Apple has made the Notes app a lot more useful on iOS 9 by integrating it with several other stock apps, including Photos, Mail, Maps and Safari. In addition to traditional note-taking, users can now create checklists, draw sketches and insert photos, videos, links, maps, Pages documents and other attachments into notes.

Checklists

You can now create a checklist in the Notes app by selecting lines of text and tapping on the checkmark button above the keyboard. Each list item will then have a circular bullet next to that can be marked as completed, which is convenient for grocery lists, wish lists, to-do lists and so forth.

ios-9-ipad-notes-list
Apple has also added formatting options in Notes for adjusting the size and weight of text, including Heading, Body, Checklist, Bulleted List and Dashed Line. Anyone that has ever used text formatting in Pages, Microsoft Word or virtually any other word processing program should be familiar with this feature.

Attachments

You can now insert photos, videos, links, maps, Pages documents and other attachments directly into the Notes app on iOS 9 by pulling up the iOS share sheet from other apps such as Photos, Mail, Maps and Safari.

Notes-Checklist-iOS-9
You can take a photo from within the Notes app, or tap to access your photo library and add an existing photo or video to a note. Items attached to your notes can be organized from the new Attachment Browser.

Sketches

You can now draw sketches in your notes using your finger or a stylus, with a selection of drawing tools available that have different brush styles, thicknesses and colors.

ipad-ios-9-notes-sketch
The available drawing tools include a pen, pencil, marker, eraser and a ruler for keeping your lines straight.

Tag: Notes
Related Forum: iOS 9

Top Rated Comments

charlituna Avatar
136 months ago
merge voice memos into Notes and ditch the separate app
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Munky Avatar
136 months ago
I would love if they found a way to integrate "Notes" and "Reminders" into one app. I'd love to make a grocery list for my wife and be able to attach a photo to one of the things in the list that I specifically needed.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jessica Lares Avatar
136 months ago
I really love how easy it is to copy a sketch, paste it again and then add to it.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
136 months ago
Bye Evernote!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JCrz Avatar
136 months ago
Checklist item #1: Fix watchOS 2 bug.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JonneyGee Avatar
136 months ago
Notes in iOS 9 is nice, but it needs Evernote's organizational features to really compete. Notebooks and tags, please!
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...