Why the same note-taking app feels different on your iPad, Galaxy Tab, and Surface
I have tested note-taking apps on iPads, Galaxy Tabs, and Surfaces side by side. The ink does not behave the same way. The difference is not the software—it is how fast each stylus reports its position. The S Pen on the Galaxy Tab S10 reaches roughly 6.2 milliseconds of latency. The Apple Pencil Pro sits at about 9 ms. The Surface Slim Pen 2 is around 14 ms. These numbers matter: 6.2 ms is the difference between ink that follows your pen tip and ink that feels a frame behind. A note-taking app optimized for one stylus can feel sluggish on another. That is why I will not recommend an app without first asking what tablet you own.
iPad: GoodNotes, Notability, or Apple Notes
If you own an iPad, you have three solid options. GoodNotes 6 costs $9.99 per year. Its handwriting organization is the most mature I have tested: unlimited nested folders, AI-powered spellcheck and word suggestions as you write, and OCR search accuracy that reached 88% in one 30-day test across 220 handwritten pages. Notability Plus runs $14.99 per year and scored 91% in the same test. Its killer feature is synced audio recording—tap any handwritten word and the app plays the exact moment in the recording. If you record lectures, that alone justifies the higher price.
Apple Notes, free on every iPad, added math notes (live equation solving from handwriting) and handwriting search in the 2024–2025 updates. That covers about 80% of what most casual users need. But its OCR accuracy was only 76% in the same test. If you rarely search handwritten notes and never need to export, Apple Notes may be enough. Just remember: 'free' here means free only on an iPad. You cannot take it to a Galaxy Tab or Surface. The hardware is the real cost.
| App | Price per year | OCR accuracy | Three-year cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GoodNotes 6 | $9.99/yr | 88% | $29.97 | Organization and AI writing aids |
| Notability Plus | $14.99/yr | 91% | $44.97 | Lecture audio sync |
| Apple Notes | Free | 76% | $0 | Casual use, math notes |
For iPad users, the final decision is between organization (GoodNotes), audio sync (Notability), and simplicity (Apple Notes). But this advice only holds if you already own an iPad. If you are still choosing a tablet, start with the stylus latency—that determines which apps will actually feel good on your device.