Goodnotes Adds New Features That Work With Apple Pencil Pro

Popular note taking app Goodnotes today announced new features that are designed to work with the Apple Pencil Pro that launched alongside the 2024 iPad Pro models. The ‌Apple Pencil‌ Pro supports a squeeze gesture with haptic feedback, as well as a barrel roll for better control over shaped pen and brush tools.

goodnotes dynamic ink
Palette is a set of tools that pops up in Goodnotes with a squeeze of the ‌Apple Pencil‌ Pro. It allows users to swap between essential tools, undo, and change ink stroke, thickness, and color. Normally these features would need to be accessed through a tool panel, but the Palette makes it much quicker to swap between options without interrupting a workflow.

Goodnotes' Fountain Pen now includes Dynamic Ink with an ink flow that is able to respond to the rotation of the ‌Apple Pencil‌. Instead of just responding to pressure sensitivity, the Fountain Pen is able to make thinner or thicker lines based on the orientation of the ‌Apple Pencil‌, for a more natural pen-like feel.

Strokes will vary with calligraphic flourishes as a physical fountain pen would, which Goodnotes says can bring more personal expression to digital writing. Rolling the barrel of the ‌Apple Pencil‌ Pro can also provide more precise control over stroke thickness, and stroke preview is available using ‌Apple Pencil‌ hover.

Goodnotes 6 can be downloaded from the App Store for free, but it costs $9.99 per year after a free trial. [Direct Link]

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
ios 18 to ios 26 upgrade

Apple Pushes iPhone Users Still on iOS 18 to Upgrade to iOS 26

Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent. Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 Release Candidates to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Wednesday December 3, 2025 10:33 am PST by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The release candidates represent the final versions of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found during this final week of testing....
Photos App Icon Liquid Glass

John Gruber Shares Scathing Commentary About Apple's Departing Software Design Chief

Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs. On his blog Daring Fireball,...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
iOS 26

When Will Apple Release iOS 26.2?

Monday December 1, 2025 4:37 pm PST by
We're getting closer to the launch of the final major iOS update of the year, with Apple set to release iOS 26.2 in December. We've had three betas so far and are expecting a fourth beta or a release candidate this week, so a launch could follow as soon as next week. Past Launch Dates Apple's past iOS x.2 updates from the last few years have all happened right around the middle of the...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
ive and altman

Jony Ive's OpenAI Device Barred From Using 'io' Name

Friday December 5, 2025 6:22 am PST by
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI and Jony Ive's new hardware venture from using the name "io" for products similar to those planned by AI audio startup iyO, Bloomberg Law reports. iyO sued OpenAI earlier this year after the latter announced its partnership with Ive's new firm, arguing that OpenAI's planned "io" branding was too close to its...
iphone air camera

iPhone Air's Resale Value Has Dropped Dramatically, Data Shows

Thursday December 4, 2025 5:27 am PST by
The iPhone Air has recorded the steepest early resale value drop of any iPhone model in years, with new data showing that several configurations have lost almost 50% of their value within ten weeks of launch. According to a ten-week analysis published by SellCell, Apple's latest lineup is showing a pronounced split in resale performance between the iPhone 17 models and the iPhone Air....
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

iPhone 17 Pro Lost a Camera Feature Pro Models Have Had Since 2020

Thursday December 4, 2025 5:18 am PST by
iPhone 17 Pro models, it turns out, can't take photos in Night mode when Portrait mode is selected in the Camera app – a capability that's been available on Apple's Pro devices since the iPhone 12 Pro in 2020. If you're an iPhone 17 Pro or iPhone 17 Pro Max owner, try it for yourself: Open the Camera app with Photo selected in the carousel, then cover the rear lenses with your hand to...

Top Rated Comments

JustinePaula Avatar
20 months ago
Goodnotes is a terrible app, they never update with useful features, there is no password protection, honestly it feels like the app is a light scam, I don't trust Goodnotes..
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cornycopier Avatar
20 months ago

A lot of student use Goodnotes, and the way they use it is just the same as what they can do with the native Notes app.

Apple are really bad at explaining what their native apps can do. So many people use things like Fantastical, 1Password, OmniFocus, Scanner Pro, Evernote etc - and when you look at what they do with them, they just don't need to use them...
I think you'd find that the apps that you listed go above and beyond ANY of the stock apps on iOS/iPadOS.

Whether an individual uses 3rd party apps to their full potential or exactly as if they're stock apps really isn't your choice or business. You enjoy your stock apps and we'll enjoy our 3rd party apps. It's all good.

Side note: To be sure, as a daily user of Goodnotes for many years (seriously, all day every day at work), Apple Notes isn't even remotely in the same ball park.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Remy149 Avatar
20 months ago

Now, if only the iPhone Pro Max would support the Apple Pencil.
I use an Apple Pencil daily I couldn’t imagine using it on any phone comfortably.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coolfactor Avatar
20 months ago
Apple must approach these app developers in advance and secretly offer prototype devices to support development of these new features. How else can such support be rolled out so quickly after the announcement?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cornycopier Avatar
20 months ago

I agree, apart from your last sentence. They do go way beyond what the stock apps do in most cases (not sure about Scanner Pro?) and it's only 'my business' in the sense that it's an interesting debate - but most people don't use them to their full potential. There's always the risk that these companies will go bust, hike their prices, get hacked etc.

I used to use OmniFocus, but I spent more time fiddling with it than Getting Things Done. Fantastical didn't do anything FOR ME that the stock Calendars app doesn't do, and Scanner Pro is entirely redundant now.

If you can be bothered, why is Apple Notes so inferior to Goodnotes? Genuinely interested... I particularly need to be able to share notes with other iOS and Mac users, and collaborate on them.
There's always a risk that ANY company (including Apple someday) could go bust. There's also always a risk that someday the entire planet could go cold. I'm not sure that the iOS world is abuzz with debate over stock vs third party apps. People use what people use to whatever potential they use them. I don't have the time nor an interest in worrying about whether or not my colleagues are using the scheduling feature in Fantastical. I'm not paying for the apps they use on their devices. It doesn't concern me.

I happen to agree with your anecdote re: OmniFocus, as well as several other GTD apps. In this case I have landed back on the stock Reminders app. Why? Because it works better for me in my particular case usage.

And that brings me to your last question - the idea of case usage. Some have problems with it but I've been quite happy with Goodnotes. In MY case, it does exactly what I need it to do in an easy and sensible way. The inking and manipulation thereof, as well as PDF annotation is just superior... FOR ME. There are modes that allow it to be used in a presentational setting so that one can lecture, annotate, etc without the audience seeing any color pickers or other controls - only annotations.

I'm not going to get into a feature for feature comparison of Goodnotes vs Apple Notes. You can use Google to find any number of articles/videos doing that. I'll say that it works better for ME in MY professional arena. Is that the case for everybody? Nope. Is it a concern for me? Nope. If Goodnotes suddenly goes bust, yes, it would suck but I would find an alternative.

I will say that, for me, one stock app that is interesting, which I've been playing with, because I do see some potential for use in my setting, is Freeform. But it isn't quite ready to replace Goodnotes - FOR ME. I need that presentation mode first and foremost.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
svish Avatar
20 months ago
Good to see the app supporting the new features of Apple Pencil Pro
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)