GoodNotes 6 Brings AI-Powered Handwriting Spellcheck and Autocomplete Features

Popular note-taking app and PDF editor GoodNotes has received its first major update in four years, introducing new AI-powered handwriting recognition features, a marketplace for digital stationery, new pen gestures, and more.

GoodNotes 6 feat
The sixth version builds on Goodnotes 5's iPad handwriting recognition by adding AI-powered Spellcheck, which draws heavily on the neural engine in Apple silicon to recognize mistakes in writing and suggest a correction or rewrite the word in the user's handwriting style.

Currently, the spellcheck feature supports English, Spanish, German and Dutch. GoodNotes 6 also introduces an experimental word autocomplete feature for handwriting in English.

Elsewhere, GoodNotes 6 brings new pen gestures include Scribble to Erase and Circle to Lasso, while a new in-app marketplace allows users to download new templates, stickers, and digital stationery directly within the app.

There are additional options to customize folders and dynamic templates that allow users to customize the size and color of the digital paper in their notebooks. The app also introduces AI-driven writing features, enabling users to extend or condense text, modify its tone, or paraphrase content.

Lastly, this version includes interactive exam prep materials for SAT and other standardized tests, with built-in hints and AI Math Assistance to identify errors.

goodnotes 6
Goodnotes 6 is free to download on iOS, iPadOS and macOS, and free to use for up to three notebooks. The full suite of features can be unlocked with unlimited notebooks for $9.99 per year or $29.99 as a one-time purchase.

Existing paid GoodNotes 5 users can continue using GoodNotes 5, or upgrade to Goodnotes 6 at a discount. Goodnotes 6 will continue to be free for educational institutions through Apple School Manager.

Top Rated Comments

Big Apple Tim Avatar
8 weeks ago
Anything with AI in the name, you've got to wonder where the data is going....
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tonywalker23 Avatar
8 weeks ago
Upgraded without even researching. I use stock apps as much as possible, mainly to keep my digital life as streamlined and decision-less as possible. So if I use a paid app it is really really useful for my needs. For me, Things 3 and GoodNotes are so useful and powerful for me as a full-time pastor and (most semesters) a full-time graduate student (second set of twins coming in a few months this semester :0).

But… I'm also old enough to remember when a simple OS upgrade was a one hour drive and $129.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Analog Kid Avatar
8 weeks ago
After my initial excitement, I find that creating a separate Goodnotes account is required…. I don’t want and can’t see why I’d need one. I’m looking for a product, not a service and certainly not a relationship.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cupcakes2000 Avatar
8 weeks ago

Yes, and they didn’t release it as a yearly subscription.

Though I imagine some will complain that the upgrade is too much money.
It did go from something like 5.99 to 29.99. It is a massive hike. But at least GN 5 still works as normal. For now at least…
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MuppetGate Avatar
8 weeks ago

It did go from something like 5.99 to 29.99. It is a massive hike. But at least GN 5 still works as normal. For now at least…
Yup, and that’s what happens if you don’t want to pay for a subscription and you don’t want the developers to starve.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
anakin44011 Avatar
8 weeks ago
I use both GoodNotes & Notability extensively on my iPad. There's a lot to be said, neurologically, about writing notes versus typing, so I do both. Also, I find typing in a meeting to be rude...alas, I'm showing my age (I also capitalize and punctuate my texts...Gen X'ers unite!).

Anyway, I've had more performance issues with Notability in the past year (ironically, since they switched to subscription) than all the previous years combined.

There's only one remaining feature on Notability that prevents me from switching everything over to GoodNotes. I still like the continuous/seemless page paradigm of Notability because I do a lot of lasso-select-move and GoodNotes won't let me drag content to the next page (this feature is also known as Spanning objects across pages). But that's about it.

That said, I'm glad both companies (and Apple) are investing. And I hope to see more differentiation, which is probably healthy for the market. I used to spend $40-50 a year, just on spiral notebooks. These apps are such a leap forward.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Multi Display CarPlay 1

All-New Apple CarPlay Launching Later This Year With These 5 New Features

Friday September 29, 2023 11:29 am PDT by
At WWDC 2022 last year, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, personalization options, and more. Apple said the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience would be announced in late 2023, but it has still not shared any additional...
BMW Logo iPhone 15 Pro

Warning: BMW Wireless Charging May Break iPhone 15's Apple Pay Chip

Sunday October 1, 2023 6:14 am PDT by
If you have an iPhone 15 and drive a BMW, it might be best to avoid charging the device with the vehicle's wireless charging pad for now. Over the past week, some BMW owners have complained that their iPhone 15's NFC chip no longer works after charging the device with their vehicle's wireless charging pad, according to comments shared on the MacRumors Forums and X, formerly known as Twitter. ...
iPhone 15 Pro lineup

Apple to Address iPhone 15 Pro Overheating Issue With iOS 17 Update

Saturday September 30, 2023 9:28 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an iOS 17 update to address a bug that may contribute to the reported iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max overheating issue, according to a statement the company shared today with MacRumors and Forbes reporter David Phelan. Apple also says some recent updates to third-party apps have overloaded the system and contributed to the overheating issue. The report notes that...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Details: Action Button, USB-C Port, Face ID, and More

Wednesday September 27, 2023 1:34 pm PDT by
Significant changes are expected to arrive with Apple's fourth-generation iPhone SE, in terms of both design and hardware, MacRumors has learned. The iPhone SE 4, known internally under the codename Ghost, is expected to receive a new design derived almost entirely from the base model iPhone 14. According to our sources, the iPhone SE 4 will use a modified version of the iPhone 14 chassis...
iPhone 16 Side Feature

iPhone 16 and 16 Pro: Preliminary Weights and Dimensions

Friday September 29, 2023 12:34 pm PDT by
MacRumors has obtained preliminary information on the weights and dimensions planned for the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The information corroborates previous reports suggesting that the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max will feature larger displays. iPhone 16 and 16 Plus Current information suggests that the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will maintain the same...
CarPlay SharePlay

CarPlay Not Working for Some iPhone 15 Users, Possibly Because of USB-C Cables

Friday September 29, 2023 2:27 pm PDT by
CarPlay is not working as expected for some iPhone 15 users, an issue that is likely linked to the transition to USB-C. There are multiple complaints from MacRumors readers and Reddit users who are unable to get CarPlay to work with their new devices. Cable type and available port options are a common theme in the CarPlay reports, with many of the functionality problems linked to USB-A to...
iOS 17

Everything New in iOS 17.1 Beta 1

Wednesday September 27, 2023 1:57 pm PDT by
Just a week after releasing iOS 17, Apple has seeded the first beta of iOS 17.1 to developers. iOS 17.1 adds some features that Apple promised were coming to iOS 17 in the future, plus it refines and improves some existing features. This guide covers everything new in the first iOS 17.1 beta. Apple Music Favorites You can favorite songs, albums, playlists, and artists in the iOS 17.1...