Popular plain text note-taking app Bear reached version 1.5 on Monday, bringing a handful of user-requested features to the platform on iOS and Mac.

First up, it's now possible for users to give all their created tags custom icons, which can be selected from a library of 169 "TagCons". When a tag is selected on iPhone and iPad, Bear will now display its TagCon in the Notes List header, to remind users of the tag they're currently viewing.

Bear 1
A new archive notes feature is also being introduced in this version, allowing unused notes to be hidden rather than straight-up deleted. Helpfully, archived notes can be searched at any time from the Sidebar, which also gets new Untagged, ToDo, and Today sections.

Elsewhere, the Export options have been expanded to allow the exporting of all notes of a specific tag, where sub-tags automatically become subfolders. There's also a new EPUB export option for users looking to publish in the digital format.

In addition, the developers of Bear have added a new iPhone and iPad gesture that lets users pull down to search notes and close preferences, and there's a new theme for all devices called "Ayu".

On the Mac side of things, the iPhone X-optimized Dieci theme is now available in macOS, and it's now possible to float individual notes on top of all others, simply by double-clicking a note in the Notes List.

Bear is available to download on the App Store for iPad and iPhone [Direct Link], as well as on the Mac App Store [Direct Link].

Tag: Bear

Top Rated Comments

farewelwilliams Avatar
81 months ago
Again, for the price, the idea of subscription hurts a little less. At $30 it is more reasonable and palatable per year than $50. And I am talking from the standpoint of using Bear, and what it offers me.

I like I can write in MD, I like I can see creation date as well as modification date of my notes. This is the single reason I pay for it, if I were to choose just one reason. To each his own, :) !

I do not like DayOne at $50 retail subscription, but it could do at $25 they offer for previous users. However, Dyrii undercuts it and does a better job for me. So, while subscriptions as a trend are not ideal, this is what we are going to get. The deal will be how well-priced they are, or not.
subscriptions are good for bigger apps like Adobe CC where the barrier of entry used to be $1-$2k

For small apps, it doesn’t make sense. I’d rather pay $70 one time than $1.99 a month, even if in the long run, it costs me more.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
farewelwilliams Avatar
82 months ago
the price is right on this one.
disgreed. it shouldn't be subscription based.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chas_m Avatar
82 months ago
How does this stack up against Dyrii Journal app?
Well, it's not a diary app, so ... poorly, probably. Not sure why you are looking to compare the two.
[doublepost=1525130995][/doublepost]Still looking for someone to explain why a simple note-taking app needs to be subscription. It's pretty, it's functional, sure -- but there are many high-quality tools that offer most or more features (starting with Apple's own Notes) for free or at a one-time price. I'm not one of those blindly anti-subscription trolls ... I'm just not seeing $15/year worth of "better" compared to Notes, SimpleNote (both free), Notability, iA Writer, Drafts, Byword ... et cetera, all of which are at most a modest one-time purchase.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
icloud private relay outage

iCloud Private Relay Experiencing Outage

Thursday July 25, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...