Notability's New Mac Catalyst App Adds Shape Detection, Apple Pencil Support for Sidecar, and More

The developers behind the popular note-taking app Notability today announced a brand-new version of Notability for macOS, based on Apple's Mac Catalyst technology.

Notability Feature
The latest version will bring popular features from Notability on the iPad to the Mac. Now, Notability on macOS supports shape detection, paper backgrounds, Apple Pencil for ‌iPad‌ when using Sidecar, and more. Marc Provost, the apps team director, calls the update "especially useful for students who take notes on ‌iPad‌ and also use a Mac for studying."

Mac Catalyst enables us to maintain feature parity across Apple devices, something we've wanted to offer for a long time. This can be especially useful for students who take notes on iPad and also use a Mac for studying. They can easily pick up where they left off with the same functionality and experience.

Existing customers of Notability for iPhone and Pad can download the new Mac version of the app for free from the Mac App Store. New customers can purchase the new app for a discounted price of $3.99, compared to its regular $8.99 price tag.

Popular Stories

airpods pro 3 purple

New, Higher End AirPods Pro Coming This Year

Tuesday January 20, 2026 9:05 am PST by
Apple is planning to debut a high-end secondary version of AirPods Pro 3 this year, sitting in the lineup alongside the current model, reports suggest. Back in September 2025, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to introduce a successor to the AirPods Pro 3 in 2026. This would be somewhat unusual since Apple normally waits around three years to make major...
smaller dynamic island iphone 18 pro Filip Vabrous%CC%8Cek

iPhone 18 Pro Leak: Smaller Dynamic Island, No Top-Left Camera Cutout

Tuesday January 20, 2026 2:34 am PST by
Over the last few months, rumors around the iPhone 18 Pro's front-panel design have been conflicted, with some supply-chain leaks pointing to under-display Face ID, reports suggesting a top-left hole-punch camera, and debate over whether the familiar Dynamic Island will shrink, shift, or disappear entirely. Today, Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital shared new details that appear to clarify the ...
Apple Logo Spotlight

Apple Expected to Unveil Five All-New Products This Year

Wednesday January 21, 2026 10:54 am PST by
In addition to updating many of its existing products, Apple is expected to unveil five all-new products this year, including a smart home hub, a Face ID doorbell, a MacBook with an A18 Pro chip, a foldable iPhone, and augmented reality glasses. Below, we have recapped rumored features for each product. Smart Home Hub Apple home hub (concept) Apple's long-rumored smart home hub should...
airtag prime day 2

Apple Developing AirTag-Sized AI Pin With Dual Cameras

Wednesday January 21, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
Apple is working on a small, wearable AI pin equipped with multiple cameras, a speaker, and microphones, reports The Information. If it actually launches, the AI pin will likely run the new Siri chatbot that Apple plans to unveil in iOS 27. The pin is said to be similar in size to an AirTag, with a thin, flat, circular disc shape. It has an aluminum and glass shell, and two cameras at the...
Liquid Glass App Store Feature

App Store and Apple TV Experiencing Outage

Tuesday January 20, 2026 4:36 pm PST by
Apple's App Store, iTunes Store, and Apple TV service are experiencing an outage at the current time, according to Apple's System Status page. Apple says that some users may be experiencing issues with the App Store and iTunes Store. Apple also says some users may be seeing intermittent issues with Apple TV. The Apple TV Channels feature is down too, and users may be unable to access some...

Top Rated Comments

drntgogol Avatar
64 months ago
Same for me over here in the UK, £3.99 listed but I have the old macOS version, and iOS versions for iPhone and iPad. However, I decided to buy it anyway, clicked the Buy button and then it said something like This Update is Free, Click OK to download and I did that, so it was free in the end.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrfr Avatar
64 months ago

I really don’t understand why everyone seems to be stressing so much about whether this app, that only cost a few dollars, is free for existing users.
I'd have paid the $4 so I wasn't concerned, but my issue is with how poor the App Store upgrade experience is. A user has to click through 2 different dialogs which tell them that they will be charged before they discover that there actually is no charge. Apple is putting up barriers to users and making the experience worse, and furthermore increases the support load for the developer who now has to answer lots of questions about why the update isn't actually free.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Eddy Munn Avatar
64 months ago

Same for me over here in the UK, £3.99 listed but I have the old macOS version, and iOS versions for iPhone and iPad. However, I decided to buy it anyway, clicked the Buy button and then it said something like This Update is Free, Click OK to download and I did that, so it was free in the end.
This worked for me as well.



Attachment Image
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheGreenDog Avatar
64 months ago
For the people who were concerned about high CPU usage: I am almost certainly sure this is due to initial note indexing (for search) that happens locally. When all notes are indexed CPU usage should go down.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sidewinder3000 Avatar
64 months ago

As an existing Notability customer, I cannot figure out how to download the Mac (Big Sur) version for free. I'm logged into the Mac App Store (US) correctly, but am prompted to purchase the Mac version of Notability. I've browsed Ginger Labs' website (including support section for the Mac), but cannot find any indication that the Mac app is free for existing customers.
I’m happy to pay a few bucks for a great app. I want them to be rewarded for big updates like this and be able to pay their employees. I expect small maintenance updates to be free, but I have no problem paying for large updates like this. Especially when the initial investment in the program was so low.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChrisFa Avatar
64 months ago
I have the Notability app on my iPad and the "old" "non-catalyst" version on my Mac. Weirdly enough, the "new" catalyst version is still priced at 5.49$ CAD even if I bought the app with the same Apple ID back then. Maybe they didn't update their pricing yet?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)