about it and with barely much of a benefit from it that is very temporary at best.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2010mini Avatar
146 months ago
While I have a similar mindset, it seems that most don't have a problem paying that much for a cup of coffee pretty much on any given day without much thought about it and with barely much of a benefit from it that is very temporary at best.

So true. So true.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iSee Avatar
146 months ago
Was interested until I saw the price. Need to try a demo version of some sort before I give $5 for an app that may or may not work.

$5 is pretty trivial, IMO. I would like to see a review before I waste time with it, though.

Also, it's iPad only. I'm still looking for something decent in this realm for an iPhone 6+.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Traverse Avatar
146 months ago
While I have a similar mindset, it seems that most don't have a problem paying that much for a cup of coffee pretty much on any given day without much thought about it and with barely much of a benefit from it that is very temporary at best.

This app looks very interesting, but I've spent a lot of money on hand writing apps and have been disappointed in each one. I won't pay another $5 unless I can try it out.

----------

Not even a pack of scratch paper costs $4.99.

But can it share or import into other apps? Can it be backed up to the could without being scanned?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Vanilla35 Avatar
146 months ago
While I have a similar mindset, it seems that most don't have a problem paying that much for a cup of coffee pretty much on any given day without much thought about it and with barely much of a benefit from it that is very temporary at best.

Coffee gives you an immediate, and much more tangible reward than software.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
Apple Logo Black

Apple Just Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever After Beats

Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio. Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014. Q.ai has...
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pros Reportedly Launching Alongside macOS 26.3

Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...