iOS 18 Notes App Supports Colors for Highlighting Typed Text

The Notes app in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 supports colors for typed text for the first time, providing an option to add new hues to text.

iOS 18 Notes Highlight Feature 2
Apple offers five colors, including purple, pink, orange, mint, and blue, and there is no option for custom colors. Colors can be added to text through the formatting interface that can be accessed by tapping on the Aa button, with the shade applied to any text that is selected. Both the text and the background turn the selected color when the feature is used.

The five color options are useful for highlighting select words and passages in text. Multiple colors can be used in the same sentence, but it is worth noting that there does not seem to be an option for colored text without the shaded background, or black text with a colored background.

Written text added to Notes on the iPad has supported multiple color options, but Apple has not made that a feature for typed text prior to now.

Other features in the iOS 18 Notes app include live audio transcription and summarization, collapsible section headers, and the option to have Notes solve typed math problems (or written on the ‌iPad‌).

The iOS 18 beta is available to developers at the current time, with Apple planning to introduce a public beta in July.

Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18

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 ...
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....
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
top stories 2025 12 04a

Top Stories: iOS 26.2 Coming Soon, Apple Execs Depart, and More

Saturday December 6, 2025 6:00 am PST by
You'd expect things to be starting to wind down for the holidays by now, but that doesn't seem to be the case yet in the world of Apple news, with Apple just about ready to release iOS 26.2 and other operating system updates to the public. There was also a flurry of news this week about Apple executive departures, some expected and some not so expected, while we also learned that Apple and...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
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...

Top Rated Comments

sw1tcher Avatar
20 months ago

Apple offers five colors, including purple, pink, orange, mint, and blue, and there is no option for custom colors.
There should be 6 colors: green, yellow, orange, red, purple, blue



Attachment Image
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vegetassj4 Avatar
20 months ago

There should be 6 colors: green, yellow, orange, red, purple, blue



Nope. Anything less than a rainbow is not acceptable.

Apple offers five colors
Noooooo.....way too many, as everyone knows, there are 4 colors (CMYK)



Attachment Image
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gwhizkids Avatar
20 months ago

Meanwhile, Xcode 16 just crashed on me when tying to add a package. Mail forgets to process rules on messages. Notifications never appear. Search does not find files I know exits. And on and on. I think the priorities at Apple these days are just plain wrong.
Repeat after me: It’s…a…beta.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
symphony Avatar
20 months ago
Can we please have folder icons like the Shortcuts and Reminders app? I feel like these would be more useful in a Notes app.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vegetassj4 Avatar
20 months ago
Man.....Wall Street really loves this cutting edge leap forward, making the notes app years ahead of any note taking app on the market today. They should call it Notes Pro™



Attachment Image
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iGeneo Avatar
20 months ago
i Just do this for icons

Attachment Image
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)